On three separate occasions in three years the 2007 Gold Star winner has made a cameo appearance in the championship and on three occasions he has ended up taking home the big trophy.
Macrow edged out James Winslow in today’s 15-lap feature at Sydney Motorsport Park to record his 19th career win, fresh from also winning the second sprint race held earlier in the morning.
It backs up similar results at Sandown in 2010 and Symmons Plains last year where a one-off return ended in victory.
Macrow was slow away in race two but quickly raced his way to the front, going around the outside of second place at turn two before slipping by Winslow with a late move at turn six a few turns later.
A similarly bold move up the inside of his British rival early into the feature race this afternoon also saw the Yellow Tail Wines / Astuti Dallara move to the front, before he pulled away to record his 19th career F3 victory in emphatic fashion.
The win backed up pole position and the fastest lap in each of today’s races to cap off a near perfect weekend.
Winslow finished second to extend his championship lead, his R-Tek team mate Steel Guiliana third. Chris Gilmour could only manage fourth and now sits 44 points behind the title leader with two rounds and six races to go.
“This is a credit to Sam Astuti for preparing such a good car this weekend,” Macrow said.
“It was fast from the first lap of the weekend and to be able to deliver him a pole and two wins is just sensational. It’s been a great weekend and some hard racing with James and Chris, which has been great fun.
“James gave me just enough room, which was enough. He’s got a championship to worry about but I was here to win some races for Astuti and show that I can still do it.
“I love these cars and it’s always good to get back into the seat – and even better when you can get a win. It’s nice to show people that I can still do the job.”
Winslow escaped the weekend with an increased championship lead, despite a drama following race two when his Dallara’s airbox bizarrely exploded during post-race scrutiny.
A hasty repair from the R-Tek Motorsport team quickly rectified the problem, the car performing well to allow the Brit to consolidate his position at the top of the order – now with nearly a full rounds worth of points ahead of Gilmour.
Third place for Steel Guiliana matched his career best feature race result, rebounding after two tough rounds to move within one point of a top three championship position – the New South Wales driver trails Team BRM’s Jordan Skinner by just one point with two rounds remaining.
“It’s a good feeling to be on the podium after the dramas we have had in the last few rounds,” Guiliana said.
In the Forpark Australia F3 National Class, Hayden Cooper won his first round since the Clipsal 500 Adelaide, pulling away from rivals Lockie Marshall and Ben Gersekowski in the feature race to win by just over five seconds.
There was plenty of drama in the earlier race, however, Cooper spinning on his own at turn eleven before a clash between Marshall and Gersekowski resulted in the Cooltemp / BF Racing driver making frontal contact with the wall at turn two.
Marshall was penalised 32 seconds for his part in the contact, but rebounded to finish the feature race in second.
“It’s great to be back on top of the podium,” Cooper said.
“It’s been an up and down weekend but in the end we did the job. The car was great and it’s a big thanks to the BF Racing guys for their support. It’s good to be able to extend the lead in the championship and we can’t wait to go to our home track in a few weeks.”
The next round of the Formula 3 Australian drivers Championship will be held at Queensland Raceway, with the Ipswich 300, on August 3-5, supporting the V8 Supercars Ipswich 300.
For more information head to www.formula3.com.au
