![Speedcafe-eSeries-Championship-Round-3-Ross-Rizzo](https://speedcafe.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Speedcafe-eSeries-Championship-Round-3-Ross-Rizzo.jpg)
Ross Rizzo has claimed a breakthrough victory in Round 3 of the Speedcafe eSeries Championship at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
Rizzo converted his pole position to victory in the 32-lap race, taking the chequered flag ahead of Lachlan Caple (Mercedes), with Dylan O’Shea (Ferrari) claiming the final step on the podium, as back-to-back race winner Damon Woods finished a lowly 15th after a pit-lane speeding infringement.
In Qualifying, Rob Carmichael set the early benchmark with a 1:26.728s, holding sway until the 24-minute mark, with Caple blasting to the top of the timesheets with a 1:26.640s, before Rizzo surpassed him with a 1:26.445s.
Woods staked his claim for P1 with a 1:26.075s, before Rizzo blasted a 1:25.966s to seal pole position by 0.109s.
Rizzo was joined by Woods on the front of the grid, ahead of Caple, with Mathew Dench fourth.
Wayne Hewitt, O’Shea, Chris Ireland, Jason Bence, Luke Mitchinson and Carmichael rounded out the top 10.
At the drop of the green flag, Rizzo blasted into the lead ahead of Woods and Dench, as Hewitt dropped down the order after going off the track in the opening sequence of corners.
He was not the only frontrunner to have drama early in the piece, with contact between Mitchinson and Ireland on Lap 2 sending the latter off track and out of the top 10.
As the field settled, Rizzo led the opening laps before Woods attempted a move on him for first with a pass on Lap 8, before running wide allowing the former to re-take the lead.
A chaotic Lap 9 saw Sebastian Varndell go off the track while battling with Carmichael, before Brodie Shepherd fired off the track.
Later that lap, Rizzo ran wide after Siberia, allowing Woods to make a high-speed move for the lead of the race at the Hayshed.
After 10 laps, it was Woods from Rizzo, Dench, Caple, O’Shea, Jason Bence, Sebastian Flock, Mitchell McLeod, Carmichael and Willison.
Bence spun out of sixth place on his own accord at MG on Lap 12, with Mitchinson also involved in an incident on that same lap, before Ireland and Tyson Hanmer spun in unison after contact was made coming out of Southern Loop on Lap 13.
A crucial moment saw Rizzo pull into pitlane from second to complete his compulsory stop at the end of Lap 14, before Dench was involved in an collision with Aaron Obersteller on Lap 15, resulting in him dropping to sixth in the order before he filed into pit lane.
There was chaos on Lap 17, with a three-way collision between Jamie McKnight and at MG, with Riley Bilson managing to sneak his way through.
Lap 18 proved to be decisive in the context of the race, as Caple pitted from second, allowing O’Shea and Carmichael to move up into the podium positions, as McLeod ran off into the grass on the entry into pit lane, causing him to collide with the tyre barrier.
Several moments later, the race-leading Woods entered the pit lane to complete his compulsory stop, before he was found speeding in pit lane, resulting in him having to serve a 40s penalty in his pit box, as Carmichael led the race from Adam Willison and Kenny Conomos, with Robbie Bradbury fourth and Rizzo in fifth.
Conomos took the race lead on Lap 20, as Carmichael and Willison completed their stops, with Rizzo moving up to second and Caple third.
Rizzo assumed the lead on Lap 21, remaining unheaded from there on to take the chequered flag from Caple, with O’Shea rounding out the podium.
Dench was fourth from Sebastian Flock, with Willison, Carmichael, Kenny Conomos, Zach Rattray-White and Simon Mezzomo rounding out the top 10.
Following the race, Dench now leads the championship on 131 points, with Woods second on 120 points, while Caple is third on 100 points.
