Some of the brightest young talents of Australian motorsport will battle it out at Winton Raceway this weekend in Round 5 of the Australian Formula Ford Series, which takes place as part of the Victorian Motor Racing Championship (VMRC) race meeting.
Formula Ford is recognised as the primary pathway for junior racers to progress from go-karts to a professional career in motorsport, and this weekend a host of young guns will be pursuing experienced female racer Leanne Tander, who has opened up a 32-point advantage over her rivals with two rounds remaining.
Tander is on a high after her husband Garth took victory in the Sandown 500 Supercars endurance race last weekend, but is not getting carried away about her Formula Ford points lead.
“There are still a lot of points on offer over the last two rounds, and there is still much work to be done – I need to keep winning races,” Tander said.
“We’ve been testing the car at Winton and experimenting with setup changes on the new Yokohama tyres, and we’ve also learned a lot about Winton’s new track surface.
“The surface is really grippy once some rubber has been laid down, and we saw the lap record fall at the state round a few weeks ago so provided the weather is dry, I expect there will be fast lap times.”
Tander will compete against an abundance of challengers including Will Brown, who currently occupies second place in the standings. Driving for Brett Francis Racing, Brown has shown prodigious speed and has won a total of six races this season – more than any other driver. He was recently recognised for his achievements with a test drive for the Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Supercars team.
Other contenders include Borland Racing Developments driver Jayden Ojeda, who took a wet weather race win in the previous round at Wakefield Park, and the Synergy Motorsport duo of Andrew Kahl and Ryan Suhle. Privateers Jordan Boys and Lachlan Gibbons have shown glimpses of speed this season, while Adrian Lazzaro will be aiming to bounce back from a tough previous round and Jake Hobbs will be aiming to extend his lead in the Kent Class.
The Formula Ford round will be supported by a selection of Winton’s most popular categories including the growing Legend Car Series. Originally built for speedway competition, Legend Cars can also be adapted for circuit racing.
Winton operations manager Wayne Williams will return to the driver’s seat, where he will face off against regular front-runners Kyle Angel, Mick Hebditch and Rick Christy. Last year’s Australian Formula Ford Champion Cameron Hill is making an appearance in the category, along with experienced race engineer Brett Francis.
The Vic V8s are back at Winton as well – this series for V8-powered Holdens and Fords has also been growing in popularity and produced close and exciting racing since its inception in 2013. Vic Argento (Ford XB Falcon) leads the series by just 12 points from Mark Kakouri (Holden VH Commodore), while other fast runners are entered this weekend including former Commodore Cup racer Graeme Meer (VH Commodore) and Damien Gambold (XD Falcon).
A blockbuster field of 20 Super TT/Production TT cars will participate this weekend, spanning everything from the Mini Challenge cars of Iain McDougall and Ryan How, to a selection of six cylinder and V8 Holdens and Fords and everything in between. It will also encompass a round of the Victorian Pulsar Series.
Rounding out the program will be the Stock Car Series, with the Oz Trucks of Steve and Michael Coulter to battle it out with Brian Walden in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
Admission this weekend is $10 for Saturday, $15 for Sunday or $20 for a two day pass.
