Two race wins and a second place was a dream start for school boy Marcus Armstrong at the opening round of the Ace Hire South Island Formula Ford Championship in Christchurch on Sunday. Making his single seater debut, the Christ’s College student joined twenty other drivers on the grid for three races at the Canterbury Car Club club day at the Mike Pero Motorsport Park, Ruapuna.

“It’s definitely a dream start,” commented Armstrong. “My first pole position and win on debut in single seaters and some great racing with Mike (Collins) and Taylor (Cockerton) in the final race. I’m certainly looking forward to more of this.” Last weekend Armstrong won his first Toyota TR 86 race in Taupo and was competing in kartsport in France a fortnight ago.

Christchurch’s Michael Collins (Van Diemen Stealth) won the third race of the round and twice finished second to Armstrong as both continued a duel for the lead throughout the day. Collins this season has switched to an older and lighter Class 2 car and showed his experience from competing in several South Island and national competitions.

It was a tough debut for the other 14 year old in the field, Caleb Cross. Having only just received his Mygale race car off the boat from Australia earlier in the week, a few sleepless nights had been spent readying it for racing. A time penalty dropped him to 14th in race one. He was fifth in the second race and came in third in the final. His team, Andy Neale Motorsport, now have six weeks to prepare for the next round in Timaru.

Formula Ford racing has long been regarded as a key stepping stone for launching the careers of young Kiwi talent. The South Island Championship is a key part with many using the first round as preparation for an assault on the national title which gets underway at Timaru 14-15 November.

The opening round has shown that there are seven young drivers capable of podiums over the season with half dozen older and experienced competitors right behind them also looking for top finishes.

Wanganui’s Aaron Marr (Mygale) made the trip south and was happy with his weekend. “It was great for what we came for as preparation for the nationals,” commented Marr. “I haven’t raced at Ruapuna before so I have been able to get a good idea of both the track and the opposition heading into the nationals.”

Ryan Yardley (Stealth) had a similar view. A 50 second time penalty in race one put him back to 13th overall while a gearbox issue dropped him to seventh in race two. A fourth in the final race showed that he will be competitive as the season progresses.

Auckland’s Taylor Cockerton, driving last season’s championship winning Mygale was side-lined from the first race with an electrical issue. A fifth place in race two and third in the final race showed that he will also be a major title contender.

Armstrong now leads both the series and Class 1 while Collins leads Class 2. Doug Price (1984 Reynard) was the quickest Class 3 car in all three races.

In November the Ace Hire South Island Formula Ford Championship heads to Timaru for the second round which also doubles as the opening round of the National Formula Ford Championship..