Bree Morris may have had the near-perfect meeting however it was Liam Sceats that won the fourth and penultimate round of the 2021/22 Giltrap Group North Island Formula Ford Series at Hampton Downs on Sunday. Morris set fastest lap, winning the $500 Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy cash prize and crossed the line three times in first place but a penalty, in Race 1, for contact with fellow competitor (#3 Kyan Davie) relegated her back to sixth place (main picture).
This gave the win to Sceats (Van Diemen Stealth) who finished three times on the podium, beating Morris (Ray GR17) for the round victory by just five-points. Meanwhile, current points leader, Hayden Bakkerus (Mygale), made it difficult for his chasing rivals, putting in a solid-points haul to finish third overall and now heads to the final round in Taupo at the end of May, with a 117-point lead over Morris.
“Pleased with that,” commented Sceats. “We didn’t quite have the pace but were consistent with no dramas. We just kept it on the track, raced our own race and stayed out of trouble.”
With a 19-car grid, including a good field of Historic Formula Fords, Morris was also thrilled with her results.
“It’s been a good weekend,” said Morris. “It was just Dad and I running the car so thrilled with the pole and race wins. The car was great so was really pleased with our speed and really thrilled to set fastest lap in qualifying.”
While Morris and Sceats have shared race wins over the last eight races (Morris x 5, Sceats x 3), it has been Bakkerus who has consistently gathered points, the only driver to have finished all 12-races so far this season. Two podiums on Sunday and a fourth place means he will be difficult to catch with three races left to complete the series. Also, on the podium on Sunday was Sebastian Manson (Spectrum 015) who finished third in Race 1 and Kyan Davie (Spectrum 015) who finished second to Morris in Race 3.
With the final NIFF round at the end of May, Sunday’s racing was a crucial last hit-out for those also competing in the national series with the final round in Christchurch 1 May 2022. Both the national and North Island Formula Ford Series have a $60,000 prize pool from the Tony Quinn Foundation with funding for travel and testing opportunities with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing NZ. The Giltrap Group North Island Formula Ford Series is also supported by Yokohama.
Overall Points after 4/5 rounds (Top 15)
1/ Hayden Bakkerus 653
2/ Bree Morris 536
3/ Kyan Davie 495
4/ Sebastian Manson 403
5/ Liam Sceats 399
6/ Judd Christiansen 337
7/ Joshua Andrew 331
8/ Mason Potter 321
9/ Leo Scott 315
10/ Shane Drake 314
11/ Bailey Cruse 224
12/ Kim Crocker 223
13/ Mike Davidson 169
14/ Simon Hunter 134
15/ Keith Miller 90
Results
Qualifying
Pos, Driver Car, time
1/ Bree Morris Ray GR17, 1:10.472
2/ Kyan Davie Spectrum 015, 1:10.614
3/ Liam Sceats Van Diemen Stealth, 1:10.682
4/ Hayden Bakkerus Mygale, 1:10.741
5/ Sebastian Manson Spectrum 015, 1:11.123
6/ Kim Crocker Ray, 1:11.315
7/ Shane Drake Van Diemen RF92, 1:11.461
8/ Joshua Andrew VD 01, 1:11,230
9/ David Silverton, 1:13.156
10/ Bailey Cruze VD 85, 1:13.167
11/ Noel Woodford, 1:13.258
12/ Manson Potter, 1:13.381
13/ Phil Foulkes, 1:13.466
14/ Steve O’Donoghue, 1:13.466
15/ Russell Brock, 1:14.851
16/ Judd Christiansen 91 Swift, 1:15.701
17/ Ron Wilkin, 1:15.702
18/ Anthony Olissof, 1:15.714
19/ Ian West, 1:27.176
Race 1 (8 laps)
1/ Liam Sceats Van Diemen Stealth
2/ Hayden Bakkerus Mygale
3/ Sebastian Manson Spectrum 015
4/ Shane Drake Van Diemen RF92
5/ Kyan Davie Spectrum 015
6/ Bree Morris Ray GR17
7/ Joshua Andrew VD 01
8/ David Silverton
9/ Noel Woodford
10/ Steve O’Donoghue
11/ Manson Potter
12/ Phil Foulkes
13/ Judd Christiansen 91 Swift
14/ Ron Wilkin
15/ Anthony Olissof
16/ Russell Brock
17/ Ian West
DNF Bailey Cruze VD 85
DNF Kim Crocker Ray
Race 2 (8 laps)
1/ Bree Morris Ray GR17
2/ Liam Sceats Van Diemen Stealth
3/ Hayden Bakkerus Mygale
4/ Shane Drake Van Diemen RF92
5/ Kim Crocker Ray
6/ Manson Potter
7/ Noel Woodford
8/ Phil Foulkes
9/ David Silverton
10/ Judd Christiansen 91 Swift
11/ Anthony Olissof
12/ Ron Wilkin
13/ Russell Brock
DNF Sebastian Manson Spectrum 015
DNF Joshua Andrew VD 01
DNF Kyan Davie Spectrum 015
DNF Steve O’Donoghue
DNF Ian West
DNS Bailey Cruze VD 85
Race 3 (12 laps)
1/ Bree Morris Ray GR17
2/ Kyan Davie Spectrum 015
3/ Liam Sceats Van Diemen Stealth
4/ Hayden Bakkerus Mygale
5/ Sebastian Manson Spectrum 015
6/ Shane Drake Van Diemen RF92
7/ Manson Potter
8/ David Silverton
9/ Judd Christiansen 91 Swift
10/ Phil Foulkes
11/ Russell Brock
12/ Ian West
DNF Kim Crocker Ray
DNF Noel Woodford
DNF Anthony Olissof
DNF Ron Wilkin
DNS Joshua Andrew VD 01
DNS Steve O’Donoghue
DNS Bailey Cruze VD 85
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