Warragul driver takes F3 podium

Local driver Shane Ryding is hoping to make his mark on the national Formula 3 circuit following his first podium for Harvest Motorsport at Winton Motor Raceway, near Benalla.

Despite some issues early, Ryding enjoyed a consistent meeting at Winton to finish the feature race in third place. “It didn’t start out well,” Ryding said. “In practice session two on Friday I crashed into the fence, so it wasn’t exactly where I planned to end up.

“The guys worked hard for a couple of hours to replace the front end.”

Ryding held third in race one before starting on the front row for race two, where he also finished third.

“In race three I started fifth as they take the second fastest time from the qualifying session [to determine the starting order],” he said.

“I made it a bit harder for myself because I stalled on the line.

“I caught up and made an aggressive pass at turn four to finish third again.”

Moving to third overall in the Australian Formula 3 Championship, Ryding said he hoped to build on the positive start.

The Formula 3 Championship will head to Eastern Creek on July 3 before heading to Queensland in August.

The series will return to Phillip Island in September.

“The car was very good, once we got on top of the handling,” Ryding said.

“We’re heading in the right direction for the rest of the championship. We’ve got something to compete with the front cars. Hopefully we can come out hard on the Friday instead of playing catch-up.”

The Australian Formula 3 Championship is Australia’s fastest ‘wings and slicks’ motor racing championship, with lap times faster than the V8 Supercars.

The result is a fiercely competitive championship that boasts current technology and the quickest racing cars in the country, and Ryding said the sport couldn’t be any healthier.

The team picked up sponsorship from Penrite Oils prior to Winton.

“It’s a coup for us and for Formula 3 to have Penrite on board,” he said

The Harvest Motorsport Mygale-Mercedes Benz car will be at a Red Nose day fundraiser to be held on Saturday, June 27 at D Design Hairdressing and Beauty in Drouin.

“We will be having a barbecue, allowing people to see this amazing car up close, and raising some money for a great cause,” Ryding said.

“Ten per cent of everything sponsored (to the team) will go to Red Nose day.”

The car will also be at Cetnaj Electrical in Warragul on Thursday, June 25 from 11am.