Young Mount Gambier race driver Jobe Stewart lit up the Townsville track on the weekend, competing in the third round of the Dunlop Super3 Series.

Stewart entered the weekend with big hopes as he sat first in the Dunlop Super3 Series after the opening two rounds and was hoping to extend his lead going into the second half of the series.

Stewart started the race weekend with a couple of practice sessions on Friday where he focussed on learning the track.

“I was really worried about the standings from the practice sessions, just learning the track so we could get the car setup right,” Stewart said.

The youngster still managed to show his class on track, finishing third in the first practice run and then second in practice two.

“It was quite a decent way to start the weekend,” Stewart said.

The first qualifying session was a promising start for Stewart as he finished in second place, behind Cameron McLeod.

However Stewart knew that more speed would have to be found if he was to better his result in the first race.

“We were a little bit behind first, which meant that we had to find a little bit more for the race,” he said.

However Stewart was unable to improve his results, with McLeod just managing to stay ahead at the chequered flag.

“I just could not get close enough in the race and then finished second.

“It was still good to get another podium for the year.”

Sunday proved to be a similar story for Stewart as he was unable to close in on McLeod.

“We came second in the qualifying and then came second once again in the second race, first place just had too much speed on us and we were just chasing our tails for the whole weekend,” Stewart said.

Stewart took a podium finish for the weekend finishing second which, while disappointing, meant the youngster was still happy with the weekend’s result.

“I’m relatively pleased, but as I have been in a fight for first it was a little bit frustrating as we were just trying to find a little bit more speed throughout the whole weekend,” he said.

“It was still a solid weekend overall, we finished second and managed to bag a few points.”

Despite striving for more, Stewart remains on top of the championship table going into the second half of the racing season, with McLeod just 27 points behind him.

The next round will be the Sandown 500 in Melbourne in September and Stewart is feeling strong taking a lead into the fourth round.

“I’m feeling good about Sandown, I’m hoping the track will suit my car a bit better, as Townsville was a bit twisty and had a few long corners, where Sandown has more long straights which will hopefully help the car,” he said.

Stewart believes he will be more in-tune with his vehicle come the Sandown event.

“Coming out of this weekend, I have now been driving the car a bit more as it’s a new car this year and I’m still kind of learning it,” he said.

Stewart is familiar with the Sandown circuit having raced it in the Toyota 86 series last year.

“It was a decent round at Sandown last year, I had a couple of top-five finishes, so knowing the track will be pretty valuable,” Stewart said.

“So I will not have to completely relearn the track.”

As the next round approaches Stewart will be looking to find ways to improve his speed.

“We’ll do a test day in the car, to find myself a bit more and work on my driving, and hopefully identify ways to improve my car,” Stewart said.

“Once we get to Sandown we will go out in practice and see where we’re sitting which is really all we can do.”

Stewart remains focused on winning the championship and believes he has the potential to secure it.

“My goal for the rest of the year is to win the championship, as I’m leading at the moment I would like to extend that lead in the next few rounds,” he said.

Stewart believes he has shown he’s more than capable of claiming the Dunlop Super3 Series Championships.

“It’s definitely achievable as I’m currently leading after the first three rounds and at the halfway point of the year now it shows I’m capable of doing it,” he said.

But Stewart is also aware he will need to continue to perform and remain consistent as the pointy end of the season approaches.

“I know that I’ll just need to keep some consistency for the rest of the year to take out the championships,” Stewart said.