Four rounds have produced four different race and round winners and this weekend’s penultimate round in the Ace Hire South Island Formula Ford Championship will see some very competitive racing. Teretonga Park in Invercargill is a favourite of many drivers for its fast flowing corners and spectators are in for a treat.
Christchurch’s Michael Collins driving an older Class 2 car took over the lead in the championship at the last round held last weekend in Christchurch and looks forward to heading south.
“Teretonga is my favourite circuit,” commented Collins. “We’ve always done well there. It seems to suit our car and my driving style so I’m confident going into the weekend.”
Spectators will agree that the competition in this season’s racing is some of the best not seen for a number of years with approximately ten drivers capable of finishing on the podium.
Christchurch school boy Marcus Armstrong won the first round back in early October in Christchurch and has three wins under his belt. While leading the series he elected to focus on his Toyota Finance TR86 campaign and did not compete last weekend at Ruapuna.
Collins took over the lead in Christchurch and has four wins to his credit. He has not been off the podium when he has finished races but has been thwarted by not finishing three times due to crash damage or technical issues.
Also from Christchurch is Ryan Yardley with considerable experience in the category. Yet to win a race, Yardley won the last round and has shown great consistency, only failing to finish in one of the 12 races. He currently lies third on the points table behind Armstrong who has not entered the round.
Fourth in the series is Auckland’s Taylor Cockerton who has emerged as the fastest driver as the season has progressed. He won the third round before Christmas at Teretonga and has three race wins. He could well be leading the series if it was not for some bad luck last weekend. A failed clutch in race one and a flat battery in race two saw him retire but he came back to win the final race of the round.
Christchurch’s Caleb Cross won the second round at Timaru in early November and has won one race so far. The school boy driver is a fast learner in his first season of single seater racing and will be on a mission to maximise points.
Practice gets underway on Friday with qualifying and race one on Saturday. Sunday sees the final two races. The weekend also doubles as the third round of the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship and is part of the support categories to the second round of the 2015 Toyota Racing Series..
The South Island Formula Ford Club acknowledge the support of Ace Hire (Chch), Avon Tyres, Arai Helmets, Motorsport Solutions (NZ) and Newfield Autos (Invercargill).
