AUSTRALIAN FORMULA FORD, 2005

PRESS RELEASE: JULY 24, 2005

O’BRIEN’S TRIPLE TREAT

The grin on Queenslander Shannon O’Brien’s face said it all as he claimed all three races at Round 5 of the 2005 Ford Racing Australian Formula Ford Championship at Queensland Raceway. Driving his New Zealand championship-winning O’Brien Motorsport Van Diemen RF03, O’Brien convincingly showed the field the way around his home circuit to claim the round.
Daniel Elliott, at the wheel of his Fastlane Racing Van Diemen RF05, got back on track after round four of the championship at Eastern Creek Raceway two weeks ago where the West Australian suffered two DNFs. Carrying new VIP Petfoods sponsorship at QR, Elliott took pole position and finished second to O’Brien in all three races to increase his title lead to 38 points over New South Welsman David Sieders.
Elliott’s Fastlane Racing teammate and fellow West Australian Nathan Caratti secured third spot overall with consistent drives in his Van Diemen RF05, scoring a fourth and two thirds. Caratti currently sits in equal sixth place overall (with Brett Hobson) in the championship chase.
RACE 1, Saturday, 4.15 pm, 12 Laps: O’BRIEN SHOWS THE WAY
Daniel Elliott led the way into turn one from pole, ahead of Dean Fiore (Sonic Motor Racing Services/Landscape Developments Van Diemen RF04) and Shannon O’Brien. By turn three Elliott had started to put distance between his Van Diemen and the rest of the field and held a 1.3sec lead over O’Brien, who had slotted into second place ahead of Fiore, as they crossed the line to start lap two.
Elliott held the lead for three laps but O’Brien was closing steadily and took over to lead the way on lap four. Behind the leading duo, 2.5secs in arrears, the battle was on for third place with Dean Fiore persued by Shane Price (Caltex Havoline Spectrum 010b), Queenslander Ashley Walsh (CAMS Rising Star Van Diemen RF01), Nathan Caratti and Mark McNally (Nomad Racing/Fastlane Racing Van Diemen RF05).
On lap five Price’s race ended at turn three when he was forced off the track into the kitty litter but the battle continued into turn four where McNally tangled with Walsh. The impact resulted in McNally’s Van Diemen leaving the track and rolling. McNally quickly emerged from the car and indicated ‘thumbs up’, suffering no injuries from the incident.
Fiore held his third place to the line nine seconds in arrears of Elliott and just .2 of a second ahead of Caratti.
As a result of a number of incidents, Ashley Walsh was excluded from the meeting and fined $2500, suspended until December 31, 2005.
RACE 2, Sunday, 8.30am, 12 Laps: O’BRIEN ADDS RACE 2 TO HIS TALLY
O’Brien led Elliott off the line into turn one and the pair kept close company through the first lap until O’Brien started to pull away on lap two. He maintained his lead for the remainder of the race, once again taking the chequered flag ahead of Elliott.
Drama unfolded on lap two as Fiore, Caratti, Brett Hobson (CAMS Rising Star Spectrum 010b), and Jason Liefting (Project Motorsports Spectrum 010b) were accelerating out of turn one. Dean Fiore’s car jumped out of gear, slowing suddenly. The following cars tangled and as a result Hobson’s Spectrum rolled, landing on its rollbar. The car then continued down the track, spinning like a top on the rollbar. When the car eventually stopped spinning, Hobson quickly emerged from the car, suffering no ill-effects from the unfortunate incident. Liefting’s race also ended as a result of vehicle damage.
Four laps were run under safety car conditions while the debris was cleared and when the race resumed Caratti maintained his third place to the end, ahead of David Sieders (Sonic Motor Racing Services/All-Trans Deals on Wheels Van Diemen RF04).
RACE 3, Sunday, 4.10pm, 12 Laps: THREE RACES & THREE WINS TO O’BRIEN
It was a repeat of race one as Daniel Elliott led Shannon O’Brien into turn one. But O’Brien took the lead into turn two and was never headed as he went on to claim the race three win ahead of Elliott.
With O’Brien and Elliott leading the way the battle was once again on for third spot. For the first four laps David Sieders held third before Dean Fiore took over on lap five. But two laps later Nathan Caratti took the slot and held on to take the points for the race and third place overall for the round.
Dean Fiore and Shane Price finished fourth and fifth respectively, adding valuable points to their championship tally.
On lap eight Anthony Preston and Tristan Hughes (Escalate Management Van Diemen RF95) finished in the kitty litter at turn three. The remainder of the race was run under the control of the safety car while the cars were removed.