The Australian Formula 3 Championship battle will shift up a gear in this weekend’s sixth round of the Shannons Nationals at Phillip Island, with Nathan Caratti and Leanne Tander entering the weekend sharing the championship lead. Phillip Island will host the penultimate Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship round of the year and the 150th race in the championship’s history, which is the nation’s fastest class with alumni including Indycar driver Will Power and impressive V8 Supercar rookie Michael Caruso.

Internationally, Formula 3 is one of the primary proving grounds for young drivers seeking Formula 1 drives, with the majority of the current F1 grid having spent time developing their skills in Formula 3.

The Australian championship has grown considerably in recent years and the 2008 title fight has featured some of the stars of tomorrow, with Caratti, Tander and third-placed James Winslow covered by just 12 points.

Caratti won the opening race of the season, but both he and Tander were involved in a multi-car accident in Round Two, costing them valuable points.

Winslow took the championship lead at Round Three, before Caratti moved into top spot in the following round at Adelaide’s Mallala Motorsport Park.

The West Australian had a 20-point lead after topping qualifying for Round Six at Eastern Creek last month, but that advantage evaporated on race day.

While Tander took a race win and a second, Caratti had a pair of slow starts and was caught up in a Race Two incident, finishing fourth and 12th in the two races.

Caratti, whose brother and current Porsche Carrera Cup front-runner Aaron won the Formula 3 title in 2005, is looking to bounce back this weekend.

“Even though we had good speed at Eastern Creek it was a pretty disappointing weekend,” Caratti, 22, said.

“We had pole position for the two races, but we struggled to get the car off the line and then lost time with the Race Two incident.

“We’ve had good speed all year, and we won a race and finished second in the other at Phillip Island last time, so we’re confident of being back up the front this weekend.”

With a host of new cars imported from Europe for the 2008 season, the lightweight Formula 3 racers have been resetting lap records around the country.

When the series visited Phillip Island in June, Tander lowered the lap record to 1:26.9031, just two seconds shy of the outright lap record and almost 10 seconds-per lap faster than V8 Supercar race pace.

After finishing second in 2007 - a season in which she became the first female to win a Formula 3 race - by just two points, Tander is eyeing the 2008 title.

“We had some bad luck in the first couple of rounds and since then have been pushing hard to score wins,” Tander, whose husband Garth is the reigning V8 Supercar Champion, said.

“That’s put us in this position in the championship, so we’re going to keep doing the same thing in these last two rounds.

“We’ve been competitive all year and I know we’re capable of winning the championship, there’ll be tough competition from Nathan and James but we’ll give it everything we can.”

This weekend’s big program at Phillip Island also includes the Australian GT Championship, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Porsche Insurance, Glassworks Commodore Cup, Supaloc Saloon Cars, Shannons V8 Touring Cars and the Australian Superkart Non-Gearbox National Titles.

Saturday consists of practice, qualifying and three races, before 18 races on Sunday.

Tickets are $10 on Saturday and $25 on Sunday, with a $30 weekend pass also available, while kids under 16 are free all weekend.

For more information about the 2008 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships, visit http://www.thenationals.com.au.