Driver Database News

Following on from Phillip Island and Nick Percat’s emphatic victories in races 18 and 19 of the Australian Formula Ford Championship, we now prepare to celebrate one of the all time great open wheel drivers in Australian motor racing history. It’s with these victories in which Percat sealed the 1st place trophy with 4 races remaining.

Some of the statistics achieved in 2009:

• MOST POINTS IN THE 40 YEAR HISTORY = 371 (2ND TIM BLANCHARD 346)
• 3 POLE POSITIONS (EQUAL MOST IN 2009)
• 12 RACE WINS
• PODIUM RESULT IN 20 OUT OF 23 RACES
• FINISHED EVERY RACE
• CAREER WINS IN NATIONAL FORMULA FORD = 22 (HIGHEST BY 5 WINS)

The racing on the streets of the Gold Coast was always going to be slightly muted for a few reasons, one being that the Round would only decide who was to come 2nd, so it became in sporting terms, a dead rubber.

Nick explains some of the highlights of the weekend, and his thoughts on becoming the 2009 Champion.

“Well our weekend was a pretty low key affair having already done the business at Phillip Island. So it was just a matter of trying to keep it off the walls during the races and see if we could get Mitch the second place in the Championship, which we did!”

“The final race for me in a Formula Ford was a pretty exciting one, with rain coming almost on queue as we rolled out on the track, and I love racing in those difficult conditions so to charge from 5th to 2nd in such a shortened race was a great way to sign off!”

Percat leaves Formula Ford with a record that could stand for some time, and a future full of opportunities.

“I’d dearly love to have a crack overseas again, I got a taste for it with my Festival win last year, and my driving style seems to suit the European way of thinking! If the right deal came along I would have to have a serious look at it. Its slightly frustrating seeing guys I have raced with and beaten doing say World Series Renault next year, but given the chance I’d love to show what I could do in the new GP3 feeder series in 2010″

While racing overseas is an option, currently Percat’s Brains trust are putting the final touches to Nick’s 2010 Fujitsu Series Assault.

“2010 isn’t 100% locked in yet, but I’d have to say that with the support from my current backers in Walkinshaw Performance and No Fear we should be able to sign off on something soon…. It would be nice if we could find another backer to get us over the line, but I am not the only one looking for financial support right now, so we will have to wait and see! Hopefully my form book is worth something!!”

Nick would like to thank the following for his 2009 Championship campaign:

• NO FEAR
• SONIC MOTOR RACING SERVICES
• WALKINSHAW PERFORMANCE
• CASTROL AUSTRALIA
• MYGALE
• REVOLUTION RACEGEAR

To sum up the massive year that was 2009, we leave you with the often quoted comment by the youngest of Percat fans…

“Dad I want a photo with the angry car!!”

The “angry car” and the driver with NO FEAR will be back on the track soon….

Andre Borell and Master Electricians Racing are looking to finish the 2009 Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship in style. With the championship already decided with Nick Percat having taken the 2009 crown – the Nikon SuperGP on the Gold Coast may not be a series decider – but will still be an exciting event with everyone looking to stamp their authority on the streets of Surfers and signal their intentions for 2010.

Andre Borell started his preparation for the Nikon SuperGP by racing on the streets of the Gold Coast in a different disciple recently – the ITU Triathlon World Championships. Andre stunned his competitors by placing 2nd in the Male 20-24 SprintMan category. Andre loved the event, intending to compete in the world famous Noosa Triathlon in November. “It’s a great sport, I love it. I didn’t expect to place on the podium on the Gold Coast. I had a really bad swim, but recovered on the bike and blew them away on the run. I intend to get into it a lot more – the fitness benefits translate directly to how you feel physically in the Formula Ford”.

