Lockie Marshall - The Fastest Schoolboy in Australia

Victorian VCE student Lockie Marshall is surely Australia's fastest schoolboy as he competed in the latest round of the Australian Formula 3 Championship recently at Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney.    As a relative newcomer to Formula 3,  the fastest racing category in Australia, Lockie's first challenge was learning the Eastern Creek circuit layout in the two 30 minute practice sessions held on Friday.   

Things got serious in Saturday morning's Qualifying session with Lockie posting the third quickest time in the Forpark National class.  Whilst  the top three were split by only fractions of a second, they were all approximately 7 seconds inside the V8 Supercar lap record held by Mark Skaife.

  

Starting off the second row of the National class grid,  Race 1 was looking promising although a spin on lap 4 when challenging for the lead saw Lockie drop back to last position, an inevitable result  following such an error.   The only consolation being his race pace which saw him set the fastest lap in the race in his class.

Race 2 on Sunday morning was a challenging race with Lockie working his way through the National class field and eventually taking the chequered flag after a closely  fought 10 lap race.   Unfortunately Lockie was penalised 30 seconds for making contact with another competitor and was relegated to last place.  Again the fastest race lap was the silver lining to an otherwise dark cloud.

As Race 3  the feature race approached, Lockie re-focussed and despite starting from near the back of the grid he made a textbook start with very little wheel-spin to be in 2nd place going into turn 1.   As the 15 lap race wore on Lockie swapped positions with leader Hayden Cooper although by the final lap, Cooper was in front and took the win with Lockie coming 2nd in the national class.    

In a post race interview Lockie said " It's been a challenging weekend but I've learned a lot and I'm very happy to be on the podium".  Lockie went on to say " I'm looking forward to racing at Queensland Raceway next month.  It's Hayden and Ben's home track so they will be quick and I'm going to have to give it everything I've got".   

Lockie would like to thank his sponsors Lord Chemicals, Hare & Forbes Machinery House, Ontime Distribution, Forensic Consulting,  A1 Signs,  Elf Racefuels,  Connexus,  Campbellfield Truck Services,  Kyneton Autopro, Kyneton Toyota,  Bridgestone Kyneton, Body Corp Highpoint Accident Repair Centre, Point Precision Engineering, Race Recall and Unique Marine for their support through the year.   

Lockie would also like to say a big thankyou to Sydney motorsport identity  Rudolf Masi  for his help in the pits and valuable advice throughout the weekend.

Lockie Marshall's Debut Australian Formula 3 Championship Race

Victorian teenager Lockie Marshall faced up to the biggest challenge of his motor racing career as  he lined up for the 4th Round of the Australian Formula 3 Championship at  Hidden Valley Raceway,  Darwin on the weekend.    Before a crowd of more than 50,000 spectators and the full contingent of V8 Supercar Teams,  the teenager from Woodend had his first taste of the pressure of high level motorsport  competition.    The 2.9 km circuit features the longest  straight of all the Australian circuits with the F3 cars reaching speeds of about  230 kph  prior to negotiating  turn 1, a tightening  left hand hairpin.   Friday practice saw Marshall top the time sheets in the National Class in practice session 1.    Marshall was upbeat after the session saying “I'm very happy with my speed and the set-up of the car”. 

                         

Practice session 2 was a different  story however,  with an electrical fault starting a small fire in the cockpit of his Dallara racing car on lap 3 forcing a hurried exit into pit lane and an exit from the car as the fire marshals quickly doused the flames.   Fortunately the damage to the car was minor and following repairs to the  wiring the car was prepared for the qualifying session on Saturday morning.   Despite the disadvantage of  having less practice time than his fellow competitors and being new to the circuit, Marshall was still able to post the 2nd fastest qualifying time in the National Class.  

As the field lined up for the first of 3 races on  Saturday afternoon,  Marshall knew that staying out of trouble  at turn one was his number one priority.    As  luck would have it Marshall was able to get around  the chaos caused by one of the lead cars spinning in turn one which resulted in him dropping a couple of places as he had to run wide to avoid a stationary car.  Marshall put his head down and over the next few laps proceeded to make up the lost places and by the end of the 12 lap race had worked his way up to first place in the National class.  

Race 2 on Sunday morning saw a clean start however  a  small error resulted in  Marshall loosing a place and eventually finished in 2nd place in his class.  

Race 3 was the feature race and saw  Marshall starting off  pole on the National class grid beside Queenslander  Ben Gersekowski.   A determined drive from Marshall saw him take the  lead in the National class and hold it for the 15 laps to take  the win and deliver an overall first place for the race meeting.   Commenting after the final race Marshall said " my times were very consistent over the length of the race and my race with one of the Championship class cars helped me draw away from the rest of the National class runners.  Its been a great opportunity to race against  some top drivers and I've learnt such a lot".

