FORMULA FORD CONFIRMS 2012 CALENDAR
| The Australian Formula Ford Championship has finalised its eight round calendar for the 2012 season, which will see the category return to the Bathurst 1000 program for the first time since 2004.
It will be the first time that the category has visited the iconic circuit in the Ford Fiesta engine era, and the championship will fittingly wrap up at Australia's most well-known motorsport event. The year will begin at the Australian Grand Prix, before taking in Symmons Plains in Tasmania and Phillip Island. The category will then return to Hidden Valley after a one year absence, before two events in August at Queensland Raceway and Winton. The championship will wrap up at the two V8 Supercar endurance races with rounds seven and eight at the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 respectively. "We've been working really hard with V8 Supercars to lock in a calendar for this season and I think we've ended up with one of our best calendars to date. There's a great variety of circuits, which will test the drivers, and the season is bookended by two major events, which is great" Margaret Hardy, Category Manager said. "We're excited about being back on the Australian Grand Prix schedule as it's a great way to start the year and all the drivers love the opportunity to race in front of the Formula One community. The fact that we can also include Hidden Valley on the calendar is a huge plus for everyone involved. The circuit produces great Formula Ford racing and the atmosphere at the event is second to none. "The Bathurst 1000 is the best finale we could have asked for and we're very proud to be able to announce it as part of the calendar this year. The last time we visited Bathurst in 2004 it was a non-championship event, so it hasn't been part of the Australian Formula Ford Championship since 1995. In the past, the circuit always created great racing and this year will be no different; I think we're in for a really exciting season." 2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship Calendar Find the Australian Formula Ford Championship on twitter @ffordaustralia and at www.facebook.com/AustralianFormulaFordChampionship to keep up to date with Australia's premier junior development category. Formula Ford is the world's premier junior development motorsport category and has been a prominent fixture within Australia since 1969. Ford has been a proud partner of Formula Ford in Australia since the beginning and will support the category again in 2012 as it continues to grow. The relative parity between local and international makes produces some of the closest and most exciting racing seen on any circuit around Australia. |
SYNERGY CHASING A TOW IN TASSIE
Australian Formula Ford Championship competitors Liam Sager and Mathew Hart have kicked off their Tasmanian sojourn with promise, after finishing today’s practice sessions in seventh and ninth places respectively.
The Synergy racers are enjoying some new-found speed but still need to find the elusive slipstream ‘tow’ from their fellow competitors to further improve their lap times. Hart proved this in his first session, finishing with the second fastest time after getting a good tow.
“With such a short lap distance, every fraction helps here,” Seears Workwear Spectrum pilot Mat Hart explains.
“I struggled to get a good tow today which is a bit of a shame because our cars are really quick … and knowing there’s up to almost half a second in a good tow around here – and being just over four-tenths off the leader gives me plenty of confidence we can get the job done tomorrow,” he added.
SYNERGY MOTORSPORT FIRST TO ORDER NEW SPECTRUM 014
With the final Victorian race meeting for 2011 concluded at Phillip Island last weekend, the Spectrum Formula Ford and Sabre Formula Vee chassis have again proved to be the benchmark in their respective competitions.
The meeting was the setting for the final rounds of the CAMS Victorian Formula Ford series, the Formula Vee Association of Victoria club championship, as well as the traditional Island Magic trophies for Formula Ford, Formula Ford 1600 and Formula Vee.
In the Formula Ford category, it was Adelaide’s own Sam Power who took the title as the 2011 CAMS Victorian Formula Ford series winner. Driving a Spectrum 011c for Synergy Motorsport, Sam has driven superbly in his debut Formula Ford season. Sam was also the highest points scorer across the six rounds of competition that comprised the FFA club series, but was not eligible for that award, as he is not a club member.
For the Formula Ford 1600 category, this event was all about the Island Magic, with the CAMS and Club Championships having been decided in October. Spectrum 010b chassis simply dominated these Championships; and that tone continued at Island Magic, with the Spectrum chassis untouchable. Driving for Project Motorsport, Scott Andrews showed the FF1600 field (and many of the Formula Fords!) a clean pair of heels in the ELF/Race Fuels Spectrum 010b. He set pole position and drove to a clean sweep of race wins, leading home Lachlan Marshall and Brendan Jones for a Spectrum 1-2-3.
