5th July 2004:

2004 Australian F3 Championship Round4 Winton Raceway Report

Round 4 of the Australian F3 Championship at Winton Raceway was a roller coaster ride for Gilmour Racing. However, in the end the results for the weekend were satisfying, as Chris Gilmour secured yet another race victory and kept his championship lead - only losing a handful of points to Ian Dyk. Going into the round Gilmour led by 23 points after a tremendous previous round at Sandown.

Practice:
While it was not Chris Gilmour’s first time at the track, it was his first time driving a Formula 3 car in the wet. Chris quickly adapted to the conditions, turning 15 laps and ending the session with the second fastest time of 1:34.4611 minutes.

By the time the second session started the conditions were dry, and the team changed the setup accordingly. Unfortunately the car
heavy understeer, and in turn Chris fought to get good drive out of the corners. Chris was only able to end the session with the fifth fastest time with the time of 1:20.5135 minutes. Dyk led both the practice sessions.

Qualifying:
Minor adjustments were made to the car for Saturday’s first qualifying session
was a little better. “I would have liked a front row,” said Chris, but Dyk beat him to it by only 0.015 seconds, and Gilmour would start race one
from third position. Chris lapped the three-kilometre circuit in 1:18.9673 minutes. Team BRM driver Karl Reindler took pole position for race
one.

Five minutes before the second qualifying session began, rain fell onto Winton Raceway again, and the team hurried to change the setup to compensate. The majority of the setup was changed, but the frontspring settings could not be altered in time and the settings had to be left alone. Chris ended the session in sixth, timed at 1:33.1411 minutes. The result was the worst
qualifying session the team has had to date.

Race One:
Gilmour would have preferred a front row start, but his third place start was in effect automatically changed into second, as Ian off the start. Nevertheless Chris got a flying start and was right behind Reindler into the first corner. However Reindler was quicker and pulled away while
Chris was able to comfortably hold second place. Rod Anderson then spun at the third corner, and the safety car came out and bunched together
the field. Chris thought that he might have a chance to pass Reindler on the restart, but when the safety car pulled off Reindler once again
pulled away. In a stunning revelation Reindler was then black flagged withthree laps to go with a noise level violation, and Gilmour inherited thelead
from the Western Australian. Dyk closed in on Gilmour in the final laps, but was not able to quite get close enough to mount a real challenge.
Chris Gilmour took the chequered flag for his forth race victory in a row, ahead of Astuti Competition driver Ian Dyk in second, and Daniel Pappas in
third place for Aircon Racing. Gilmour admitted that the victory was lucky, however he was still cheerful with the result which extending his
lead over Ian Dyk by five points.

Race Two:
Starting in sixth position Chris knew that it was not going to be an easy race, especially with his main rival sitting on the pole position. When the
race got underway Chris got a solid start and tucked in behind Nic Jordan. At the third corner Gilmour passed the young New Zealander and ended the first lap in forth position. On lap three Chris passed John Petitt on the inside, and moved into third place. Behind Gilmour, Pappas passed
Petitt, and he soon tucked in behind Chris. Then down the front straight Chris hit the rev-limiter, which allowed Pappas to pass him into the next
corner. Chris was able to match Pappas’ speed over a whole lap, though he had to fight to keep up with him through the tight corners around the back
of the track. While the two leaders were fighting their own scuffle up the front, the Pappas and Gilmour battle also heated up on the final lap.
Gilmour was crawling all over the back of Pappas who had to block to keep Chris behind.
Chris was able to take advantage of Pappas’manoeuvrers and got a good run
into the ninth corner. The two grazed each other and Gilmour was able to edge past. Gilmour held his position for the remaining corners while Pappas
spun in desperation behind him. Chris came third over the finishing line, behind Ian Dyk in first and Karl Reindler in second. Gilmour has been on
the podium for each of the eight races that have thus far been completed in the series.

Chris Gilmour added 32 points to his tally at Winton, moving him to 134 points. Ian Dyk’s performance in the second race meant that he was
able to reel in Gilmour by four points over the length of the round, and lays on 115 points, 19 points behind. Karl Reindler still holds third
position in the standings with 103 points. As Chris Gilmour’s championship lead was only marginally reduced, the team is extremely pleased to have
minimised their loss at round four of the championship and add another race win
to their tally. The fifth round of the Australian F3 Championship will be held at Eastern Creek Raceway July 16-18.

Gilmour Racing’s championship assault issupported by PM Oils, Identity Plus, Revolution Racegear, Gawler Farm Machinery and Gilmour Developments.

For additional information please contact Errol Gilmour at 0418 788 448.