Persberichten - Peters takes checkered flag at the Red Bull Ring

Peters takes checkered flag at the Red Bull Ring

Brisbane-based driver Steve Peters and his team at Blue Goat Racing were celebrating long into the night in Spielberg, Austria, after Peters first win for the season at the renowned Red Bull Ring. As Peter's second ever F3 win, this victory in a 20-lap sprint as part of the F3 Slovak Series was especially welcome for Blue Goat Racing as Peters had never before scored a podium or victory outside a rookie series race.

For most of the race it was a close two-way fight for the lead between Peters and pole-sitter Paolo Italiano, Jr. Peters first took the lead on the main straight on lap 6 before being passed again by Italiano at Gosser on lap 8, then taking the lead again after Italiano's poor exit from A1 on lap 11. The dueling pair were 6 seconds clear of any rivals when Italiano made an uncharacteristic mistake at Jochen Rindt and dropped back into 4th on lap 15. The following lap the safety car came out after a backmarker collision, and while the Blue Goat Racing camp were anxious that it might come out just before the finish and give Terezia Petrova or Denis Sinko (in 2nd and 3rd) an opportunity to sprint for the line, Peters took the checkered flag with the safety car still out.

"To be honest, at the start of this season we were a bit intimidated by the competition, and we were starting to wonder if we hadn't made a mistake by not staying in a rookie series for another season to get more experience", confided Peters in a post-podium interview, "..but this result has given us the confidence that we can still mix it with some very fast and professional drivers and teams. I'm looking forward to some more competitive racing in the F3 Slovak Series and the Herkules Trophy XIII."