With his full attention now turned to the Nikon SuperGP, Andre intends to go one better than his Triathlon performance come October. “We are making some massive changes to the car for meeting. The circuit is all about braking and power-down. We are fitting new brakes as well as redesigning the suspension geometry to make the car better in these two areas, especially power-down. That is where we have struggled all season. It’s a big move, and it will either pay dividends or be a disaster. It’s all or nothing here – win it or bin it. Actually I’ll be happy with a Top-5, but that doesn’t sound as cool” said a jovial Borell.

With Master Electricians confirmed to be staying on board for 2010, Andre also hopes to have a strong showing so that he can carry some momentum into the 2010 Australian Formula Ford Championship. Andre explains his decision, and his affection for Formula Ford: “Why would you race any other category? It’s second only to V8 Supercars in terms of professionalism and on-track competitiveness in Australia. Racing Formula Ford again is a no brainer, you can’t race at a higher level in this country unless you are in a V8. Next year we will have more resources, new equipment, and we are going for the Title”. Borell however remained tight lipped on his exact plans for 2010, including team and chassis choices. “We’ll announce that in good time…” said the 22-year old.

With his SuperGP and 2010 Formula Ford plans so ambitious – Andre Borell and Master Electricians Racing are faced with a very steep mountain to climb, but the evidence so far indicates they are up to the task. Andre is also up for nomination to win an entry into the GRAND PRIX SHOOTOUT competition held in the UK – make sure you head www.driverdb.com/drivers/33514/ and register your vote.

Andre is supported by Master Electricians, simPRO, Extreme Safety, Wizzard Concrete, Xtreme Racing, PM Lubricants and Powerade. For more information please visit www.andreborellmotorsport.com

Having left behind the cool weather once again in Victoria, the Formula Ford championship moved north to Queensland Raceway, a happy hunting ground for Percat in the past. “Last year we proved to be very quick here, and I hope to carry that pace forward this weekend! However my focus is firmly on the championship and I will be doing everything I can to extend my lead going into the final 2 rounds” said a confident Percat.

It was confidence well placed, when in the opening two sessions of Practice, Percat topped the time sheets with an impressive gap to second. “Our used tyre pace has always been good here, and I really can’t fault the car in any area so we will see what Qualy brings tomorrow” smiled Percat, knowing the unseasonal hot weather Queensland was experiencing was playing to into his hands being one of the fittest drivers on the grid.

Qualifying was held early on Saturday morning in relatively cool conditions, with Percat leading the grid onto the circuit. With the battle for pole always tight with the high quality field of drivers in 2009 Percat had to settle for 3^rd on the grid for the open race later in the Afternoon. ” I wasn’t able to get the balance back in the car that I had in the earlier sessions, which is a bit of a shame, but we will press on knowing I just have to race the guys that are in the championship hunt” said Percat.

Race 1 held in the middle of the day was a great battle between the leading drivers of 2009, and also some names to watch out for in the future. As the dice at the front commenced with SONIC team mates Mitch Evans, Nick Percat and Geoff Uhrhane together with Chaz Mostert the race was set to be an epic battle for the 12 laps around Queensland Raceway. With Evans leading, he was able to put his head down early on and pull out a small but significant lead that was never headed taking the win. “I got a reasonable start from the dirty side of the track, and paced myself in this first race, as I know that tyre wear can be an issue here, and also the fact that my closest competitor at the moment is Scott Pye, so all I had to do was out point him. However the battle with Geoff and Chaz was a pretty good one, and it was nice to see Geoff get his best result for 2009 and a 1-2-3 for SONIC as a team is really good also!!” said a happy Percat on returning to the garage extending his already impressive championship lead.

Race 2 held on Sunday morning, and was a lot closer affair, with team mates Evans and Percat pulling away from the rest of the field, and drove in formation for the entire 12 laps to finish 3 seconds ahead of team mate Uhrhane. “I’m happy to just keep ticking the races off at the moment, and 2^nd is a solid amount of points for my championship, so there was no reason to risk it all with a desperate move on Mitch” said Percat.

