MTA NEW ZEALAND FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP

ANOTHER STANAWAY FORMULA FORD HAT TRICK AT TIMARU

Tauranga racing driver Richie Stanaway has turned the MTA New Zealand Formula Ford Championship on its head following another hat trick of race wins at Round 4 held at Levels International Raceway during the weekend. Not only did the series debutant win all three races but also qualified on pole position and set a new lap record of 1m 05.245 secs. The stunning result obviously gave him the overall round win and enabled him to establish a healthy 93 point lead on the Championship.

While Stanaway left his competitors in his wake, the battle for other placings was hard fought with 14 year old Aucklander Mitchell Evans qualifying on the front row of the starting grid and recording three 2nd places to take the round runner up position. Stefan Webling (Oakura) did not challenge for top three race places after initial technical problems then contact from another car but consistency saw him 3rd overall for the round to maintain his 2nd overall place on the Championship points ladder.

Other drivers featuring prominently including 15 year old Jamie McNee (Wellington) who qualified a creditable 3rd then recorded 3rd, 4th and 10th race placings together with breaking the lap record in Race One before losing it to Stanaway in Race 2. Hamilton’s Martin Short experienced a mixed weekend to qualify 6th only to fail to finish Race 1 but recovered well to collect two 3rd places and confirm himself as a threat to the front runners.

The sensation of the Round was probably Matthew Penrose (Rangiora) who was classified 5th overall despite contesting a pre-1993 Reynard car. Having qualified 5th, Penrose backed up his effort with an impressive 5th and two 6th placings against some formidable rivals. Aucklander Simon Evans did not have the best of weekends after suffering an electrical problem in qualifying then unable to complete the first race but still salvaged valuable points to remain a Championship contender.

The Championship now moves onto Round 5 this coming weekend at Teretonga Park, near Invercargill, where drivers will be desperate to close the gap on the flying Richie Stanaway. Local interest will also be centred on Invercargill drivers Damon Leitch and Stephen Heffernen who will be looking to perform well in front of their home crowd.  

Rangiora driver Matthew Penrose raised eyebrows at Timaru with an excellent overall result

 

Championship Points After Round 4:

Richie Stanaway (Tauranga)  790; Stefan Webling (Oakura)  697; Mitchell Evans (Auckland)  630; Jamie McNee (Wellington)  590; Simon Evans (Auckland)  531; Martin Short (Hamilton)  517; Matthew Penrose (Rangiora)  507; Damon Leitch (Invercargill)  446; Chris Cox (Rangiora)  435; Brett Sullivan (Nelson)  340; Matt Williams (Christchurch)  210; Nick Donaldson (Christchurch)  191; Kerry Ross (Tauranga)  185; Kim Crocker (Tauranga)  154; Stephen Heffernen (Invercargill)  151; Clara Bond (Christchurch)  138; Ken Smith (Auckland)  111; Daniel Jilesen (Taumarunui)  96; Henry Thomas-Kircher (Taumarunui)  65.

END.

 

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Kevin Lancaster

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Email: kevlancs@xtra.co.nz