Sargent clean sweeps Round 1 at SMP
2021 Championship favourite Thomas Sargent has started the 2021 Australian Formula Ford Championship in style, with a dominant clean sweep this weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park.
The CHE Racing Team driver was just about untouchable, setting the fastest lap on track during every session, including the three practice sessions on Friday.
"We had a really, really good weekend. Clean swept so I can't ask for much more. The car was really good all weekend, the CHE Racing Team did an awesome job", said Sargent at the end of the weekend.
Synergy Motorsport drivers Cody Burcher and Jude Bargwanna rounded up the podium in the Duratec-powered class. This was Bargwanna's debut round at the National level and the rookie showed his skill, taking home a maiden podium and racing wheel to wheel with drivers who have won at the National level.
The FF1600 class saw a last-minute change in driver lineup, with Formula Ford veteran Jayden Ojeda stepping in for Simon Hodges due to personal reasons. Mitchell Gatenby took the round win in the Kent-powered class, claiming a clean sweep for Anglo Motorsport. Gatenby and Ojeda put on a great show during race two on Sunday morning, racing wheel-to-wheel during the entire race.
Being a replacement driver, Ojeda wasn't awarded any Championship points, so our FF1600 podium for round 1 of the 2021 Championship saw Gatenby leading rookie Daniel Frougas and Jason Liddell.
"Excellent weekend in the FF1600 class. Thankfully I got the clean sweep. Huge thank you to Anglo Motorsport for making sure that the car ran well all weekend", said Gatenby on Sunday afternoon.
The 2021 Australian Formula Ford Championship will be back in New South Wales for round 2 at Wakefield Park Raceway on May 21-23.
2021 Australian Formula Ford Championship Pointscore
1st - Thomas Sargent - 61pts
2nd - Cody Burcher - 48pts
3rd - Jude Bargwanna (R) - 42pts
4th - Cody Donald - 34pts
5th - Noah Sands (R) - 30pts
6th - James Piszcyk (R) - 29pts
7th - Valentino Astuti (R) - 28pts
8th - Harrison Goodman - 21pts
9th - Kyle Evans (R) - 20pts
10th - Clay Richards (R) - 19pts
11th - Jake Donaldson - 18pts
2021 Australian FF1600 Championship Pointscore
1st - Mitchell Gatenby (R) - 61pts
2nd - Daniel Frougas (R) - 48pts
3rd - Jason Liddell - 28pts
4th - John Pereira - 24pts
5th - Jayden Ojeda - 0pts
2021 Australian Formula Ford Championship calendar:
Round 1: 6-7 March at Sydney Motorsport Park (AMRS)*
Round 2: 21-23 May at Wakefield Park Raceway (NSW State)
Round 3: 11-13 June at Winton Motor Raceway (AMRS)
Round 4: 23-25 July at Sandown Raceway (Vic State)
Round 5: 6-8 August at Queensland Raceway (AMRS)*
Round 6: 24-26 September at Phillip Island GP Circuit (Vic State)
Round 7: 3-5 December at The Bend Motorsport Park (AMRS)*
*denotes rounds of the 2021 Australian FF1600 Championship
