Round 6 - Wakefield Park, NSW.source: f4000.comSydney's Peter Hackett has added the 2005 Holden Australian Formula 4000 Championship to his curriculum vitae after collecting two race wins in resounding fashion at Wakefield Park in Goulburn today (Sunday).
Hackett, 29, held off Gosford driver Ty Hanger to claim his first F4000 title and the fourth consecutive F4000 championship for RALT Australia.
Hackett also becomes the first driver in history to win Australian championships in both Formula 4000 and Formula 3.
Hackett won 9 of the 10 F4000 races he contested in 2005 and used his year in the category as a springboard to test drives with A1 Team Australia in A1 Grand Prix and Team Australia in Champ Car Atlantic.
Hackett headed home Derek Pingel and Ty Hanger in both races, with Hanger overcoming an engine misfire in the final race to finish ahead of Pingel for 2nd.
Three drivers (Hackett, Hanger, Pingel) all lapped within the existing F4000 lap record of 56.4250s set by Jonny Reid in February 2003. Hackett capped off a dream day by setting the new benchmark at 56.3001s.
QUALIFYING (20 minutes):Qualifying for the final round of the 2005 Holden Australian Formula 4000 Championship at Wakefield Park commenced under sunny skies at approximately 1:33pm on Saturday afternoon with a 20-minute session to determine the starting grid for Sunday's opening 14-lap race on the twisty 2.20km circuit, located in the rural NSW town of Goulburn.
Stephen Borness (#17 Mantis Racing Reynard 96D) set the opening race to go fastest with a lap of 57.2429s after two minutes. However, Borness would not improve on his early pace and was soon usurped by Derek Pingel (#8 ALMG Reynard 95D) and a hard-charging Ty Hanger (#48 Pluim Interiors Reynard 95D) who punched in two consecutive fastest laps to became the first man to dip into the 56-second bracket and consequently lap within the F4000 lap record.
Peter Hackett (#1 Snap-On/JVC Reynard 96D) then threw out a challenge after four minutes to take provisional pole position with a 54.7804s followed by a stunning 54.4232s. Hanger improved to set a 55.1684s but failed to make any inroads on the RALT Australia driver, settling for 2nd fastest and an intriguing front row battle for the two championship protagonists.
Pingel finished the session 3rd fastest ahead of Mark West (#50 Just Parts Magazine Reynard 97D) who managed his best ever F4000 starting position in 4th from Borness and Sam Dale (#12 Mumbo Racing Reynard 94D) making his return to the category after a Navy assignment in the South China Sea.
Terry Clearihan (#27 NNS / Braddon Auto Mart Reynard 92D) was a disappointing 7th fastest in front of Les Crampton (#74 Hocking Motorsport Reynard 97D) while making up the final row of the grid were two new names to the 2005 field, Chris Clearihan and Matthew Fox.
Clearihan (#26 NNS / Braddon Auto Mart Ralt RT23), whose brother Terry has been an F4000 stalwart since 2000, is a former Australian Sports Car Champion and was making his first F4000 start since 1993.
Fox (#24 Mumbo Racing Reynard 91D) made his debut in the category this weekend driving the second car from Rod Dale's Mumbo Racing stable as driven by Brendan Julius in the last round at Oran Park.
Qualifying Results;1. Peter Hackett - #1 Snap-On/JVC Reynard 96D (54.4232s) 2. Ty Hanger - #48 Pluim Interiors Reynard 95D (55.1684s) 3. Derek Pingel - #8 Australian Lifestyle Management Group Reynard 95D
(55.9861s)
4. Mark West - #50 Just Parts Magazine Reynard 97D (56.9573s) 5. Stephen Borness - #17 Mantis Racing Reynard 96D (57.2429s) 6. Sam Dale - #12 Mumbo Racing Reynard 94D (57.2761s) 7. Terry Clearihan - #27 NNS / Braddon Auto Mart Reynard 92D (58.5916s) 8. Les Crampton - #74 Hocking Motorsport Reynard 97D (58.9310s) 9. Chris Clearihan - #26 NNS / Braddon Auto Mart Ralt RT23 (1:01.4140s) 10. Matthew Fox - #24 Mumbo Racing Reynard 91D (1:08.2760s)
RACE 1 (Shortened to 13 laps after aborted start):The opening 14-lap sprint race was shortened to 13 laps after an aborted
start due to Mark West stalling on the starting grid. Series returnee Chris
Clearihan was unable to make the start after a leaking fuel tank in qualifying.