Pre-qualifying for Round 4 of the Speedcafe eSeries Championship at Sandown International Motor Raceway will take place from Friday, May 5 – Wednesday, May 10, with the race itself to take place on Friday, May 12.
Register here for the Speedcafe eSeries Championship to get involved in the high-speed GT3 category.
2023 Speedcafe eSeries Championship Round 3 Results
1 | 1 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 784 | ![]() | 1 | Running | Laps | 20 | 1:28.840 | 1:26.636 | 3 | 31 | 0 | Australia/NZ | |
2 | 2 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 18 | ![]() | 3 | Running | Laps | -04.347 | 0 | 1:28.980 | 1:26.596 | 3 | 31 | 0 | Australia/NZ |
3 | 3 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 19 | ![]() | 6 | Running | Laps | -06.766 | 0 | 1:29.058 | 1:26.953 | 3 | 31 | 2 | Australia/NZ |
4 | 4 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 83 | ![]() | 4 | Running | Laps | -09.461 | 0 | 1:29.145 | 1:26.731 | 2 | 31 | 2 | Australia/NZ |
5 | 5 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 84 | ![]() | 11 | Running | Laps | -18.284 | 0 | 1:29.430 | 1:26.956 | 3 | 31 | 0 | Australia/NZ |
6 | 6 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 98 | ![]() | 16 | Running | Laps | -23.574 | 0 | 1:29.600 | 1:27.543 | 5 | 31 | 0 | Australia/NZ |
7 | 7 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 124 | ![]() | 10 | Running | Laps | -25.930 | 1 | 1:29.676 | 1:27.339 | 3 | 31 | 1 | Australia/NZ |
8 | 8 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 022 | ![]() | 13 | Running | Laps | -26.689 | 1 | 1:29.701 | 1:27.192 | 3 | 31 | 0 | Australia/NZ |
9 | 9 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 20 | ![]() | 12 | Running | Laps | -26.914 | 0 | 1:29.708 | 1:27.552 | 5 | 31 | 0 | Australia/NZ |
10 | 10 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 954 | ![]() | 21 | Running | Laps | -27.278 | 0 | 1:29.719 | 1:27.543 | 6 | 31 | 4 | Australia/NZ |
11 | 11 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 85 | ![]() | 18 | Running | Laps | -29.369 | 0 | 1:29.787 | 1:27.732 | 3 | 31 | 2 | Australia/NZ |
12 | 12 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 40 | ![]() | 15 | Running | Laps | -30.646 | 0 | 1:29.828 | 1:27.356 | 19 | 31 | 2 | Australia/NZ |
13 | 13 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 995 | ![]() | 19 | Running | Laps | -36.327 | 0 | 1:30.011 | 1:27.543 | 17 | 31 | 14 | Australia/NZ |
14 | 14 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 117 | ![]() | 24 | Running | Laps | -36.484 | 0 | 1:30.016 | 1:27.380 | 3 | 31 | 6 | Australia/NZ |
15 | 15 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 56 | ![]() | 2 | Running | Laps | -40.740 | 9 | 1:27.810 | 1:26.634 | 3 | 31 | 1 | Australia/NZ |
16 | 16 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 32 | ![]() | 27 | Running | Laps | -43.070 | 0 | 1:30.229 | 1:27.588 | 3 | 31 | 0 | Australia/NZ |
17 | 17 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 100 | ![]() | 8 | Running | Laps | -43.554 | 0 | 1:30.245 | 1:26.885 | 3 | 31 | 4 | Australia/NZ |
18 | 18 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 17 | ![]() | 26 | Running | Laps | -47.425 | 0 | 1:30.369 | 1:28.039 | 4 | 31 | 1 | Australia/NZ |
19 | 19 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 035 | ![]() | 29 | Running | Laps | -47.576 | 0 | 1:30.374 | 1:28.052 | 7 | 31 | 0 | Australia/NZ |