The final race of the weekend, once again held in hot conditions was another close tussle between Percat and Evans. With the lead changing in the early laps, Percat kept his team mate honest as they pulled out another commanding gap over the rest of the field, Mitch taking the win, with Percat right on his gearbox to the chequered flag.

“A great team effort this weekend, as we had all 3 cars right on the pace from the start, and to leave here now 1-2 in the championship, and extending my lead to 80 points with a possible 122 to play for it’s a great position for me to be in” beamed Percat, knowing full well that he could wrap up the championship at one of his favourite tracks, Phillip Island Round 7 September 11-13.

Nick is also in the running to win an entry to drive in the “GRAND PRIX SHOOTOUT” which would see the most successful Formula Ford driver in Australia’s history given the chance to compete on the world stage! http://www.grandprixshootout.com/

Nick having already worked with the likes of Rob Wilson previously, would certainly be a worthy winner, so give him the boost he needs by logging into his driver data base profile, and register your email now!

http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/10915/

votes close at the end of September, so get racing….

For all the latest news visit http://www.nickpercat.com/

Andre Borell and Master Electricians Racing have broken this season’s points drought and now have some runs on the board for the 2009 Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship. Borell also won the ‘EWP Hard Charger’ award for the second time in as many rounds after a disappointing qualifying session left him with an uphill climb in the races.

Saturday morning’s Qualifying session didn’t go to plan, with Borell only posting a time good enough for 15th place on the grid. Borell made no excuses, and pointed the finger squarely at himself: “That wasn’t very good was it! I didn’t get a good slipstream which is key here, and I didn’t really put a good lap together anyway. I made a few mistakes pushing too hard for a good time. Oh well – we have pace so we can go forward in the races”.

Race 1 on Saturday afternoon saw a solid and level-headed drive from Borell, dodging the erratic driving in the midpack to bring home the Master Electricians Racing car home in 10th spot – and gain that elusive first championship point. With the CEO from both Master Electricians and simPRO present, the result could not have come at a better time.

Race 2 early Sunday morning was a similar story to race one, with Borell dodging the mayhem to come home on 10th spot again. His job was made harder however by a clutch and brake problem that would persist over the rest of the weekend. Andre explained the issues “The clutch wasn’t fully disengaging, so on the start line it was wanting to creep forward even with the clutch all the way in. I had to use all the pedals at once to keep the thing stationary and not get a jump start penalty – I really needed a third foot! We also had a severe brake shudder that tried to shake the wheel out of my hands every time I braked. We can’t fix either issue for Race 3 so too bad for me I guess, I’ll just drive around the problems”.

Race 3 saw a stellar performance from Borell, who ran as high as 6th at one point and eventually finished in 8th spot gaining even more points towards the tally. The superlative drive dealing with brake and clutch issues highlighted Borell’s talent and ability to run with the best in the Formula Ford ranks. Despite finishing in the best position of the season, Andre still felt he could have done better: “Martin Swindells was blocking me like a lunatic for the last half of the race. He was weaving four or five times on nearly every straight, everywhere I tried to go he would move across and nearly run me off the track. I should have got past him for 7th, but the guy is a headcase and would have taken me out before he let me past. I’d rather 8th than a DNF”.

SuperGP on the Gold Coast is the next stop for Master Electricians Racing and Andre Borell. Unlike most other Formula Ford drivers, Andre will gain some racing experience on the Surfers Paradise street circuit in September: “I’m racing in the ITU Triathlon World Championships on the Gold Coast soon, and the bike leg takes in some of the SuperGP circuit. I doubt it’ll be an advantage come October I’m hustling the Van Diemen between the concrete barriers, but you never know!”

