Australian Formula Ford Series Title Fight Goes Down to the Wire
The Australian Formula Ford Series title fight is set to go down to the wire, with four drivers still in contention heading into this weekend’s final round at Phillip Island.
A new Australian Formula Ford Champion will be crowned as part of the popular Island Magic race meeting at Phillip Island this weekend, with Leanne Tander the points leader heading into the final three races of the season.
Tander is on-track to join recently-crowned Australian Rally Champion Molly Taylor as a national series’ first female winner, the Sonic Mygale driver taking a 32-point lead into Island Magic.
There are, however, 61 points still on offer, with Will Brown best-placed to take on Tander from second place. Privateer and AFFS rookie Jordan Boys currently sits third, a further 19 points back. Spectrum young gun Jayden Ojeda is the fourth and final driver in mathematical contention, although will need a lot to go his way from 58 points back.
There are a total of 25 cars entered for Phillip Island, including new FFA Vic Championship and CAMS Vic Series winner Max Vidau, who will step up to the AFFS full-time in 2017. The same goes for Queenslander Harrison Jones who will travel south ahead of a full AFFS campaign next season, while 15-year-old Courtney Prince is another of the local Victorian state runners looking to make an impression on the national field.
In the Formula Ford 1600 class, runaway champion Jake Hobbs will look to cap off an almost-perfect season at the final round. He will face stiff competition from the likes of Daniel Holihan – one of the drivers looking at a full AFFS campaign for 2017 – and Brendan Jones, who just won the FFA and CAMS Victorian series for a second year in a row.
John Blanchard is a Formula Ford star making a return. The 1992 Australian Formula Ford runner-up (and father of 2007 Australian Formula Ford Champion and current Supercars driver Tim Blanchard) returns in his famous blue Van Diemen.
A three race programme will be held as part of the Island Magic event over the coming weekend.
ENTRY LIST – PHILLIP ISLAND
FORMULA FORD
2 Max Vidau Sonic Motor Racing/Hi Tech Oils Mygale
3 Courtney Prince Sonic Motor Racing Mygale
4 James Westaway Sonic Motor Racing/Westbon Mygale
6 Paul Zsidy Borland Racing Developments Spectrum
7 Chris Lazarevic Plus Fitness Spectrum
8 Jordan Boys Albury Automotive/Mygale/Penrite/Modem Const. Mygale
10 Luke Ellery Ellery Motorsport Spectrum
12 Andrew Kahl Synergy Motorsport Spectrum
15 John Doria Doria Bros Transport Mygale
16 Cooper Murray Dream Motorsport Mygale
18 Lachlan Gibbons Lachlan Gibbons Motorsport Mygale
20 Ryan Suhle Synergy Motorsport/Ray White Spectrum
21 Harrison Jones Jones Motorsport Spectrum
31 Jayden Ojeda VHT/Raceworks/Spectrum Spectrum
42 Leanne Tander Sonic Motor Racing/Fleetcare Mygale
48 Nicholas Carroll Wilson Security/Frontier Spectrum
71 Samuel Dicker Fastlane Racing Stealth
85 Ben Reichstein Reichstein Motorsport Spectrum
95 Adrian Lazzaro Wilson Security/CD Automotive/Parkinson Gp Spectrum
97 Liam McLellan DSL Welding/EGO/Holden/JC Mygale
99 Will Brown Cars Galore/BF Racing Mygale
FORMULA FORD 1600
19 John Blanchard Cooldrive Van Diemen
23 Daniel Holihan Anglo Australian Motorsport Mygale
78 Brendan Jones Speco/VHT/PIARC Spectrum
94 Jake Hobbs Karcraft Spirit
