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Saison 2004
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HOME I F3 AUSTRALIA I 2005 I

Australian Formula 3
Press Release, Team BRM
22 May 2005

Trimble takes series lead after dramatic day at the Island.

PHILLIP ISLAND - Sunday, May 22st, 2005 – After two rounds of being tied as the championship leader with two different other competitors, Team BRM driver Michael Trimble has finally etched his name at the top of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship ladder after a highly dramatic day’s competition at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria.

Trimble’s weekend started well enough, taking a hard fought second place in the opening 14-lap event of the day, spending a majority of the event tucked up behind rival Aaron Caratti. The result saw the championship lead change yet again, Caratti taking the sole lead of the championship by a solitary point.

In front of his home fans, Trimble improved further in the second race - taking advantage of an early race mishap by another competitor to lead the race by the third lap. After that, The 20 year old Melbournian withstood a relentless attack by Aaron Caratti for a number of laps, before a bold move by Caratti on the outside of turn 1 saw the Team BRM driver relegated to second place.

However, just after loosing the lead of the race, the red flag was displayed and the race stopped due to a stranded car that was deemed to be in a precarious position on the racetrack. The resulting count back of laps saw Trimble declared the winner – his second for the season, and a result that gives him a the sole lead at the top of the points table.

“Its great to get another win, and finally get a clear lead in the championship – even if it is only by a small margin,” Enthused Trimble. “We struggled a little bit getting speed out of the slower corners, and that is where Caratti was very strong, but in the end we got the win and will go into the next round of the series in front of the championship, and that’s what counts.”

Trimble also said that he enjoyed having the series’ defending champion as a teammate, even if it only was just for the weekend.

“It was great to work alongside Karl this weekend,” he said. “I appreciate his input and support this weekend to my championship challenge.”

Reindler, in a one off drive for the team, had an up and down weekend – still showing the kind of speed and aggression that took him to the championship but not getting the results the 20 year old driver expected heading into the meeting.

A mistake in the first race saw Reindler drop from a solid third position down to an eventual sixth place finish, The third race was a better showing for Reindler though, finishing a fine third not too far behind he leaders.

“It wasn’t a bad day,” mused Reindler after the final race this afternoon. “We just didn’t have the kind of straight line speed this weekend that some of the others had, but it was good to get a pole position and have a meeting with the number one on the nose of the car.”

Team BRM’s third entry - the Trophy Class Dallara F398 of 16 year old Kiwi Marc Williams - had a horrid weekend, enduring a number of electrical problems that restricted the amount of laps the rookie driver could compete at the challenging and fast 4.4km circuit.

The team was forced to change engines between races to try and track the problem – however the car was still running rough and was unable to start the race. The disappointing result was the first time that a team BRM Car was unable to take the start of an Australian Formula 3 race due to a mechanical problem in the team’s history.

Desipte the setback, Williams still holds a strong championship position in the Kumho Tyres Australian Trohpy competition.

Michael Trimble now leads the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship by just three points, but after two rounds of being tied at the top there is no doubt that Trimble will relish being a clear championship leader when the series next takes to the track.

The fourth round of the championship will be held at Ipswich’s Queensland Raceway in early July.


 

 

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