Asian Motor Sports

Team BRM import Ben Clucas has already raised the bar on Australian Formula 3 competition after just 60 laps in a car on Australian soil.

The 21-year-old driver, who lived near Silverstone in the UK before landing on Aussie soil last week, set a blistering pace during the official Formula 3 test day at Goulburn’s Wakefield Park Raceway yesterday despite it being his first time behind the wheel of the Gawler Farm Machinery / John Deere Team BRM Dallara that he will drive this season.

Clucas lapped in the 54-second bracket at the 2.2km Wakefield Park circuit and sent a warning shot to his rivals that he will be a force to be reckoned with this year.

Adelaide-based Team BRM had a productive day overall with returning driver Jason Vince also completing a solid day’s work acclimatizing to the F304 Dallara he will drive at Wakefield and the Grand Prix. The Queenslander completed a number of runs in the car and dramatically improved his times as the day progressed.

Both drivers’ performances yesterday further re-enforced the team’s intentions to regain the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship this season. Clucas, 21, said that he was happy with the day’s test session.

“It went quite well. Apart from Leanne Tander there wasn’t any of the front runners there so it quite difficult to know where we are going to be,