This weekend the Australian and Victorian Formula Ford Championships will share the track at the iconic Sandown Raceway, boasting a competitive field of 29 drivers, the largest so far this season.
Sandown, often referred to as the “home of horsepower”, is well known for scintillating Formula Ford racing over the past 50 years. Last year, as a privateer, Zac Soutar claimed his maiden Australian Formula Ford round win at Sandown, establishing himself as a true front-runner. This year Soutar has enjoyed assistance from BF Racing and will be hoping to get his title chase back on track. Soutar is currently fourth in the championship standings, 40 points behind the championship leader, Angelo Mouzouris.
Sonic Motor Racing Services’ Angelo Mouzouris is enjoying a run of form, with a 14-point buffer over Tom Sargent. Mouzouris will bring plenty of local experience to Sandown, having raced at the Victorian track on multiple occasions since his Formula Ford debut in 2017. Expect to see Mouzouris and CHE Racing driver Tom Sargent playing for keeps, given their current championship rivalry. Sargent has been consistently fast since the beginning of the season and seems to enjoy the higher speed circuits.
Callum Hedge, the 2018 New Zealand Formula Ford Champion, will be one of the rookies at Sandown this weekend. Given that testing is limited at the suburban-based track, Hedge will have to maximise his learning curve over the course of Friday practice. Hedge is currently sitting in third position in the championship aboard his Sonic-prepared Mygale, just 2 points shy of Sargent.
CHE Racing’s Lachlan Mineeff arrives at Sandown hoping to carry across the winning form from The Bend Motorsport Park, where he grabbed his maiden Australian Formula Ford race and round win. His brilliant weekend in South Australia also shot him up the ladder and into the top five in the championship, 39 points behind his team-mate Tom Sargent.
This weekend will mark the beginning of an exciting new collaboration between the Australian Formula Ford Championship and Porsche Cars Australia. This partnership will include a Porsche experience day awarded to the winner of the 2019 Australian Formula Ford Championship. More details about this prize will be made public in the next few weeks.
In the Victorian Formula Ford ranks, championship leader Ben D’Alia will be looking at increasing the gap from Ben Bargwanna and Kyle Gurton, who currently sit second and third respectively. Spencer Ackermann will also be returning to the track after missing the Winton round. The Mygale privateer clinched his maiden Formula Ford round win at Phillip Island in May.
The Victorian FF1600 Championship is still wide open, with Brendan Jones once again the man leading the title chase, followed by Peter Fitzgerald and Doug Williams. John Connelly, who has been running wheel-to-wheel with Jones all season, will have to push hard to regain points after a disastrous round at Winton. Andrew Lamrock, Mark Samson and James Meaden will be returning to the FF1600 field, which has been gradually increasing since the start of the year.
The action kicks off this Friday, July 19th, with four practice sessions. Racing is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, with qualifying and three races across the weekend.
2019 Australian Formula Ford Championship standings – top 5
1st – Angelo Mouzouris – 178pts
2nd – Thomas Sargent – 164pts
3rd – Callum Hedge – 162pts
4th – Zac Soutar – 138pts
5th – Lachlan Mineeff – 125pts
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