Paul Trengove wins on F4000 debut at Winton

Round 2 of the Australian Driver’s Championship was taken out by Paul Trengove, at Winton Raceway in Victoria.

Trengove had very little testing in the car, after engine problems at the first test and constant rain on another. However he was confident he would be somewhat competitive in the car and really just needed some time and laps around the technical Winton Raceway.

Friday practice was Trengove’s first drive around Winton since he competed in the Formula 3 car last year. Paul was at a real disadvantage as most of the other top teams had tested here earlier in the month. After some sighting laps, Paul was 5^th quickest.

Second practice was a chance for Trengove to gain some time and really test the cars limits around the tight track. Most of Winton is short straights and tight 2^nd gear corners. However one turn is a sweeping lefthander where the Formula 4000’s reach speeds of 180kph and pull up to around 2.8G’s.

Unfortunately during the early stages of practice, the throttle cable broke, leaving Paul stranded on the circuit and causing a red flag.

After hours of work, replacing the cable, Paul was ready for qualifying. He was behind the 8-ball, having not taken part in 2^nd practice, but was keen to qualify well. However on his first quick lap, the throttle cable broke again causing his car to stop on the side of the track.

The team figured out the problem and hoped that this time the car would be ready for the Race. Starting from 7^th on the grid Paul worked his way into 5^th by the first lap and trailed behind Ricki Occhipinti. Trengove felt he had more speed than Ricki at the start of the race, but a passing move around Winton is very tricky. An incident at the front of the field caused some damage amongst the frontrunners and this led to a 4 - way battle for the lead between Nelson Hartley, Ricki Occhipinti, Paul Trengove and Mikel Miller. For 3 laps the 4 cars battled and swapped positions every lap. Eventually Occhipinti took the lead with Trengove close behind. Across the line Trengove took the 2^nd place.

“Im ecstatic with 2^nd place. This year is the first time I’ve ever been in a real competitive car. It shows that it makes the difference and gives me confidence that I can drive it more on the edge and be more competitive”

Race 2 saw Trengove and Occhipinti on the front row and the blue and yellow CPA Australia car took the lead into Turn 1. New Zealander, Nelson Hartley was following closely behind, looking to pounce at any opportunity.

During the weekend Paul had been struggling with his pedals, as this was the first time he had sat in the car at a race meeting. When braking, Paul couldn’t help but sometimes hit the accelerator at the same time. This caused a lack of confidence under brakes and led to a few mistakes. On lap 7 of 12, Trengove ran wide and Hartley took the lead and the race win, with Paul in second.

Paul won the round with his two 2^nd places and accrued 30 points in the championship.

“I’m stoked to win this week on debut. It’s a real boost for my confidence and after limited testing and problems with the car throughout the weekend, its great for the team to win and Im looking forward to Round 3 at Phillip Island.”

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