MEDIA RELEASE- For Immediate Release, August 9


PROTECNICA RACING GRABS SOME INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE

When the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship for the CAMS Gold Star heads to Phillip Island Raceway in Victoria in a little under two weeks, Protecnica Racing will have some extra Formula 3 expertise in their garage.

The team has enlisted the services of renowned Formula 3 engineer Othmar Welti to work with the team for the round. Welti has an impressive pedigree in motorsport engineering, including engineering Jarno Trulli to his 1996 German F3 Championship and spending time with the Sauber Formula 1 squad as engineer to Jean Alesi.

He is currently the chief engineer for German F3 outfit Swiss Racing Team.

It is this sort of experience that driver Chris Alajajian and the Protecnica Racing team is looking to capitalise on, the latter with just two rounds of Formula 3 experience to it’s credit.

“Not only does he have the experience and knowledge, but he has a lot of experience with working with drivers,” said Alajajian. “So this is a great opportunity for me to learn a lot about Formula 3 from him.

“It will be an opportunity to learn more about the cars, how to set them up and extract the most speed from them, but also to learn more about giving good feedback to mechanics and engineers. It is these sorts of things that will help lead to better race results throughout the year.”

With almost non-existent Formula 3 experience to their name, Welti’s involvement will help aid Protecnica Racing’s learning process, in what has been an impressive Formula 3 debut for the Sydney based squad.

The team jumped into the deep end when they took delivery of the car and not much else in the week before the round at Queensland Raceway.

Since then, Alajajian hasn’t finished off the podium. Last time out at Eastern Creek in July, a pair of second place finishes helped him close the gap to second placed Michael Trimble in the battle for the CAMS Gold Star.

“The team knows their stuff, it is just experience that we are all a little behind the eight ball with. It’s like the old saying of practice makes perfect. We haven’t had any practice yet, and yet they aren't too far off perfect, as our results have shown. As we learn more and more about Formula 3 and get some practice, the car keeps getting better,” Alajajian explains.

“We have already got an excellent team running the car, but because none of us really have a lot of Formula 3 experience, Othmar coming in will help us out to do very well.”

Round six of the 2005 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship for the CAMS Gold Star takes place at Phillip Island Raceway in Victoria on August 19-21.

Protecnica Racing thanks the ongoing support of Jack Hillermans Smash, Elf Oil, Scuderia Veloce Motors, Nudie, Workflow Systems, Bilstein, Moody Kiddell & Partners, Heasman Steering, Disc Brakes Australia, Hawk Performance, Monza Mens Boutique, H & R Springs and APT Signs.

For more about Chris Alajajian, check out www.TheChris.com.au