Paziņojumi presei - Thrilling last round conclusion to national F3 Series

Thrilling last round conclusion to national F3 Series

The Australian national F3 series was finally clinched by young Kiwi driver Malcolm Reid after a tight and hard fought battle at the top of the table.

The first three rounds of the series saw a group of seven drivers come to the fore as likely title contenders with a even spread of podiums and forth place finishes between them. Round four began with Italian Dante Aleghieri looking comfortable with 133 points on the board, and Reid trailing on 65 points. Round four though was the beginning of an impressive string of eleven podium finishes, including six wins which saw Reid and Alighieri almost neck and neck at the end of round 8, on 262 and 273 points respectively.

"It was at that time I knew I was in this with a real chance" stated Reid during the post-race press conference. "All credit to my pit crew and mechanics as well, they worked efficiently throughout and made sure that car would go the distance."

A first race win to Reid at Bathurst closed the gap to just 4 points, but a disappointing DNF in the second race to Alighieri's win shook things up. "Second place was already secured, but I could taste the champagne and pushed a little too hard. To be fair, if you're racing Dante, you have to push because if he's not right on the pace, he's the one setting it."

Overcoming a 19 point lead io the final two races was going to be tough ask for the young Kiwi. "I needed to put together a pole position and two perfect drives to even be in with a chance. While I'm thrilled to take my first ever championship win, I feel for Dante, he came so close. I guess one of us was eventually going to crack under pressure, but to be honest I thought it would be me".

The battle for third place in the championship also hard fought with Moffat and Guerrieri starting race two at Bathurst on 153 and 151 points. Geurrieri would eventually secure third by an 11 point margin.

Keep an eye on these rising stars going into the next season. While drives have yet to be confirmed, should any of these drivers be on the same track at the same time, the racing is guaranteed to be close and exciting!