For his debut Formula 3 race it was a great result and all the more satisfying as he was presented his winning trophy by former Australian F1 world Champion Alan Jones.

Lockie with former F1 Champion Alan Jones

                       

Lockie would like to thank his sponsors Lord Chemicals, Ontime Distribution, Forensic Consulting Services,  A1 Signs,  Elf Racefuels,  Connexus,  Campbellfield Truck Services,  Kyneton Autopro, Kyneton Toyota,  Bridgestone Kyneton, Point Precision Engineering and Unique Marine for their support through the year.   Lockie would also like to thank the team at Brad Jones Racing for their help over the weekend.

Lockie is now looking forward to the next round of the Australian Formula 3 Championship to be held at Eastern Creek Raceway,  Sydney  on the 14th  and  15th of July.  

You can watch in-car videos of all the Darwin action and follow Lockie’s progress on his website www.lockiemarshall.com  or on Facebook  or via twitter at  @lockiemarshall 

Autopro Kyneton teams up with Lockie Marshall

In the run up to his debut Formula 3 race in Darwin next month, Victorian teenager Lockie Marshall is pleased to announce the involvement and support Autopro Kyneton.   Regarded as one of the most professional parts and accessories suppliers in Central Victoria,  Autopro Kyneton will be supplying Lockie with a large range of  quality products including lubricants, filters, brakes, detailing products  and tools to maintain his Dallara F3 open wheeler.

Darren Harman, Autopro Kyneton's proprietor, commented that "As this is Lockie’s rookie season we believe it is important that he gets support from local sponsors to help him succeed  in his racing".  "Lockie’s success in Go-Karting and through Formula Ford has impressed all of us at Autopro Kyneton and we are proud to be associated with Lockie as he competes in the Australian F3 Championship".  Darren said.    

Autopro Kyneton's Darren Harman and Lockie Marshall

“I am really looking forward to working with Darren and everyone at  Autopro Kyneton, they have been great.  I'm sure the Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil they supply will be just right  for our race engine".  Lockie commented.  " I'm confident the car is going to stop with the brake parts Autopro Kyneton are supplying and that gives me confidence to push the car as I approach the braking markers at 250 kph!".

Lockie will be racing at the Hidden Valley near Darwin at the V8 Supercar round on the 16th and 17th of June.

For more information about the Autopro Kyneton go to Facebook or Twitter @Autopro_Kyneton  and you can follow Lockie’s progress at www.lockiemarshall.com

LORD Structural Adesives and Lockie Marshall stick together

Young Victorian racer Lockie Marshall is pleased to announce a deal that will see his Dallara F3 open wheeler carry the colours and Logos of LORD Corporation.   The partnership will see Lockie provide media exposure for LORD who supply structural adhesives to the Australian and international markets. 

“It will be a pleasure to support Lockie as he competes in the Australian F3 Championship” commented LORD Australia General Manager, Greg Bain.  “We have watched Lockie as he has progressed through karting and Formula Ford, and for LORD it is great to be a part of the process”.  Greg went on to say ”Formula 3 is the pinnacle of open wheeler racing in Australia, and is a good fit for LORD. We are a strong technology company, with a focus on the automotive industry, so Lockie’s F3 car is a great vehicle to carry the message of our LORD Structural Adhesives range.   It is an opportunity for us to build brand recognition and also to put something back into both the local community and motorsport which is an important Australian industry”. 

       

Lockie’s 2012 racing program has been somewhat interrupted with a broken wrist a week or so before Clipsal putting paid to the first three races of the year.  “My focus is now on getting fit and ready for round 4 which will be at the V8 round in Darwin” Lockie said.  “I can’t wait to get the plaster off so I can get into the simulator and start getting a feel for the Hidden Valley circuit.”   I would like to do at least one more test day before my first race. 

 “I am really looking forward to working with Greg and the rest of the team at LORD Chemical Products, they have been great so far“,   Lockie commented.

For more information about the LORD range of structural adhesives go to www.LORD.com and you can follow Lockie’s progress at www.lockiemarshall.com 

2012 Season Update

With the first race of the Australian Formula 3 Championship just around the corner,  F3 teams Australia-wide a preparing to come to do battle on the streets of Adelaide as part of the Clipsal 500 race weekend.  

