Coming into this, the final round we had a 33-point deficit to Dylan, the championship leader. I knew what I had to do to close this gap, and it was something no one had done this year. To take home the championship I would need to not only win every race… But Pole it as well, each race win awards 75 points… with Pole awarding 2. If I won every race but didn’t Pole it I’d lose by a single point… (if Dylan came 2nd every race) The pressure was on!
Despite the mammoth job I had in front of me, I knew what I had to do, and carried confidence into this round on my home track.
We only had a single session for practice and it came and went just like that, just enough for me to find the limits on home soil.
On my way into qualifying, I had a plan set out and executed it perfectly, taking the car to pole by nearly half a second! It felt awesome for the first part of our ‘plan’ to come together
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Day 2
Coming into Race 1 I carried the confidence of a Pole position with me on my way to the grid, when I got there, however, we had a starting issue with the clutch and we dropped back in the field. I tried to make my way back up into the lead, but I made contact and got pushed back to 3rd, before I quickly made my way back up to 2nd. I continued by showing my pace and battling it out with the leader (Dylan). We fought for the lead and Zach caught right up to us. I was in 2nd coming into the last lap, with Zach hard on my heels,
Despite not quite having the same pace as myself and Dylan, Zach managed to make a big move on the final corner to take P2 in race 1, so I finished 3rd.
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Race 2 came around, this time I was on the outside grid spot, on P2. We found the cause of the issue and went into Race 2 with confidence off the start.
This helped massively and we took the lead in the early stages of the race, making my failed move from the last race pay off this time. I pulled a gap, but couldn’t quite break the tow from the 2 behind, allowing them to catch up near the end of the race. It got dicey, but I lead going into the final corner. Little did I know a move like nothing else I’d seen before was coming my way, as Zach put in an incredible move, from 3rd to 1st at the final corner to take the win in Race 2!
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Then came Race 3, we were starting on P3 this time, a row back… But on the inside!
I fell to 4th off the line, but made my way into 3rd in just half a lap.
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This was a legendary race.
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We were dicing for the lead lap after lap, fighting for every inch of racetrack we could get, the 3-way battle we had in the last 2 races soon turned into 5 cars and it was all on. For this race I knew Dylan had to be 3rd, and I had to win to take the championship out, I waited in 3rd, making sure I didn’t drop any lower in the field, but also giving Zach a chance to overtake Dylan. He made the move on the last lap, and it was all on from there, I took to the outside into the penultimate corner to attempt to take the lead, but I made it into 2nd. Into the last corner Zach covered the inside, and I tried to make the best run I could onto the main straight to take it over the line…
But to no avail, I crossed the line 2nd. After such a close and intense championship, the whole thing came down to a tenth, it just goes to show how close of a class Formula Ford is, and how every race matters in such a competitive class. I took P2 for the championship.
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Over this season we have had many high and low points, such as a fireball at Taupo and a crash at Pukekohe, to being ‘on fire’ at Taupo and having battles as good as the last race was at Manfeild!
With an awesome season past, and another coming up, I’d like to thank my both, my personal sponsors, and the series sponsors, (listed below) for everything they’ve done for me, from money, to guidance, everything these guys have done is greatly appreciated and has helped me perform at 100% over this season!
Personal Sponsors:
Chris Canham
Class Sponsors:
