 Chaz Mostert has won Round 4 of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship at the Hidden Valley Circuit in Darwin, becoming the season’s first multiple round winner.
Mostert dominated the opening two races of the weekend, but a slight error in Race 3 caused by oil on the circuit, saw him drop down to fifth position where he would ultimately finish.
The result sees Mostert extend his championship lead to 14 points over Nick Foster, who finished a slightly frustrating fourth for the round.
“What a great weekend for us, I’m just ecstatic to win here in Darwin and to break the stranglehold that Sonic has had on this circuit,” a clearly elated Mostert said.
“We had really good pace, which we didn’t really expect. It was slightly disappointing to make an error on the oil in the last race, but that’s racing.”
Pole-sitter Ryan Simpson struggled to match Mostert in the early races of the weekend, but came good in the final race to take the win from a recovering Ash Walsh.
“We’ve been missing something in the last couple of rounds in terms of balance and I think this weekend we really made some good steps towards a better package,” Simpson said.
“The balance improved all weekend and the car in the last race was probably the best it’s been all season.
“We clearly need to win a few more races to fight our way back in to the title, but there is still a long way to go.”
Simpson’s Sonic teammate Geoff Uhrhane made a return to the podium in third, after two tough rounds plagued by mechanical problems. The Hog’s Breath Café driver challenged Mostert early in the weekend and finished third in the final race to secure his spot on the podium.
“It feels great to be back on the podium, but we’d like to be a little further up,” said Uhrhane.
“It was an interesting weekend of racing, but things just didn’t go our way in the final race.”
Race 3 saw a long safety car period triggered by an incident involving Ben Jurczak and Nathan Morcom that resulted in Morcom’s car flipping over. Both drivers emerged from the incident un-injured.
The EWP Hard Charger award went to Caleb Rayner.
The Kangan Motorsport Training Award for best presented car went to 15 year old Cameron Waters.
Round 5 of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship will take place at the Townsville Street Circuit in far north Queensland on July 9-11.
Find the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship on twitter @ffordaustralia to keep up to date with Australia’s premier junior development category.
ROUND 4 - HIDDEN VALLEY CIRCUIT, DARWIN, NT
1. Chaz Mostert, Spectrum 012
2. Ryan Simpson, Mygale SJ10a
3. Geoff Uhrhane, Mygale SJ10a
4. Nick Foster, Mygale SJ10a
5. Ash Walsh, Spectrum 012
6. Adam Graham, Mygale SJ10a
7. Tom Williamson, Mygale SJ09a
8. Jack LeBrocq, Spectrum 011c
9. Andre Borell, SJ10a
10. Tom Goess, Mygale SJ09a
2010 AUSTRALIAN FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP (after four rounds)
1. Chaz Mostert, 149
2. Nick Foster, 135
3. Geoff Uhrhane, 119
4. Ash Walsh, 118
5. Ryan Simpson, 111
6. Adam Graham, 92
7. Ben Jurczak, 39
8. Andre Borell, 38
9. Nathan Morcom, 33
10. Tom Williamson, 22
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 2010 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.
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