In a case of the worst possible timing,  I broke my wrist last weekend which means I am in plaster for six weeks and then a couple of weeks of physio to get my strength back.   As it stands I will miss the first 3 rounds of the championship.  My focus now is being fit and ready for the 4th round of the championship at the V8 round in Darwin come June.    The upside is that I can look forward to starting the 2013 championship with some races under my belt which can't hurt. 

I know how disappointing this is for all my sponsors but I must say everybody has been great and they are all looking forward to getting on with racing as soon as possible.    Thank  you everybody for your best wishes and continued support.

Lockie Marshall

First F3 Test at Winton Raceway

Young Victorian driver Lockie Marshall spent last Friday in the hot seat at Winton Raceway testing the Dallara Formula 3 car that he will driving in the Forpark Scholarship Class of the Australian F3 championship this year. 

Under the watchful eye of  former Australian F3 Champion Tim Macrow,  Lockie started to get a feel for the wings and slicks machine.    After a few tentative laps Lockie got used to the 6 speed sequential box and started to come to terms with the greater acceleration and braking performance of the car compared to his previous Formula Ford.  "Its very different to driving a Formula Ford,  there is so much grip and the braking power is brutal" Lockie said after returning to the garage following his first session.  After several sessions Lockie settled into a rhythm as he got more confident with the car.    " Flat shifting using the ignition cut  took a little while to get right and I was initially left foot braking but I had a problem with brake/throttle overlap which resulted in some brake fade so I changed back to right foot heel toe braking which felt much more natural". 

                

Tim was very happy with Lockie's improvement through the day and commented that  "As the day progressed Lockie adapted very well to the downforce and speed of an F3 car". 

Lockie's next test day is at  Phillip Island later in the month and his first race will be at the Clipsal V8 meeting around the Streets of Adelaide on the first weekend in March.   "I have a lot of work to do to get the car up to speed now" Lockie said,  "I am really looking forward to  this season and especially 

because we have a number of new sponsors that will be supporting us in 2012.   We are finalising a couple of deals at the moment and we will be making a formal announcement in the next few weeks. " 

Lockie would like to thank Tim and Peter Macrow and also Jeff and Taylor Stenner from A1 Signs for coming up and helping during the day

For more information please visit  www.lockiemarshall.com .  You can watch a Replay 1080 HD video of Lockie in the Dallara by clicking  on the You Tube Watch button on Lockie's website.   

2011 End of Year Review

As the year comes to an end I would like to say a very big thank you to all the people that have helped me along the way in 2011.   In particular,  I would like to thank my main sponsors Terry Kernan at Ontime and John and Simon at FCS.   Jeff Stenner from A1 Signs has been fantastic with the graphics and other promotional  stuff.   Likewise Greg Scown has been terrific with any welding we have needed and Roger Jukes at Kyneton Tyres has been super helpful doing our tyre fitting and balancing.    Also a thank you to Jonny Liebenberg  from Breamar College who has helped on the PR front.   Your help through the year has contributed to the success we had in 2011.   

At the track I would like to thank Sean Scott my race engineer and also my team mate Scott Andrews who has driven like a champion all year.   I would also like to thank  the guys at Borland Racing for their help and Mark Potter and Luke and John Ellery for getting me started in Formula Ford.   A special thanks goes to Brian Sampson for allowing me to drive his car at the Island Magic Meeting.    Thanks also to Taylor Stenner and Scott and Tom Mayer for their help in the pits through the year.

The FFA also deserves a mention and in particular Phil Marrinon and Andrew Sill for the countless hours of work they do behind the scenes.   

Finally a big thanks goes to Mum and Dad and Katie my sister for their help and support in 2011.

2011 has been a great year, thank you all.

Formula Ford 1600 Results summary 

  

Round 1 Winton                                               Qualifying                    - Pole   

Race 1                         - 1st

Race 2                         - 1st

            Race 3                         - 1st

Round 2 Phillip Island                                     Qualifying                    - P4   

Race 1                         - 4th

Race 2                         - 3rd

Race 3                         - DNF

Round 3 Sandown                                           Qualifying                    - P3   

Race 1                         - 3rd

Race 2                         - 5th

Race 3                         - 3rd

Round 4 Sandown                                           Qualifying                    - P2   

Race 1                         - 3rd

Race 2                         - 2nd

Race 3                         - 1st

Round 5 Winton                                               Qualifying                    - Pole   

Race 1                         - 1st

Race 2                         - 1st

Race 3                         - 2nd

Round 6 Phillip Island                                     Qualifying                     - P2   

Race 1                         - 3rd

Race 2                         - 2nd

Race 3                         - 2nd

Island Magic                                                    Qualifying                    - P2   

Race 1                         - 2nd

Race 2                         - 2nd

Race 3                         - 2nd

Lockie Marshall