Photo: Geoff Ridder
Blake Dowdall was crowned 2025 New Zealand Formula Ford champion in the final round at Manfeild last weekend.
He put one hand on the title by doubling his gap at the top of the standings in round three at Hampton Downs on March 21-23 despite Toby McCormack winning all three races.
McCormack topped every practice session, then in qualifying set a 1m09.284s to beat rookie Marco Manson (the 14-year-old brother of Formula Regional race-winner Sebastian) to pole by 0.207 seconds. James Penrose, the 2021 champion, was a further 0.084s behind and Dowdall was 0.005s slower than him in fourth.
Manson took the lead from McCormack at the start of race one, but a mistake later in the lap put McCormack back ahead. Dowdall meanwhile dropped outside the top 10, but had the pace to recover to fourth and grow his points lead since main title rival William Neale had retired in a crash that brought out the safety car.
McCormack dominated race two, winning by 6.77s over Penrose. There was a close fight for third, with Manson pipping Lincon Taylor, Neale and Dowdall.
Penrose went from third to first at the start of race three, but McCormack reclaimed top spot on lap two and pulled away for another dominant success that earned him the North Island FFord points lead.
A five-way fight for second was decided in a photo finish. Neale took runner-up spot by 0.004s over Manson, with Penrose being passed by both as he finished a further 0.005s back. Dowdall was 0.131s away from the podium, and Dylan Grant was 0.145s behind him.
At Manfeild it was Penrose led the way in practice, but he was only fifth fastest in a damp qualifying session. McCormack took pole, a 1m15.47s earning him top spot by 0.033s over Dowdall. Neale and Izaak Fletcher also beat Penrose.
The top two qualifiers diced through race one, and Dowdall emerged triumphant by 0.419s. Some way further back, Neale stayed in title contention by edging Penrose to third by 0.279s.
Setting the fastest lap meant Dowdall got to start race two from pole, and he led through the first half under pressure. McCormack learned how Dowdall defended against his various attacks, and eventually made a move that put him ahead. He led Dowdall across the line at the end, and Penrose struck back against Neale in the battle for third.
The next day McCormack was on pole again, and now Dowdall’s main title rival. That status would not last long, as Dowdall became champion by pipping him to race three victory by 0.046s.
He at least had pole for the Morrie Smith Memorial Trophy-awarding final race, but that went in Dowdall’s favour too as a mistake dropped McCormack down the order. A safety car period helped him recover to fifth, enough to beat Dowdall to the NIFF title.
Dowdall won the race with Neale right on his tail, and with Penrose just 0.3s behind. Finishing fourth was NZ FFord’s top rookie Jacob Begg.
Results round-up
Hampton Downs race 1 (15 laps)
1 Toby McCormack 20m48.169s
2 Marco Manson +0.740s
3 James Penrose +1.372s
4 Blake Dowdall +1.864s
5 Jacob Begg +2.155s
6 Campbell Owens +2.423s
7 Jack Groenewald +2.962s
8 Shane Drake +3.556s
9 Dylan Petch +3.807s
10 Izaak Fletcher +4.106s
Pole: McCormack, 1m09.284s
Fastest lap: Dowdall, 1m09.705s
Hampton Downs race 2 (17 laps)
1 McCormack 19m52.773s
2 Penrose +6.770s
3 Manson +14.596s
4 Lincoln Taylor +14.685s
5 William Neale +14.922s
6 Dowdall +15.046s
7 Dylan Grant +15.602s
8 Leo Scott +16.061s
9 Fletcher +17.955s
10 Groenewald +18.001s
FL: McCoremack, 1m09.210s
Ron Frost Memorial Trophy (16 laps)
1 McCormack 20m16.854s
2 Neale +7.813s
3 Manson +7.817s
4 Penrose +8.122s
5 Dowdall +8.248s
6 Grant +8.393s
7 Begg +10.479s
8 Taylor +12.826s
9 Owens +13.674s
10 Drake +13.702s
FL: McCormack, 1m09.499s
Manfeild race 1 (12 laps)
1 Dowdall 14m47.089s
2 McCormack +0.419s
3 Neale +9.659s
4 Penrose +9.938s
5 Begg +15.830s
6 Fletcher +16.171s
7 Petch +16.251s
8 Groenewald +16.966s
9 Drake +17.063s
10 Grant +18.054s
P: McCormack, 1m15.470s
FL: Dowdall, 1m13.052s
Manfeild race 2 (12 laps)
1 McCormack 14m45.370s
2 Dowdall +0.127s
3 Penrose +5.568s
4 Neale +6.102s
5 Grant +8.360s
6 Begg +8.483s
7 Petch +8.606s
8 Groenewald +13.032s
9 Drake +13.253s
10 Fletcher +13.739s
FL: McCormack, 1m12.654s
Manfeild race 3 (12 laps)
1 Dowdall 14m42.058s
2 McCormack +0.046s
3 Neale +3.106s
4 Grant +3.313s
5 Begg +12.882s
6 Fletcher +13.038s
7 Groenwald +13.144s
8 Drake +18.940s
9 Mason Potter +20.860s
10 Penrose +21.904s
FL: McCormack, 1m12.610s
Morrie Smith Memorial Trophy (18 laps)
1 Dowdall 26m12.126s
2 Neale +0.114s
3 Penrose +0.301s
4 Begg +1.782s
5 McCormack +2.485s
6 Petch +4.271s
7 Potter +8.741s
8 Drake +8.761s
9 Toby Musico +8.976s
10 Diesel Thomas +9.093s
FL: McCormack, 1m12.429s
NZ FFord standings
1 Dowdall 923 2 Neale 792 3 McCormack 791 4 Penrose 719 5 Grant 670 6 Begg 640 7 Taylor 511 8 Fletcher 501 9 Petch 384 10 Owens 377
North Island FFord standings
1 McCormack 1461 2 Dowdall 1444 3 Groenewald 994 4 Grant 581 5 Reagan Edwards 559 6 Fletcher Sloan 534 7 Scott 492 8 Owens 391 9 Manson 381 10 Nick Buxeda 351