Andre Borell is supported by Master Electricians, Extreme Safety, simPRO, Xtreme Racing and Wizzard Concreting. For more information please visit www.andreborellmotorsport.com

Since leaving the steamy environs of Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway, Nick Percat has been busy away from the track searching for that extra tenth of a second. “I have been pretty flat out recently, as I have upped my training program and also moved house! One of the guys I train with, Holden Racing Team’s Will Davison asked me to move in with him, so that gives me daily access to one of the best drivers in the business, and also someone who knows what it takes to win in National Formula Ford” said a confident Percat on arrival at Sandown International Raceway Victoria.

While just about every other competitor raced recently in the two state series events at Sandown, Nick had to bypass these due to financial reasons. “I don’t have access to unlimited funds for racing, so I have to be careful where I spend my racing budget, and while it would have been nice to get some extra running here, I have to think more about what is going to get me to the end of the year.”

Friday afternoon was cool with only one practice session for Formula Ford, and Nick had his work cut out for him with everyone else about six sessions ahead in getting the perfect setup for their cars. Nick finished the first session 8th, six tenths off the pace set by Synergy’s Chaz Mostert. “No real problems with the car, but we will chip away and see what we come up with for the race” said Nick.

Saturday was another cold winter’s day in Victoria with Qualifying for Formula Ford being the first on track action. Percat was looking to steadily improve the car, with some speed still to come, however as the chequered flag flew signalling the end to the 20 minute session, Percat was in the unusual position of 8th four tenths off the pole time once again set by Mostert. ” I gave it pretty much everything I had in that session, but we are still lacking something with the car, and while we made some changes and I grabbed a slightly quicker lap on my final pass, it seems like we have still a bit to do to challenge for the wins this weekend…” said Percat on returning to the garage.

Race 1 was held in changeable conditions, with all the drivers and teams expecting showers at some stage in the day, but picking it was a hit and miss affair. As the drivers rolled out from the form-up grid, the rain started to fall, so it was going to be a terrific race in super testing conditions with less than ideal car setups!

Nick took his place on the grid, and with the lights going out for the first of three 12 lap races, it was Percat who was flying on the opening lap and with only half a lap completed, had moved swiftly up to 3rd place, and was already attacking for the lead come lap 3. The battle then commenced with team mate Mitch Evans and fellow kiwi Richie Stanaway pulling a gap on the rest of the field. Nick then took the lead on lap 8 only to have it taken back from him by Evans on lap 10, Percat explains.

“I had a great run in the early part of the race, as my speed in the wet was excellent, which was good news! And once I hit the lead I was doing it pretty easy….but on lap 10 I think my team mate Mitch made an error approaching the final corner, and out braked himself a little and came flying through on the inside, so I sidestepped a little to the left and made sure we didn’t come together, and I didn’t have enough in the tank to get passed him before the finish, without taking a big risk! So I am happy to take the points for 2nd and look after my championship lead”

Sunday brought Formula Ford competitors two races, with the first early in the morning in cool conditions.

Percat made a cracking start, taking the lead in the opening lap but the dry circuit wasn’t playing to his car’s strengths, and soon was relegated to 2nd place, with the tight battle group forming of Pye, Stanaway, and team mate Mitch Evans. “I was having to race pretty hard with these guys, as we seem to have a bit of work to do car wise in the dry, but finishing 3rd isn’t the end of the world, especially as my championship rivals are not able to take many points off me” said a smiling Percat knowing that the races remaining for the year are slowly ticking by.

The final race of the weekend was held in typically dry but threatening Melbourne weather conditions,  with Percat getting another good start, jumping into 2nd place for the early running. It was tight nose to tail racing up till lap 3 when the double waved yellow flags at turn 1 signalled another competitor had gone off the road, and as required, pack leader Ryan Simpson raised his hand from the cockpit and slowed, as did Percat and company who where right with him, however it appeared that the leader on the road who was initially a car length ahead of Simpson, didn’t slow by the same amount, and on the following lap had built and unassailable lead of 3 seconds. The fast flying Mostert took 2nd leaving Percat in 3rd.