When the lights went green, Hackett took the lead from Pingel and Hanger with a fast-starting Les Crampton slotting into 4th position ahead of
Borness.
West rejoined the race albeit seven laps down and ultimately would not be classified as a finisher. Hackett drove an untroubled race to win the
championship by taking 20 points for the win as well as an extra point for
fastest lap.
Pingel was 6.0s in arrears at the finish with Hanger struggling to 3rd some 18.0s seconds behind the Queenslander. Borness registered his best F4000 finish with 4th having managed to overtake Crampton on lap 5.
Race 1 Results;1. Peter Hackett - #1 Snap-On/JVC Reynard 96D
2. Derek Pingel - #8 Australian Lifestyle Management Group Reynard 95D
3. Ty Hanger - #48 Pluim Interiors Reynard 95D
4. Stephen Borness - #17 Mantis Racing Reynard 96D
5. Les Crampton - #74 Hocking Motorsport Reynard 97D
6. Terry Clearihan - #27 NNS / Braddon Auto Mart Reynard 92D
7. Matthew Fox - #24 Mumbo Racing Reynard 91D
NC. Mark West - #50 Just Parts Magazine Reynard 97D
DNF. Sam Dale - #12 Mumbo Racing Reynard 94D
DNS. Chris Clearihan - #26 NNS / Braddon Auto Mart Ralt RT23
RACE 2 (Shortened to 13 laps after red flag):As in race 1, the 20-lap feature race was shortened to 19 laps after a
first-lap incident involving Sam Dale and Terry Clearihan at Turn 7.
Clearihan spun off the circuit before returning back onto the racing line
and in front of Dale, who had nowhere to go but into the side of the
Canberra driver.
The race was red flagged with Dale using the temporary stoppage to fit a new front nosecone and wing assembly while Clearihan was unable to take the restart due to a damaged sidepod and punctured radiator.
When the race was restarted Hackett was again out in front with Pingel and Hanger in tow. On lap 6, Hanger was able to overtake Pingel who understeered on the cement dust left at Turn 7 following the earlier incident and would stay behind the 34-year old for the remainder of the race.
Two laps later, Borness took to the scenery allowing West, Dale and Crampton through. The Mantis Racing machine soon latched onto the back of Crampton who was struggling with a broken front wing assembly.
Crampton was able to hold off Borness but not without a great deal of
defensive driving which caused Borness to yield from an overtaking attempt up the inside of the Hocking Motorsport car, causing the Sydneysider to spin on the dirty side of the circuit.
Out in front however Hackett took his nineth win of the season after a near perfect display all year round. Hanger held off Pingel for 2nd with Mark West and Sam Dale recovering after engine dramas in Race 1 and an opening lap crash to register their best ever finishes in 4th and 5th respectively.
The 2006 season kicks off at Calder Park in Melbourne on March 19 for the beginning of the category's second year as part of the Australian Motor
Racing Series.
Race 2 Results;1. Peter Hackett - #1 Snap-On/JVC Reynard 96D
2. Ty Hanger - #48 Pluim Interiors Reynard 95D
3. Derek Pingel - #8 Australian Lifestyle Management Group Reynard 95D
4. Mark West - #50 Just Parts Magazine Reynard 97D
5. Sam Dale - #12 Mumbo Racing Reynard 94D
6. Les Crampton - #74 Hocking Motorsport Reynard 97D
7. Stephen Borness - #17 Mantis Racing Reynard 96D
8. Matthew Fox - #24 Mumbo Racing Reynard 91D
DNS. Terry Clearihan - #27 NNS / Braddon Auto Mart Reynard 92D
DNS. Chris Clearihan - #26 NNS / Braddon Auto Mart Ralt RT23
2005 Holden Australian Formula 4000 ChampionshipFinal Points Standings1 Peter Hackett (201 points)
2 Ty Hanger (171 points)
3 Derek Pingel (122 points)
4 Ben Crighton (66 points)
5 Terry Clearihan (52 points)
6 Les Crampton (43 points)
7 Neil McFadyen (42 points)
8 Mark West (27 points)
9 Ash Lowe (24 points)
10 Christian Murchison (24 points)
11 Sam Dale (24 points)
12 Stephen Borness (23 points)
13 Ricky Occhipinti (22 points)
14 Chris Farrell (20 points)
15 Ray Hanger (13 points)
16 Bob Muir (10 points)
17 Bob Power (8 points)
18 Matthew Fox (7 points)
19 Brendan Julius (4 points)
20 Mark Ellis (3 points)
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