 CAMS Rising Star drivers Matthew Brabham and Garry Jacobson remain in contention for the 2010 Victorian Formula Ford Championship crown, despite a tough weekend amidst a star-studded field at Sandown.
With a round of the National Championship scheduled for the Melbourne circuit later in the year, many of the country’s premiere Formula Ford drivers made one-off state level appearances at the weekend in order to gain more Sandown experience.
While the likes of National front runners Ash Walsh and Nick Foster were always destined to take the spoils, the Rising Stars remained focussed on their championship aspirations.
By the end of the three hard fought races, the championship battle had closed up such that the top four drivers are now separated by just six points.
Brabham managed to finish inside the top ten for the round at Sandown, and drops just one spot to third in the standings – now only two points from the lead.
The 16 year old’s weekend included a high of seventh place in Race 2, after a difficult qualifying session in the wet on Saturday saw all four Rising Stars Spectrums start the first race from outside the top ten.
“It was a very tough round, the whole field was very competitive” said Brabham.
“We had 34 cars on track, and a whole heap of really experienced National championship guys in the field.
“After our disappointing qualifying, it was important that we focused on scoring as many points as we could in the races, and not worry so much about the guys just coming in for one round.
“We raced hard and managed to break into the top ten for the weekend, so we can be happy about that.”
Erstwhile points leader Jacobson now sits fourth in the standings, despite a double DNF at Sandown.
The Shepparton driver showed great pace in Saturday morning’s dry practice session, setting the sixth fastest time, but suffered a change in fortunes when the rain came in the afternoon.
Jacobson qualified down in 16th position, and failed to finish Races 1 and 3 – the latter due to an unfortunate incident with team-mate Jack Le Brocq at Turn 1.
The crash also ended Le Brocq’s weekend, which had started promisingly with a 10th in Race 1. Having starred in the last two National rounds, the 18 year old was making his first appearance in the Victorian Championship.
The most impressive Rising Star at Sandown was Liam Sager, who emerged with fifth overall for the round.
The Queenslander moved up from 12th on the grid to eighth in Race 1, before finishing sixth in the two Sunday races.
Team principal Bruin Beasley praised the maturity of Sager after the event.
“Liam’s really impressed everyone this weekend – running that high up the order in such a competitive field is a very good effort.
“He showed great maturity, in both wet and dry conditions, and has proven that he has stepped up to another level as a driver since the last Victorian Championship round here at Sandown in May.
“Overall I’m pleased that, although our lack of qualifying speed hurt our chances for top results, both Garry and Matthew are still well in contention for the championship.”
RESULTS: SANDOWN, VIC
Qualifying
12. Liam Sager, Spectrum 011m, 1:33.4304
13. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011m, 1:33.4575
15. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011m, 1:34.2567
16. Garry Jacobson, Spectrum 011m, 1:34.4172
Race 1
8. Liam Sager, Spectrum 011m
10. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011m
11. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011m
DNF. Garry Jacobson, Spectrum 011m
Race 2
6. Liam Sager, Spectrum 011m
7. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011m
13. Garry Jacobson, Spectrum 011m
17. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011m
Race 3
6. Liam Sager, Spectrum 011m
11. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011m
DNF. Garry Jacobson, Spectrum 011m
DNF. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011m
The CAMS Rising Stars are proudly supported by the Confederation of Australian Motorsport, the Australian Sports Commission, Minda Motorsport, Penrite Oils, OAMPS Insurance Brokers, Boylan Traffic Solutions, Relux Slabs, Revolution Racegear, LCF Merchandise and Mark Webber.
|
