Christchurch’s Simon Hunter showed he has not lost any speed or skill on his single seater debut at the opening round of the Yokohama South Island Formula 1600 Championship in Christchurch last weekend. Having eight national kartsport titles to his name, Hunter admits to somewhat being slightly ‘rusty’ and uncertainty on how he would go not having raced much over the last five years.
“Well, it was the first time out for me in an actual race-car,” commented Hunter. “Really thrilled on how it went as I was somewhat uncertain on how I would go or whether I would be quick enough.”
Hunter stood on the podium in only his second Formula 1600 race and finished runner up in the feature Wigram Cup race after battling, and at one stage leading, with eventual winner and old kartsport rival Matthew Hamilton. The weekend result now puts him fourth overall on the points table and third in the Class 1 (>2000) category.
The 35-year-old business man has plenty of experience to fall back on and has put a good package together to compete in both the South Island and NZ Formula Ford Championships’.
“Choosing the right chassis was important to me. I originally wanted to purchase a new Ray but wanted a car with a bit of history and the As Is Where Is Mygale SJ10 I have ended up owning is a national championship winning car having been driven by current Supercars driver Andre Heimgartner in 2010/11 and 2011/12. Steve Edwards has been campaigning the car on and off for many seasons since then and it has been very well maintained.”
Hunter is working closely with Motorsport Solutions who are engineering the car this season.
“John Crawford and Michael Smit are working closely with me. While I see many young drivers coming through relying on data, we haven’t really delved into that. Because of my experience I am confident in working with John and Michael to make the right adjustments when required and almost every time we have moved forward and got quicker.
“While I haven’t really competed on any of the tracks that we will race this season, I have got plenty of kartsport experience enabling me to quickly adapt to different situations which I think is an advantage over much of the field.
“I’ve noticed that in kartsport we could usually drive around any problem while in Formula Ford there are more variables to consider in terms of suspension, sway bars, shock absorbers, ride height, draughting and the new Yokohama tyres. In the end a Formula Ford is like a big kart with not much grip or power. They are really good to race, and you have to be precise otherwise you lose too much momentum.”
In kartsport, Hunter had been competing against the likes of Matt Hamilton, Mitch Cunningham, Wade Cunningham, Andy Knight and Daniel Gaunt and now, in Formula Ford, will be up against a new flock of young kartsport graduates.
“I had a health scare earlier this year and successfully had a tumour removed, so feel very lucky. This has been motivation to get back into motorsport as you don’t know in life what is around the corner and I don’t want any regrets.”
Hunter will be back in action this Saturday in the second of six South Island championship rounds.
Comments