Mat Sofi showed good speed at Oran Park, behind the wheel of the #2 Total Developments / RALT Australia Dallara. (Click for Hi-Res download)

It may have been a challenging weekend at Oran Park, but Sydney driver Mat Sofi feels that he is closer than ever to his maiden Formula 3 podium after a promising performance in round two of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship.

Sofi and his Transwest Racing team clawed back the margin to the fastest cars of the weekend throughout the duration of the weekend to leave the challenging 2.8km Sydney circuit confident of challenging the leaders for race wins the next time out.

Mat qualified seventh and sixth for the two races, respectively, but showed pace better than his qualifying results indicated to lift the #2 Total Developments Dallara F307 Mugen Honda up the order in the races.

In race one he made a strong start and was running with the leading group before the race finished under safety car with Sofi holding a strong fourth place – his best result of the season to date.

In race two he was held in a long battle with Stuart Kostera for a majority of the race before escaping towards the end of the 17-lap duration, ending the race sixth and consolidating his solid points haul for the weekend.

Sofi jumped to sixth in the championship and is less than a full round behind the championship leader – the competitive nature of this years’ series ensuring that he remains well and truly in the championship hunt.

”It took a couple of sessions, but by qualifying two we were on the money,” Sofi said.

”With a few more hundredths of a second we could have gained a couple of positions on the grid and race two could have been a lot different – it shows how close it is in the field this year.

”Given we started seventh for race one I was really pleased to be able to finish fourth. I think this has been the weekend where we can turn things around for the remainder of the season. I want to win more than ever and I think we have the package to do the job."

Sofi said that he has targeted Mallala as the round to break through for a championship-defining moment.

”We have a plan in place to test before Mallala, and we’re looking at that round as a place where we want to go very, very well indeed,” He said.

”Mallala and Phillip Island, especially, were two tracks where we were particularly strong last year, so I’m really looking forward to getting down south and competing at the front.

”Thanks to the team and to all of the sponsors for their continued support – it’s great to have them on board and I’m confident that we’ll get a result for them sooner, rather than later.”

For more information head to www.mathewsofi.com

ENDS