20 | 20 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 092 | ![]() | 22 | Running | Laps | -47.934 | 0 | 1:30.543 | 1:27.658 | 6 | 31 | 2 | Australia/NZ |
21 | 21 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 04 | ![]() | 9 | Running | Laps | -49.930 | 0 | 1:30.542 | 1:27.082 | 3 | 31 | 3 | Australia/NZ |
22 | 22 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 027 | ![]() | 23 | Running | Laps | -50.944 | 0 | 1:30.483 | 1:27.618 | 3 | 31 | 9 | Australia/NZ |
23 | 23 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 8 | ![]() | 34 | Running | Laps | -51.122 | 0 | 1:30.488 | 1:28.156 | 3 | 31 | 1 | Australia/NZ |
24 | 24 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 72 | ![]() | 5 | Running | Laps | -54.062 | 0 | 1:30.584 | 1:27.664 | 3 | 31 | 5 | Australia/NZ |
25 | 25 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 61 | ![]() | 30 | Running | Laps | -59.930 | 0 | 1:30.772 | 1:27.813 | 20 | 31 | 2 | Australia/NZ |
26 | 26 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 22 | ![]() | 39 | Running | Laps | -1:00.428 | 0 | 1:30.788 | 1:27.939 | 4 | 31 | 2 | Australia/NZ |
27 | 27 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 46 | ![]() | 32 | Running | Laps | -1:09.033 | 0 | 1:31.066 | 1:27.790 | 7 | 31 | 2 | Australia/NZ |
28 | 28 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 623 | ![]() | 7 | Running | Laps | -1:19.631 | 0 | 1:31.504 | 1:27.867 | 9 | 31 | 13 | Australia/NZ |
29 | 29 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 36 | ![]() | 17 | Running | Laps | -1:21.906 | 0 | 1:31.482 | 1:27.301 | 21 | 31 | 5 | Australia/NZ |
30 | 30 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 5 | ![]() | 31 | Running | Laps | -1:22.349 | 0 | 1:31.496 | 1:27.485 | 19 | 31 | 5 | Australia/NZ |
31 | 31 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 28 | ![]() | 25 | Running | Laps | -1:23.427 | 0 | 1:31.486 | 1:27.494 | 27 | 31 | 10 | Australia/NZ |
32 | 32 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 41 | ![]() | 38 | Running | Laps | -1 L | 0 | 1:31.583 | 1:27.804 | 4 | 30 | 7 | Australia/NZ |
33 | 33 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 21 | ![]() | 40 | Running | Laps | -1 L | 0 | 1:32.101 | 1:28.348 | 18 | 30 | 4 | Australia/NZ |
34 | 34 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 39 | ![]() | 37 | Running | Laps | -1 L | 0 | 1:32.164 | 1:27.857 | 4 | 30 | 6 | Australia/NZ |
35 | 35 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 86 | ![]() | 35 | Running | Laps | -1 L | 0 | 1:32.494 | 1:28.085 | 4 | 30 | 8 | Australia/NZ |
36 | 36 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 31 | ![]() | 36 | Running | Laps | -1 L | 0 | 1:33.021 | 1:28.250 | 7 | 30 | 7 | Australia/NZ |
37 | 37 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 127 | ![]() | 28 | Running | Laps | -1 L | 0 | 1:31.069 | 1:27.988 | 16 | 30 | 6 | Australia/NZ |
38 | 38 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 23 | ![]() | 33 | Running | Laps | -1 L | 0 | 1:34.295 | 1:27.610 | 4 | 30 | 12 | Australia/NZ |
39 | 39 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 900 | ![]() | 20 | Disconnected | Laps | -10 L | 0 | 1:34.601 | 1:27.307 | 20 | 21 | 8 | Australia/NZ |
40 | 40 | ![]() | Hosted All Cars | 4 | ![]() | 14 | Running | Laps | -13 L | 0 | 1:34.423 | 1:27.199 | 3 | 18 | 11 | Australia/NZ |