Trengove equal 2nd in the Gold Star Championship

After missing Round 1 of the Australian Drivers’ Championship, Paul Trengove and the CPA Australia team finished in equal second position. Daniel Gaunt from New Zealand, was the winner.

The final round was held at the fast and flowing Eastern Creek circuit in Sydney.  Friday practice was going to be interesting for the team, as Paul had sustained a neck injury only a week before the event. Up until first practice, it was unknown if the team were going to be able to compete at all.

First Practice saw Paul match his quickest time that he had set at testing 2 weeks before. However the team could only put in a couple of quick laps before Trengove struggled with his injury. The high G Force circuit was really taking its toll and the team devised a neck brace to help restrict the movement in his neck.

Second session and Paul was not comfortable in the car and completed only a few quick laps. His time improved and the team were in touch with the front runners.

Some more adjustments to help Paul with his injury helped and he now felt comfortable in his car. This showed, as the times were nearly 2 seconds quicker than in the previous sessions. After a spin through Turn 4, a fast right hander, Trengove set his fastest time on his final lap, but was only able to qualify in 6^th position.

Needing to beat Daniel Gaunt and Ricki Occhipinti to win the Gold Star Award, Trengove’s nerves showed as he stalled the car on the Warm Up Lap of Race1. He charged his way through the field to regain his position, and took his place on Row 3. The 5 second signal was given for the Start, until Peter Hill raised his arms and jumped out of his car. A brake calliper on a rear wheel had seized and caused a fire. The car was moved off the track and the second Warm Up Lap was completed.

At the start Trengove was shaky of the line and had to fight off Occhipinti and Ian Peters into Turn 1. Jonny Reid led the field on its first lap, followed by Hartley, Gaunt and Trengove. Coming on to the main straight and Hartley’s car oversteered and spun him into the wall. Trengove had to take evasive action and this led to Gaunt powering away, opening up a 5 second gap. To add to the problem, the CPA Australia car was suffering a small gearbox problem, which caused the gear shifter to become jammed, meaning gears could not be selected.

From there Trengove chased hard and began to catch Gaunt at the rate of over a second a lap. Then Paul was distracted by something falling into the cockpit down by his pedals. The object was stopping him from being able to push pedals as it jumped around on the floor. It was the compulsory toolkit that teams have to keep in the car. With only one lap to go, Trengove brought the car home safely for 3^rd place, but fell further behind Daniel Gaunt in the Championship.

By beating Occhipinti, Trengove moved to second in the Championship. With Jonny Reid winning, there were 3 main contenders for the Championship.

Race 2 began, with Reid again leading the field into Turn 1. Trengove slotted into third position and tried hard to stay on the back of Daniel Gaunt. On lap 2 the charging Peter Hill followed Trengove through Turn 1. Paul held his line on the inside and Peter Hill had outbraked himself. However, instead of going off the track, he tried to turn in to the corner and hit Trengove’s car forcing Hill’s car to jump the wheel and land off the circuit. Remarkably no damage was done to either car, however this incident had cost Paul valuable time and he was now at threat from Nelson Hartley. Trengove was able to pull away from Hartley and began to slowly catch Gaunt. But it was too late. Jonny Reid won Race 2, followed by Gaunt, with Paul only 3 seconds further back.

The final standings saw Daniel Gaunt with the Australian Drivers’ Championship and the Gold Star Award. Jonny Reid finished on equal points with Paul Trengove in 2^nd place.

Paul Trengove and the team are now assessing options for next year. They are keen to continue in Formula 4000 but are also aware of Paul’s ambition of competing professionally in Australia. Of course all options come at a price and the team will first need to secure funding from sponsors.

Paul and the Team wish to thank all of those that have supported us this year and we hope to be back next year to go one better and win a National Championship.

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