“I am pretty happy with my efforts this weekend, as it was always going to be a tough one! And to come away with a 63 point lead, and a straight car, I can’t ask for much more than that!… I also have to thank my guys at SONIC who really pulled out all the stops to get me the results this weekend and their hard work has been paid off with our solid, if not spectacular result of 2nd for the round”

Nick would like to thank his supporters and sponsors, and for the latest news checkout http://www.nickpercat.com/

Keen “trainspotters” would have noted Nick running a slightly different helmet over the weekend, this was a tribute to good PAL Lucas Dumbrell.

Percat powers on to Round 6 held at Queensland Raceway on the 21-23 August 2009.

Evans Motorsport made a strong debut in the Ford Genuine Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship over the weekend. Evans pilot Trent Harrison, who is only competing in selected rounds of the championship, scored his best ever result with 4th overall.

Harrison, who was 2nd fastest in Fridays practice, scored a personal best result of 4th in race 1 and the young Victorian did it again in race 2 – with another brilliant drive to 4th place.

The result in race 2 was made even more remarkable as it was discovered that he had sustained a puncture to his right rear tyre, incurred after running over some debris left by an earlier accident.

With this tyre destroyed and competition rules stating that previously marked tyres are only to be used in replacement, Trent was forced to use an old set of tyres for the final race. Putting in a mature drive he brought the car home in 7th and despite using much older tyres he lapped the Sandown track within a tenth of a second of the eventual race winner.

‘’The team did a great job and for our first outing this result is commendable’’ said the ZX1-backed driver. ‘’To be honest we weren’t really expecting these sorts of results so early. However the team have a very good understanding of what the car wants, and once we tick a couple more boxes I know we will be challenging for wins’’.
Martin Short, piloting the number 7 Evans Motorsport machine had a character building weekend but showed some good improvements over the course of the meeting. Despite having not driven in 3 months Short was able to put in a calculated drive in race one to finish 8th and 13th overall for the weekend.

Team Owner, Joshua Evans was pleased with the outfits’ first national event. ‘’Overall I am happy with how things went, Trent and Martin both did extremely good jobs throughout the entire weekend. Had we had a little more straight-line speed the results could have been even better – it certainly bolds well for the future.’’
Evans Motorsport would like to thank its supporters; Mygale Australia, ZX1 Lubricants, ZOAGN, Monza Motors and MotorRacingIndustry.com

Master Electricians Racing and their driver Andre Borell have been awarded the ‘EWP Hard Charger’ prize at Round 5 of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship. The award goes to the driver who makes up the most positions over the weekend from their qualifying position.

The weekend started badly, with Borell being excluded from the Qualifying session. This was due to an infringement of ‘parc ferme’ rules. Andre explained the penalty “Parc Ferme is a lockdown compound the cars go into after each session for technical checks. The last check they do is weight, then you leave. After I weighed, I passed my helmet to my mechanic so I could drive back to the garage, which is the normal procedure we all (the other cars) do. Apparently this was a breach of the rules as they hadn’t ‘officially’ released me yet… stupid”. The penalty was not able to be appealed and Borell would start the races in 19th spot.

Race 1 started well with Andre making another lightning getaway in the wet conditions. At Turn 4, a competitor spun and blocked the part of the track Andre was on. He then had to wait for the other cars to file past before rejoining the pack. As the Safety Car came out for the damaged car, Andre kept his head and planned his next charge. When the Safety Car returned to pitlane and racing resumed, Andre was picked up for passing before the start finish line. “I guess I might have, I have no idea. Anyone who has driven an open-wheeler in the wet, at the back of a 20 car field, will know that you can’t see a thing. It’s like driving into a wall of white” explained Borell. The penalty for this infringement was a drive through penalty. This should have ruined Borell’s race, but another Safety Car came out allowing Borell to rejoin the rear of the field after serving the drive-through. Once racing resumed Andre was a man possessed, passing cars like they were standing still, showing his wet-weather prowess charging up into the top-10. The strong run ended when he was unceremoniously punted off by another driver, dropping him back to 15th. Andre shard his views in no unclear fashion – “I guess these daddy’s boys paying $250,000 a year to come racing don’t like being out-driven by someone in an older model car, spending a quarter of their budget. Anyway, what goes around comes around so I’m not too worried”.

