29/10/06 | Pingel bridges the title gap

QUEENSLANDER Derek Pingel has shortened rival Ty Hanger’s series lead of the 2006 Yokohama Australian Formula 4000 Drivers Championship to 9 points following a resounding victory in the penultimate round at Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway today.

Pingel, who entered the round 19 points adrift of series leader Hanger, relied on a great car set-up and technical assistance from former McLaren Formula 1 engineer Barry Lock to dominate proceedings on the 2.2km Calder circuit, taking pole position, two race wins and fastest laps in both races. Hanger leads the championship on adjusted points by 1 point going into the last round at Wakefield Park in late November.

“That was electric. We couldn’t afford to put one foot wrong all weekend in order to keep the gap between Ty and myself in the championship tight and the team did everything asked of them. The car was great and we were dipping into the 55-second bracket towards the end of the weekend which was very encouraging.” said a pumped up Pingel.

The former Formula 2 star was never headed in either event, leading home Hanger and Sam Dale in both races with Matthew Fox picking up a swag of points in the second of the Mumbo Racing entries. Hanger overcame a mechanical setback which dropped him to 5^th in qualifying to finish second and hold onto the championship lead prior to the final round.

Hocking Motorsport driver Les Crampton’s positive qualifying performance (2^nd) was overshadowed by engine maladies on race day but the former Silver Star champion is still safe in 4^th place on the championship standings.

The final round of the 2006 Yokohama Australian Formula 4000 Drivers Championship will be held at the Wakefield Park circuit in Goulburn, New South Wales on November 25-26. A number of series newcomers and returnees are expected to line up for the grand finale which should mark an exciting end to the 18^th year of F4000 competition in Australia.