Taylor claims maiden win in Sydney
Tim Macrow Racing rookie Ben Taylor has taken the first feature race win at his maiden start in the Australian Formula 3 Championship this past weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park (March 5-7, 2021) and leads the overall points from the get-go.
In what was the 17-year-old’s maiden start in cars after graduating from karting, Taylor also claimed the All Properties Group Pole Position Award by lapping the Eastern Creek-based circuit in a time of 1m25.5816s, edging out the #99 Motorsport driver of Ryan Astley by just four-tenths of a second.
In practice, Taylor took the top spot on the time sheets in two out of three practice sessions, setting himself up for a strong qualifying session where to claimed his maiden pole position award. Starting from P1 in Race 1, Taylor came off the line in second place but climbed to first and lead for a lap before outbreaking at one point and going off track on the last lap to finish fourth.
For Race 2, Taylor started fourth and pushed into third before spinning and settling for fifth place. Whereas in the final feature race, the teen rookie started from pole position courtesy of his second-fastest time in qualifying and after a good start was never headed. Leading from start to finish, Taylor take his first race win and claimed enough points to also be overall winner of the round.
"I’m really happy with the results and happy to take a win in my first weekend in cars,” said Taylor. "The car felt really good straight out of the gate. Tim Macrow Racing gave me a good car to chase pole position. It was unfortunate to make a few driving mistakes otherwise I know I would have been on the podium for all the races. But a big thanks to the team for making it a great first weekend in F3."
Ben’s Round 1 Results:
Practice 1 - P4
Practice 2 - P1
Practice 3 - P1
Qualifying 1 - P1 (All Properties Group Pole)
Race 1 - P4
Race 2 - P5
Feature Race - P1
Championship Points After Round 1 (Championship Class)
1. Ben Taylor 42
2. Ryan Astley 35
3. Roman Krumins 31
4. Ray-Yu Wang 25
5. Ross McAlpine 12
Full Results can be found here.
Australian F3 Qualifying Report can be read here.
Australian F3 Race 1 Report can be read here.
Australian F3 Final Report can be read here.
