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Casuro
and Caratti share the spoils after dramatic day at Mallala.
Aaron
Caratti and Michael Caruso have shared the spoils in the second
round of the 2005 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship,
held at Mallala Raceway in South Australia this weekend.
Both
drivers scored a win apiece after a combative day's racing at the
2.6km circuit, which also saw a new lap record established by Astuti
Competion driver Chris Alajajian who had an incident filled - but
competitive - weekend.
2003
series champion Michael Caruso scored a win in the opening 20-lap
race, making a brilliant start from the second row to run second
into the opening turn. The Piccola Scuderia driver caught and passed
pole sitter Tim Macrow at the end of the opening lap after surviving
a brief coming together in the turn 7 hairpin. It was all plain
sailing after that for Caruso, who scored a strong eight second
victory.
"The
opening race today was fantastic," enthused Caruso. "The
car was fantastic and it's a testament to the Piccola Scuderia team
for the way they have prepared the car. We struggled with some engine
dramas in race two, but brought it home safely to finish second."
After
qualifying a strong second for the race, West Australian driver
Aaron Caratti only managed a few meters in the opening event, snapping
a drive shaft when attempting to launch the car at the start.
Chris
Alajajian had a combative race, working his way from fourth into
second by the 15-lap mark. A spin at turn 3, however, dropped him
right back to the chasing back which included Michael Trimble and
a struggling Macrow.
Alajajian
was determined to have re joined the track in an unsafe manner following
the incident, and was given a 10 second penalty after the race that
dropped him behind Trimble and Macrow in the final race order.
Chris
Gilmour was fifth, ahead of Ricky Occhipinti and a struggling Tim
Slade who was searching for pace in his brand new Dallara F304.
Tim
Macrow looked to have the second race shot to pieces when race two
started, extending a huge margin after just two laps. A black flag,
however, (shown to the Victorian driver after he resumed his original
grid spot after stalling on the formation lap) forced him to battle
in the mid field for the remainder of the race.
Macrow's
penalty handed the lead to Astuti driver Aaron Caratti - a lead
he wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the 20 laps despite
a heated challenge by team mate Alajajian. The pair ran nose to
tail for a majority of the race, Alajajian even setting a new lap
record in his pursuit of Caratti. A spin at the northern hairpin,
however, forced the aggressive youngster to concede second to Michael
Caruso.
Michael
Trimble capped off a strong weekend for his team BRM Dallara in
fourth place, ahead of Chris Gilmour and a consistent Ricky Occhipinti.
Macrow, who eventually recovered for seventh after a race long battle
in the mid field, lead home Tim Slade after 20 tough laps.
Marc
Williams took his first ever wins in the Kumho Tyres Australian
F3 Trophy Class this weekend, showing some much-improved form after
a trying start to the year. Graeme Holmes had a consistent weekend
and scored good points for second, whilst Rod Anderson recovered
from a mechanical DNF in race one to round out the Trophy Competition
in 3rd place in race 2.
Chris
Alajajian and Michael Trimble now share the lead in the 2005 Kumho
Tyres Australian Formula 3 championship point score after two of
eight rounds, both drivers on 57 points.
The
next round of the championship will be held at Victoria's Phillip
Island Raceway on may 21 - 22.
Race
1 - Top 5
1. Michael Caruso (Piccola Scuderia)
2. Michael Trimble (Team BRM)
3. Tim Macrow (Tim Macrow Racing)
4. Chris Alajajian (Astuti Competition)
5. Chris Gilmour (Gilmour Racing)
Race
2 - Top 5
1. Aaron Caratti (Astuti Competition)
2. Michael Caruso (Piccola Scuderia)
3. Chris Alajajian (Astuti Competion)
4. Michael Trimble (Team BRM)
5. Chris Gilmour (Gilmour Racing)
Championship
Points - Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship
(After 2 of 8 rounds)
1.
Chris Alajajian - 57
2. Michael Trimble - 57
3. Aaron Caratti - 53
4. Michael Caruso - 43
5. Chris Gilmour 32
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