Race two was somewhat less eventful for Borell, once again coming home 15th after battling brake issues. Race three was another great drive from Borell, driving beyond what the car should be capable of. Borell made a lightning getaway being in 9th at the exit of Turn 1. From there more contact from another competitor put Borell back to 11th. The race ended behind Safety Car, with Borell still in 11th spot, once again agonisingly close to a points finish. “To get the Hard Charger award is some kind of recognition that we are doing something right. I keep being told that finishing mid-pack is excellent considering our budget and our car, and that it’s our debut year. To be honest, it’s wearing a bit thin on me and I’m really keen for things to turn around and to fight with these boys at the front. Some drivers might have a crisis of confidence in times like this, but I know it’s not me. Next year, in the right gear, we can win this thing. Having said that, the year’s not over yet, so bring on the home races”.

Andre Borell is supported by Master Electricians, Extreme Safety, simPRO, PM Lubricants and X-treme Racing.

For more information please visit www.andreborellmotorsport.com.au

With the 2009 Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship at the half way mark, Andre Borell and Master Electricians Racing look back on the opening half of 2009.

With no points on the board thus far, it has been a Baptism of Fire for the fledgling Formula Ford outfit, running strongly on many occasions but always being on the wrong side of lady luck. “I think I have a case of Mark Webber-itis, we just can’t get the monkey off our back” quipped Borell, who went on to say “Being serious for a moment, it has been super tough so far. We’ve had a lot of points finishes in our grasp and had them ripped away by mechanical issues totally beyond our control, or by other driver’s stupidity. It’s been mentally tough to deal with, but we’re a stronger team and I’m a stronger driver because of it”.

The headlines this year have been dominated by the almost unbeatable Formula Ford veteran Nick Percat, racing in the championship for his fourth year. “You can’t compete with that sort of experience, it’s like trying to beat your grandad at lawn bowls, it’s not going to happen! That being said, he is doing a top-job, and you can’t take anything away from the guy” stated Borell about his rivals success this year.

The team has learnt valuable lessons in the first half of the season, and is looking towards the second half for a reversal of fortunes. With Queensland Raceway and SuperGP (rounds 6 and right in the team’s backyard, the signs are good: “Even though QR (Queensland Raceway) is our home track, we have only tested there once this year. We’ve got a half-day test booked for this Saturday, and I should still have an advantage from my State level racing, but it won’t be the same advantage the Victorians enjoyed at Winton. SuperGP will be great, it’s a clean slate like Albert Park. I’ll be going there to win-it or bin-it – simple” explained Borell.

When asked what the biggest lesson has been so far this year, Andre’s usual good humour once again prevailed: “Use a MASTER ELECTRICIAN! If we had one on our team in Darwin maybe we could have found that misfire that ruined our weekend straight away, not a week later on the engine dyno”.

Andre Borell is supported by Master Electricians, Extreme Safety, simPRO, PM Lubricants and X-treme Racing.

For more information please visit www.andreborellmotorsport.com.au

Andre Borell and Master Electricians Racing suffered a cruel twist of fate at Darwins Hidden Valley Circuit at the weekend, which cost the team an almost certain haul of points.

Friday practice went to plan, with the team and driver both learning the circuit and testing different suspension settings in the two sessions. Qualifying also began well on Saturday, with Borell putting in an impressive 1:13.179 on only his second flying lap, just over a second off Formula Ford veteran Nick Percat’s pole time. As the tyres began to fade in the stress of the Northern Territory heat, Andre came in to pit lane to discuss the situation with his engineer. A split second decision led Andre to go out and try for one more quicklap; a decision the team would live to regret. “On my out lap I was chasing down the car in front to get a good slipsteam off them for the start of my hot lap. At Turn 10 I lost the rear big time, unfortunately there’s no run-off there and I hit the wall. It was a driving error, I could tell you the tyres were not up to temp or the cars alignment was a bit out from hitting a curb, but at the end of the day it was still my fault” said Borell.

