Traditional and competitive Formula Ford racing continued this weekend as the 2025/26 Yokohama South Island Formula Ford Championship (SIFF) held its second round at the Wigram Revival meeting in Christchurch. While local Dylan Petch won the opening race on Saturday at the Euromarque Motorsport Park, it was Auckland’s Marco Manson that went on to win the remaining three races including the prestigious Wigram Cup.
“That was pretty good,” commented Manson having won the Wigram Cup. “It was very tough, very long and very good. Dylan put a lot of pressure on me and didn’t make it easy, so it was really important to defend.”
As in the first round, Manson took the $500 Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy cash prize after setting fastest lap in qualifying, just 0.029 seconds ahead of Petch. Petch won the first race and finished second in the remaining three races.
“It was frustrating as we definitely had the pace to convert a few more wins,” said Petch. “There was a lot more racing this weekend. So, good to brush up on the skills for the rest of the season especially for the nationals. We had no dnfs’ (Did-not-finish) which is great. Good reliability for the round.”
Manson and Petch have, between them, won all eight races held so far with the former now having a 103-point lead over the latter.
In the Wigram Cup, Manson effectively held the lead from start to finish with plenty of action happening behind him.
“We had lots of good battles this weekend and continue to learn heaps as well,” said Manson who collected a Team Hutchinson Ford $500 prize for the round winner. “Happy to extend the (Series) lead and looking forward to Teretonga (Rnd 3).”
Third in the Wigram Cup was new FIA Arrive and Drive World Cup kartsport champion Zach Tucker. Having won the world title last weekend in Malaysia, the Cantabrian was back in a single seater and finished the weekend third overall in the championship.
“I had lots of fun,” said Tucker. “I’m new to this and I really enjoyed it. The draft here is massive so really enjoyable.
“I initially struggled to make the transition back in the car but by the end of the weekend we had built right up again. I was surprised my head could fit back in my helmet.”
Finishing third for the round and also picking up the NAPA Driver of the Day Award was Australian Toby Musico. It was Musico’s first-time racing in Christchurch with the aim of competing in the national championship starting early 2026. For the first three races, Musico finished comfortably in the top five and had made his way up into second in the finale before tangling with Petch, deemed as a racing incident, and dropped down the field, finishing sixth.
Also on the podium were Jake Bryant (Van Dieman RF94) and Reagan Edwards (Spectrum 015). Bryant holds fourth overall ahead of Izaak Fletcher (Ray GR20), Maxim Kirwan (Spectrum 015) and Jackson Culver (Ray GR20) while Edwards is eighth.
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.
Teams and drivers have a two-week break before the third round at Teretonga Park in Invercargill 6-7 December 2025.
Overall Points after Rnd 2/5
1/ Marco Manson 575
2/ Dylan Petch 472
3/ Zach Tucker 409
4/ Jake Bryant 357
5/ Izaak Fletcher 351
6/ Maxim Kirwan 346
7/ Jackson Culver 323
8/ Reagan Edwards 301
9/ Toby Musico 213
10/ Cameron Freeman 162
11/ Archie Dampier-Crossley 141
12/ Jacob Begg 36
Race Results
Race 1 (10-laps)
1/ Dylan Petch, Van Dieman RF93
2/ Marco Manson, Spectrum 015
3/ Jake Bryant, Van Dieman RF94
4/ Toby Musico, Mygale SJ08
5/ Maxim Kirwan, Spectrum 015
6/ Izaak Fletcher, Ray GR20
7/ Reagan Edwards, Spectrum 015
8/ Zach Tucker, Van Dieman RF05
9/ Jackson Culver, Ray GR20
10/ Archie Dampier-Crossley, Ray GR17
Race 2 (10 laps)
1/ Marco Manson, Spectrum 015
2/ Dylan Petch, Van Dieman RF93
3/ Toby Musico, Mygale SJ08
4/ Maxim Kirwan, Spectrum 015
5/ Izaak Fletcher, Ray GR20
6/ Reagan Edwards, Spectrum 015
7/ Zach Tucker, Van Dieman RF05
8/ Jackson Culver, Ray GR20
9/ Jake Bryant, Van Dieman RF94
10 Archie Dampier-Crossley, Ray GR17
Race 3 (10-laps)
1/ Marco Manson, Spectrum 015
2/ Dylan Petch, Van Dieman RF93
3/ Reagan Edwards, Spectrum 015
4/ Toby Musico, Mygale SJ08
5/ Zach Tucker, Van Dieman RF05
6/ Jake Bryant, Van Dieman RF94
7/ Izaak Fletcher, Ray GR20
8/ Jackson Culver, Ray GR20
9/ Archie Dampier-Crossley, Ray GR17
DNF Maxim Kirwan, Spectrum 015
Race 4 (12-laps) Wigram Cup
1/ Marco Manson, Spectrum 015
2/ Dylan Petch, Van Dieman RF93
3/ Zach Tucker, Van Dieman RF05
4/ Izaak Fletcher, Ray GR20
5/ Jackson Culver, Ray GR20
6/ Toby Musico, Mygale SJ08
7/ Jake Bryant, Van Dieman RF94
8/ Archie Dampier-Crossley, Ray GR17
DNF Reagan Edwards, Spectrum 015
DNS Maxim Kirwan, Spectrum 015
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