Photo: Matt Smith Photography / NIFF
Jack Groenewald leads the 2025 leg of the North Island Formula Ford season, despite going win-free in the first 10 races.
The 2025-26 campaign began at Hampton Downs on October 5, and top of the class in qualifying were two-time champion Dylan Grant and Campbell Owens. While 0.334 seconds split the pair, there was then a gap of 1.649s to Groenewald in third.
Grant converted pole into victory in race one, building a 3.541s lead over Owens. The fight for third was far more exciting, with Toby McCormack pipping Groenewald by 0.078s in a photo finish. It was a similar story in the battle for fifth, with William Beck claiming the position by 0.084s over Shane Drake and with Oliver Sentch only 0.096s further behind. Post-race, McCormack was disqualifieddue to technical non-compliance.
In race two it was lights-to-flag for Grant, who stunned with a winning margin of 6.866s over Owens. Reigning champion McCormack was 10s behind the winner in third, ahead of Groenewald.
Grant made a slow start from pole in race three, dropping behind Owens and McCormack. By the time Grant got back past McCormack, Owens was 1.5s clear and able to maintain that gap to the finish while McCormack kept Grant in his sights. Groenewald was a distant fourth and Sentch finished fifth by just 0.056s.
However since Owens then got disqualified from the whole meeting due to technical infringements, it meant Grant (who had been suffering from a fuel issue) won and Groenewald’s point haul put him second in the standings.
Grant then graduated to muscle car racing, so was not present for round two at Taupo on November 9 and Groenewald became the driver to beat in the standings. He showed his potential in qualifying, edging Owens to pole by 0.076s. Beck trailed by 0.752s in third.
Results round-up
| Race | Circuit | Winner | Pole | FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hampton Downs | D Grant | D Grant | D Grant |
| 2 | D Grant | D Grant | ||
| 3 | D Grant | D Grant | ||
| 4 | Taupo | C Owens | J Groenewald | J Groenewald |
| 5 | C Owens | M Kirwan | ||
| 6 | C Owens | O Sentch | ||
| 7 | Manfeild | C Owens | T McCormack | C Owens |
| 8 | T McCormack | T McCormack | ||
| 9 | C Owens | T McCormack | ||
| 10 | C Owens | C Owens |
Owens overtook Groenewald on race one’s first lap, after the poleman had initially kept the lead in a three-wide moment into the opening corner, and stopped him from getting back past after that to take his maiden valid win by 0.6s. Groenewald took the points lead by finishing second.
Beck and 1994–95 New Zealand FFord champion Drake had lap one drama, with Beck’s race ending but Drake recovering back to fifth.
Groenewald started on pole again for race two, but Owens repeated his opening lap pass at turn 10. He then pulled away to win by 2.652s, as Maxim Kirwan overtook Groenewald on the penultimate lap. Kirwan had started ninth due to engine issues in qualifying but overtook at least one car per lap through the first five laps, then in clear air while in third set the fastest lap to earn race three pole. Despite finishing a distant fifth, Sentch became Groenewald’s closest title rival.
Kirwan was on course to win the longer race three before engine issues returned and forced him out. McCormack was second and set to benefit but also encountered race-ending trouble, so Owens moved to the front and was victorious by 3.641s over Groenewald. Drake pipped Sentch to third.
Manfeild hosted round three last weekend, and McCormack set the qualifying pace by 0.638s. Beck was second, Owens qualified 0.794s off in third, and Groenewald had a 1.19s pace deficit despite a new engine.
Owens overtook Beck on the opening lap of race one, then fought with McCormack in the race’s second half. They traded places multiple times over four laps, and Owens emerged triumphant by 0.369s. Beck was third, and Groenewald lost ground on lap one that he never recovered as he finished a very distant sixth.
Race two was decided by a five-second penalty for a driving infraction after Owens originally won by 0.234s on-the-road. Beck and Drake were gapped on average by a second a lap, and Groenewald again was on the back foot after dropping places on lap one. That evening he switched back to his old engine for the next day’s two races.
McCormack and Owens fought each other for victory in race three, and a collision exiting turn 16 sent Owens off the road and led to McCormack being penalised. Owens fell to fifth but made his way back to the front and won by 2.62s, with Beck and Sentch completing the podium.
The longer race four, which awarded the Dan Higgins Trophy, was a thriller which Owens started from pole. He lost the lead on lap one to McCormack, who then had a race-ending brake failure which triggered a safety car period. That put Owens back in front, and while he did not have a big pace advantage the frantic battling behind allowed him to win by 6.68s.
Beck, Groenewald, Sentch and Drake fought hard and Groenewald took the runner-up spot by just 0.024s over Beck. Sentch was a further 0.195s behind, and 0.104s ahead of Drake.
The remaining two rounds are in March 2026, and also count towards New Zealand’s national FFord championship.
Championship standings
1 Jack Groenewald 593 2 Oliver Sentch 522 3 Campbell Owens 517 4 Shane Drake 504 5 William Beck 450 6 Toby McCormack 446 7 James Collie 249 8 Dylan Grant 227 9 Olivia Lorenzen 171 10 Braxton Kraayvanger 129