The situation that followed illustrated the highest of high’s and the lowest of low’s that only come from motorsport. Amazingly the car came back to the garage with no visible damage. Everyone in pit-lane was sure the 160kph impact would have destroyed the right hand side of the car, but there was nothing to be seen. “We were stoked, it was the escape of the century! What we didn’t know is that something must have been damaged in the electrical system by the 10G deceleration, which brought on a misfire in Race 1. That was the story of the rest of the weekend, we just couldn’t find it and couldn’t fix it” said Andre.

Race 1 saw Andre get the start of the year to go from 13th to 7th by Turn 1. “That was the perfect getaway, unfortunately that misfire reared it’s head later on that lap and I was already back down to 13th by the end of the first lap, eventually it meant finishing in a lowly 15th”.

Race 2 and 3 on Sunday saw the misfire worsen, despite the team putting in an all night effort to replace almost the entire electrical and fueling system on the car. “I think we got about 3 hours sleep. Going out for Race 2 in the morning and having it miss again was the most heart-breaking feeling. We need to get the car on a dyno and find what the problem was, not just fix it, but pin-point it. Then we need to get some testing under the belt and hopefully finally realise our potential at Sandown. We’re a team, we’re togther on bad weekends like this, and one day we’ll win together” explained a disheartened but not broken Borell.

Master Electricians Racing and Andre Borell would like to thank all the other teams and category officials who offered their support and assistance in trying to find the problem.

Andre Borell is supported by Master Electricians, Extreme Safety, simPRO, PM Lubricants and X-treme Racing. For more information please visit www.andreborellmotorsport.com.au

The ING Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix marked the start of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship for Master Electricians Racing and Andre Borell.

The weekend didn’t start well with an engine problem stopping any serious running in the one and only 20min practice. Andre remained on the circuit for the session, feeling that the problem could not be fixed in pit lane, and it was not harming the car.

Going into qualifying having not completed a single fast lap of Albert Park, Andre was unsure of what to expect. The qualifying session turned out to be mayhem, with cars crashing and bringing out red flags on two occasions. Because of this, Andre only got one flying lap in for the entire session, going quick enough to put him 12th on the grid. “We were aiming for a Top-10, so we missed that, but we have to be happy considering the engine drama” explained Andre.

Hopes were high for Race 1 on Saturday, with Andre confident he had more left in him and the car. “I got a great start, passing a few people on the run to Turn 1 and then again to Turn 3. I think we were around P8 or P9, Unfortunately it all fell apart from there”. Andre recovered from being forced off the circuit, and then a high speed spin to finish 17th in the race. “We only had 2 racing laps, the rest was behind safety cars, so it was impossible to fight back from our bad first lap. The pace is there, so we’ll press on tomorrow.

Race two again started well, with Andre again launching off the start line, and picking cars off one by one over the first two laps. Andre then got stuck behind a slower driver, who defended his position very aggressively. Andre finally made a move at Turn 15, which saw the two drivers come together. “I was well along side, he saw I was there, there was just no need for it. A little bit of racing room from him and we both would have been OK”. A very dissapointed Borell was forced to retire the car with bent steering.

Attention now turns to Round 2 of the championship in Winton on May 1-3. The signs are very promising with a lot of speed being shown from both the driver and car. “Albert Park was good because it was a level playing field, no one had raced there before. Winton will be different as all the Victorian teams test there. It will be tougher but I’m confident of a scoring points and running in the Top-10. From Tasmania onwards we’ll start aiming for podiums and wins.