15th May 2004:

2004 Australian F3 Championship Round 2 Oran Park Round Report

Gilmour Racing began the second round of the 2004 season on shaky ground, before rebounding for a race victory as well as a round victory, both a first for the team and driver, Chris Gilmour Friday practice saw Gilmour attack the circuit for only the second time in his career. Without testing prior to the round, the team was lacking setup for their new Dallara F301, and Gilmour was only able to capture seventh on the timesheets. However the first session was not without drama. On his third lap Gilmour launched off a curb and
ran into a sand trap, leaving the scene with a bent front left steering arm. The team recovered for the
second practice session and Gilmour was able to slot into second place behind Astuti Competition driver Ian Dyk.

The team's lack of setup struck during the first qualifying session. The second gear was set too low, and Chris had trouble piloting the Dallara around the tight Oran Park circuit. He still managed to post a time of 1:04.7841, good enough to place him third on the grid for the first race, behind Ian Dyk on pole and Peter Hackett in second. For the second qualifying session Gilmour Racing managed to correct the gear setting, and that helped them to secure a front row place for the second race, lapping the circuit at 1:05.5724. Once again Dyk captured pole, though Gilmour could not have asked for more as he lined up on the front row for the third time in four attempts. Sunday morning, and race one began with Gilmour getting a solid start and maintaining third position. The race quickly heated up as John Pettit rounded Gilmour, dropping him into forth, while Aaron Caratti harried him for position. Gilmour then retook Pettit under brakes into the third corner. Heath Eustace beached his car, and the race was finished under the safety car. The third place gave Chris Gilmour 12 points towards the championship.

Gilmour's plan for the second race was to get into first position off the start, which he was able to do with a terrific start. Carnage arose behind him at the third corner. Of his main rivals, Dyk was put out of contention with a puncture after the first lap shunt, and Hackett lost half his front wing. Gilmour was not involved with the shunt, and was able to preserve his lead, concentrating to keep a 2 second gap between himself, Hackett and Reindler. With an undamaged car Chris Gilmour was able to cruise to the chequered flag and his first race and round wins, whilst collecting 20 more points.

With points tallied, Gilmour was able to proudly walk away with his first round victory under his belt. The round victory enabled Gilmour to claw his way to a joint lead in the Australian Formula 3 Championship standings with 60 points apiece between himself and Ian Dyk, with Karl Reindler> closely trailing in third with 53 points. Gilmour Racing will be unable to test ahead of the third round of the championship at Sandown due to budget and time constraints. Despite this, Chris and team manager Errol Gilmour are confident of a good showing at Sandown off the back of their sensational round victory at Oran Park. As with Adelaide, where he came second and third respectively, Sandown is a new track for Gilmour. He will not be going in blind though, with a number of laps having been completed on the computer.

Chris and Errol Gilmour would like to thank all of their sponsors - PM Oils, Identity Plus, Revolution Racegear, Gawler Farm Machinery and Gilmour Developments - for making the round victory at Oran Park possible, and for their continuing support throughout the 2004 season.

Please contact Errol Gilmour at 0418 788448 for additional nformation.

Darius Koreis