On the line at Pukekohe Raceway this weekend is the New Zealand Formula Ford title and an opportunity to attend an international ‘shoot-out’ in the USA, to determine who wins a $US200K fully supported drive in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda in 2017.
The sixth and final round of the 2015/16 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship (NZFF) will see a title show-down between Te Puke’s Michael Scott and Whanganui’s Aaron Marr for the overall title. Scott has a 44-point lead and with a maximum of 225 points on offer it would seem that Scott has one hand on the title but any slip up will allow Marr to take the spoils of victory.
“Sadly we may be a bit far behind,” commented Marr. “We are still in the hunt but it is going to be hard. We will need some luck and things to go our way. We just need to give it our best as anything could happen.”
Scott maintained his lead over Aaron Marr after a controversial penultimate round at the NZ Grand Prix meeting at Manfeild Park in Feilding. Both Scott and Marr were disqualified from the second of three races after both drove beyond the track limits ignoring flags. This handed the win to rookie Jordan Michels from Southland, his first championship win moving him into third place in the championship, 70 points behind Marr.
Also on the podium at Manfeild was Christchurch’s Anna Collins who finished third in race two and has already wrapped up the Class Two title. She is just 24 points behind Michels for third overall. In Class Three, Roger McKenzie has a 169 lead over Blair Brownlee.
A golden opportunity to emulate current Verizon IndyCar Series champion and fellow Kiwi Scott Dixon awaits the next young NZFFC title holder. Available is the opportunity to win a $US200K fully supported drive in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda in 2017. Now in its sixth year, the Mazda Road to Indy offers three key steps for drivers. Drivers begin the Mazda Road to Indy in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. This entry-level single seater series is comparable to New Zealand’s Formula Ford car but with a more powerful 2.0 litre engine and front and rear wing.
Already former NZ Formula Ford champion James Munro is competing in the 2016 USF2000 series. Munro won the NZFF title in the 2012/13 season and is the first Kiwi to compete in the series.
From there, drivers move on to the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, formerly known as the Star Mazda Championship. The third step is the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. Indy Lights is regarded as a step below the Verizon IndyCar Series.
