Ryder Quinn takes his second win of the year. Astuti takes the series lead.
Saturday 29/10/2022 - Qualifying
A beautiful day in Western Sydney laid the background for the final round of the 2002 Formula Ford Australia Series run at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Qualifying was held at 10.50am and with the temperature hitting the 20 degree mark getting an early lap in before the track heated up too much was super important. And it was Sonic Racing driver and Series contender Winston Smith who posted a 1:35:0156 on lap 3 to claim pole for a second consecutive race weekend. Smith claimed pole at The Bend last month.
His teammate Valentino Astuti will start from P2 having posted a 1:35:2347 also on the 3rd lap finishing 2/10ths from the converted pole. Zak Lobko and Ryder Quinn will start from positions 3rdand 4th for Race 1. While Xavier Kokai 5th, Daniel Frougas 6th, Eddie Beswick 9th, Paul Zsidy 15thand Cameron McLeod will start from 16th of the 25 car field after receiving a penalty during the session.
Race 1
The temperature was hot and so was the racing with the battle for the podium going from the first turn right through to the chequered flag after 8 laps. Winston Smith led from the start of the race, but an engine problem saw him drop out of the race at the exit of turn 2. This left Valentino Astuti, Ryder Quinn and Zak Lobko out front where positions changed numerous times between the three.
Ryder Quinn taking the win ahead of Zak Lobko and Valentino Astuti in 3rd.
After getting a great start, Xavier Kokai tagged onto the lead group and was also battling for a top 3 spot in the final 2 laps. He ended up in finishing 4th.
After receiving a penalty post qualifying for an incident with Eddie Beswick, Cameron McLeod kept his series alive working his way up from 16th to 5th ahead of Beswick in 6th by a margin of 3/100thof a second. Daniel Frougas finished 8th while Paul Zsidy was 13th. Thomas Davies was the last of the National Drivers to finish and he did so in 23rd place with car problems hampering his day. Winston Smith Did Not Finish.
In the Kent class Mitch Gatenby kept his unbeaten run of the year going with his 7th win of the Series and enough points to be crowned Series winner for 2022. It is his first National Title.
Jason Liddell finished in 2nd place for National Points and remains 3rd for the series.
Quotes – Ryder Quinn Winner Duratec Class
“It was nice to be back on the winner’s step again as the last time I won a race was back at Morgan Park which was my first win of the year. It’s so much fun out there when you are racing for the lead and when the racing is clean, you really have to work for any victory you get. Thanks to the team who have worked hard all year to give me a competitive car and I’m glad I could repay them for their hard work”
Quotes – Mitch Gatenby winner Kent Class.
“Wow, my 7th National series win of the year, and this was super exciting, as I finished ahead of a couple of Duratec’s in the race. I can’t thank the guys from Anglo Motorsport enough for the preparation they do to my car. My job is made a lot easier when you have a decent car to drive. To win my first National title is amazing after having won a State title back in 2019. The jobs not finished yet and let’s see how we go tomorrow.
Series Points – Top 5 after Race 1 Round 7
Valentino Astuti – 240
James Piszcyk – 237
Cameron McLeod – 209
Winston Smith – 194
Ryder Quinn – 189
