27/8/06 | Hanger best in the battle of Benalla

2006 Yokohama Australian Formula 4000 Drivers Championship

Round 6 – Winton Motor Raceway

TY Hanger has increased his lead in the points standings of the 2006 Yokohama Australian Formula 4000 Drivers Championship at Winton following a dominant victory at Winton Motor Raceway.

Hanger, who entered the round four points clear of championship rival Derek Pingel, now holds a 19-point lead over the Queenslander as the series approaches the penultimate round at Calder Park in two months time.

Hanger took two easy race wins in cool conditions but his success was overshadowed by a controversial incident late in the second race which saw Pingel collide with the rear of Italian driver Davide Amaduzzi, in what was described as a racing incident.

Qualifying was held in fine conditions on Saturday afternoon with drivers reporting of low grip levels after an overnight shower on Thursday night. In one of the closest F4000 qualifying sessions ever, Pingel took pole with a lap of 1:18.8274s, a scant 0.02s ahead of Hanger on a 1:18.8488s. This is believed to be the second smallest gap between the first two qualifiers on an F4000 grid since 1997 when 0.01s separated Mark Noske and Jason Bargwanna at Oran Park.

Team Sydney driver Davide Amaduzzi was sidelined after only one lap in qualifying following a driveshaft failure and would start Sunday's opening 12-lap race from 7th and last on the grid.

Race 1 was underway with a rolling start as Pingel led from Hanger and a fast-starting Sam Dale, although on lap two Pingel's advances came to nought when the Queenslander spun promoting Hanger to the lead.

From there on Hanger kept a handy lead over Dale and won a largely processional race, with Amaduzzi driving well to take 4th after starting from 7th following his qualifying dramas. Pingel managed to regroup and dispose of Les Crampton and Matthew Fox en route to an eventual 5th place finish, although the former Formula 2 ace would have it all to do in the second encounter if he was to eke into Hanger's now evolving championship lead.

Race 2 kicked off with a first-corner collision between Crampton and Fox at the back of the field with the Mumbo Racing driver making contact with the left rear of Crampton's car entering the chicane. Crampton's car was out on the spot with rear end damage while Fox pitted and soldiered on with a bent steering arm and around four inches of toe in.

Out in front it was Hanger again leading Dale who was suffering from rear wheel steer due to a problem in the back of the car, which allowed both Amaduzzi and Pingel to catch the Navy helicopter pilot with the Italian making his way through on lap 9.

One lap later Pingel also overtook Dale, this time on the outside of the final corner before setting out after to Amaduzzi. The three remained in close company for most of the race until lap 16 when Pingel and Amaduzzi collided at Turn 10, with the front of Pingel's car making contact with Amaduzzi's rear. Amaduzzi, with a change to his previous racing line at the turn, appeared to brake earlier unsettling his car, and Pingel in an effort to avoid contact, locked his front left hand wheel however contact was made with the rear wheel of the Italian's car causing Amaduzzi to spin.

Pingel however quickly regained control and both drivers continued with Amaduzzi being relegated to 3rd with no conceivable damage following the incident. Out in front however, Hanger kept cool to take another easy win from eight seconds over Pingel, Amaduzzi, Dale and Fox, who both soldiered on with car problems to collect valuable championship points. In Fox's case, the rookie driver admirably battled an ill-handling front end to finish albeit some 5 laps down.

After the race, Amaduzzi made his feelings clear regarding the late race incident to Pingel and shortly afterwards the stewards of the race meeting imposed a 10-second penalty on Pingel over the incident, which dropped the Queenslander back to 3rd in the classification behind Amaduzzi, thus both drivers assuming their track positions prior to the incident.

Pingel however appealed the decision and successfully the stewards of the meeting, after hearing all the evidence, viewing video footage of the incident, and receiving the Point Flag Marshalls testimony subsequently overruled the Clerk of the Course and found no penalty should apply. The flagpoint marshal at turn 10 had deemed that the impact between the two cars was sufficient enough only to be classified as a racing incident.

The series now heads into a two month break before venturing to Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne for the penultimate round on October 29.