Category stalwart Chris Gilmour has taken his first Formula 3 Australian Drivers’ Championship crown by finishing fifth in the final race of the weekend at Symmons Plains.
The Queenslander had entered Race 3 with an almost unassailable lead over rival James Winslow, who took the chequered flag first in both of the Sunday races.
The Briton’s season ended in a double-blow however, with the disappointment of losing the championship battle compounded by a post-race 10s jump start penalty – which dropped him to second in the Race 3 classification behind Tim Macrow.
The man of the moment was Gilmour however, who finished fifth in both of Sunday’s races to take the title from Winslow by eight points.
“For years my ambition has been to win a National title in motor racing,” said Gilmour.
“And now I’ve done it. It’s an amazing feeling. I never thought I’d get to this point after what we have been through over the past six or seven seasons.
“After Morgan Park wWhere he won all three races) I felt I had a realistic chance to do it – and it was something I wanted so badly.
“This weekend was a case of doing exactly what we needed to do. I needed to win on Saturday because I was worried about the weather today. From there it was just doing what I had to.”
John Magro had a frustrating weekend but did enough to secure third in the championship. Possibly the quickest car all weekend, mistakes in races two and three this weekend saw him pass almost the entire field twice as he charged from last to third in both.
Steel Guiliana was an outstanding fourth outright and the Forpark Australia F3 National Class Champion, taking the class by nine points over Ben Gersekowski.
