The prestigious Wigram Cup will be on the line this weekend as the Canterbury Car Club Wigram Revival meeting in Christchurch hosts the second round of the 2025/26 Yokohama South Island Formula Ford Championship (SIFF). Auckland’s Marco Manson leads a trio of rookie drivers at the top of the leaderboard, having won three of the four races in Timaru at the beginning of the month.
Manson will be looking to emulate his brother Seb Manson’s effort two years ago, winning all four races at the revival meeting as well as the Wigram Cup.
“I’m excited,” commented Manson (Spectrum 015). “Ruapuna is the track I first drove at so really looking forward to it.”
Fellow Aucklander Maxim Kirwan sits 38-points behind and comes to the round race-fit having competed in the North Island Series a fortnight ago. For this round he switches from a Mygale to the Spectrum 010 he used at Taupo and will be looking for race wins.
Zach Tucker (Van Diemen RF05) is third overall and returns from Malaysia having won the Senior Final of the inaugural FIA Karting Arrive and Drive World Cup last weekend. This is a significant world kartsport title and Tucker will be looking to transfer this talent to single seater racing.
Fourth overall is the very experienced Dylan Petch who won the opening race of the season and knows the Euromarque Motorsport Park circuit just outside of Christchurch very well.
Also finishing on the podium in Timaru were Izaak Fletcher (Ray GR20) and Reagan Edwards (Spectrum 015), both experienced campaigners while Jake Bryant (Van Diemen RF94) put in consistent racing to be fifth on the overall points table.
Weather could be a factor with some showers forecasted for late Saturday and over Sunday morning.
Saturday sees a 20-minute qualifying session in the morning with a $500 Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy cash prize for pole position. This will be followed by a ten-lap race mid-afternoon. Three races will take place on Sunday with a ten-lapper in the morning followed by a 12-lap race at lunch time before the all-important Wigram Cup 12-lap race late afternoon.
The South Island Formula Ford Club acknowledges the support from Team Hutchinson Ford. Available across the Formula Ford season is funding and support from both the Tony Quinn Foundation and the Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy, while Yokohama return as the tyre of choice for Formula Ford Racing in NZ and the NAPA Driver of the Day Award.
Points after 1/5 rounds
1/ Marco Manson 281
2/ Maxim Kirwan 243
3/ Zach Tucker 219
4/ Dylan Petch 196
5/ Jake Bryant 174
6/ Cameron Freeman 162
7/ Izaak Fletcher 161
8/ Jackson Culver 160
9/ Reagan Edwards 154
10/ Jacob Begg 36
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