Sargent extends his Australian Formula Ford Championship lead after Winton round

It's been a rough and uncertain year for our drivers and teams, but after a prolonged break, Tom Sargent has cemented himself as the guy to beat in this year's Australian Formula Ford Championship.

The CHE Racing driver has extended his championship lead over the weekend, and is now looking untouchable ahead of our last round of the season at Phillip Island in a couple of weeks' time.

"Overall we had a really great weekend, getting the round win so really good championship points," said Sargent after a successful few days at Winton.

Sargent took pole position ahead of Cameron McLeod, who had never started from the front row before at the National level. The duo finished race one in the same positions, after McLeod successfully kept out of trouble and beat Harrison Goodman across the finish line. This was the first National Formula Ford race podium for both McLeod and Goodman.

Race two saw an impressive charge up the field from Cody Donald, who started at the back of the field after a DNF in race one and stormed to second by lap 7. Unfortunately the race didn't end the way that Donald had imagined, with the Spectrum driver tagging the rear of Tom Sargent's Mygale after a safety car restart. With the leaders off track and relegated to the back of the field, it was rookie Jordyn Sinni who claimed his maiden Australian Formula Ford win in front of fellow rookies Xavier Kokai and Winston Smith. The National podium for race two was then attributed to Cameron McLeod and Harrison Goodman due to Kokai and Smith being registered only for Victorian Formula Ford Championship points.

After the tangle with Donald in race two, Sargent sealed the round win with a formidable drive, claiming the lead and the fastest lap of the race on lap 5 and gapping the field to take the chequered flag 3 seconds ahead of his team mate Noah Sands, with Cody Donald home in third.

It was a weekend of many firsts, highlighted by the first round podium for Harrison Goodman and Cameron McLeod, whom finished second and third respectively. This was a ground-breaking round for Goodman, who demonstrated how far he's developed in the last few seasons.

A big shoutout must go to Jordyn Sinni, for his hard work throughout the weekend and a breakthrough win, while also claiming the CHI Hard Charger Award for the round.

The 2021 Australian Formula Ford Championship will be back at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in a couple of weeks' time, where we will officially crown our 2021 Australian Formula Ford Champion.