DRIVER NEWS 1 June 2010: Former Formula Ford frontrunner Ben Barker enjoyed a break-out weekend as the Australian F3 Championship visited Mallala in South Australia, not only claiming his first victory in the category, but sweeping all three races across the weekend to put himself firmly back into title contention.

After a disappointing round at Phillip Island, where a harsh jump start penalty denied him a maiden win, Barker bounced back to dominate the entire Mallala weekend, beginning by topping testing and only missing out on pole position for the opening race by three-hundredths of a second to BRM team-mate Mitch Evans, as the pair traded times throughout qualifying.

With the grid lining up side-by-side, rather than in staggered formation, starting second wouldn't have been too much of a handicap for Barker, but the Briton's plans for a quick getaway were ruined by some typically British conditions, as the heavens opened with the cars on their formation lap. With the field subsequently starting behind the safety car, Evans was able to get the jump, with Barker having to give chase in heavy spray.

Despite having the clearer view, however, it was the leader who succumbed to the conditions first, braking too late at the end of the back straight and running onto the grass at turn seven. The mistake was enough to hand Barker the advantage, and the 19-year old then put in a string of fast, consistent laps to extend the gap to the chasing pack to a massive 21 seconds by the time the chequered flag fell.

"It was disappointing not to get pole after the pace I showed in testing, and then the rain arriving meant that I couldn't get the jump I wanted at the start," the winner reflected, "However, by lap four, I was right on Mitch's tail and darting around in his mirrors to see if I could force him into a mistake. I was still surprised when he went off, but it gave me the lead, and I wasn't going to blow it."

The victory gave Barker pole position for race two on Sunday morning and, with Evans down in third after his mishap on Saturday, presented the perfect opportunity to open an early advantage.

A good getaway saw the BRM driver drop front row partner Tom Tweedie, and a string of fastest laps on cold tyres opened a gap that he was able to maintain to the end. Such was Barker's pace that he regularly began to threaten the lap record and, having set the fastest time of race one, he duly repeated the feat, falling just 0.003secs short of rewriting the Mallala record books.

"Starting on pole was a big plus, but I was very happy with my pace and the car's set-up, and it was a little frustrating to be just three-thousandths shy of the lap record," Barker admitted, "I was so close - if only I'd wriggled in my seat, I could have pinched it!"

Starting from pole again in race three, but with Evans alongside, the Formula Ford graduate knew that he needed to get a good start to maintain position into the first turn. The pair proved closely-matched off the line, but Barker managed to eke out half a car length around the outside to take the lead, before pushing to the limit in an effort to make the break.

"For the first ten laps, it was tense, with Mitch less than a second behind and piling on the pressure," the Briton reported, "But I kept my lap times consistent and started to open a gap. By three-quarter distance, I had a lead of around three seconds, and I felt I was in control of the race.

"If I saw Mitch catching me, I had the car to push a little more to open the gap again. It was a great feeling being in front, but the race seemed to go on for a long time."

Barker maintained the three-second gap to the end, and claimed another fastest lap before taking the chequered flag. The three victories also promoted him back into the thick of the title fight, with just nine points separating him from overall leader Tweedie, with Evans between them.

"It was the perfect weekend to get myself back up in the championship," Barker concluded, "It was a downer to lose valuable points in the last race at Phillip Island, but this weekend's results have given me great confidence for the rest of the season."

With the series now at its halfway point, Barker has just a month to wait before continuing his pursuit of the championship crown at Winton Raceway, in Victoria, at the end of June.

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