Former Red Bull junior Luis Leeds extended his Australian Formula 4 lead with three wins out of six on the series’ visit to Phillip Island.
The 19-year-old took all four poles on offer, and started the weekend with a easy 5.9193 second victory over 2018 runner-up Ryan Suhle.
Harry Hayek, a winner in the championship in 2016, marked his single-seater return after a two year absence with third place. A injury in BRDC British Formula 3 sidelined Hayek from motorsport in 2017, and he made his racing comeback in third-tier Supercars late last year.
The eight-car field also included debuting karting graduate Christian Mansell, ineligible for points, who finished fifth in his first race.
Fourth placed Lochie Hughes pushed past Leeds to win race two, while Suhle edged Leeds to the finish line of the third by an incredibly close 0.0059s. Suhle was nursing an ankle injury on the way to his victory, a race Hughes was unable to start due to a fuel sensor issue.
Leeds struck back in race four to triumph by just over two seconds from Hughes, with Antonio Astuti completing the podium. Suhle could only manage fifth, but he was back on the top step in the next race, putting him ahead of Astuti in the fight for second in the standings.
It was disappointment once again though for Suhle in the final race of the weekend, and with Astuti finishing second behind AGI Sport team-mate Leeds, the pair are now on the same points.
Hughes is only seven points behind them, while Leeds carries a 81-point lead going into the season-ending six-race round at The Bend Motorsport Park in July.
Results
Race 1 (12 laps)
1 Luis Leeds AGI Sport 19m06.4075s
2 Ryan Suhle Team BRM +5.9193s
3 Harry Hayek Team BRM +17.1176s
4 Lochie Hughes Team BRM +18.8908s
5 Christian Mansell AGI Sport +19.0936s
6 Jackson Walls Patrizicorse +1m11.7006s
Ret Emerson Harvey Team BRM
DSQ Antonio Astuti AGI Sport
Pole: Leeds, 1m34.0686s
Fastest lap: Leeds, 1m34.5573s
Race 2 (12 laps)
1 Hughes 19m44.7871s
2 Leeds +1.4299s
3 Hayek +4.7825s
4 Harvey +11.3291s
5 Astuti +14.0019s
6 Mansell +15.6553s
Ret Walls
Ret Suhle
FL: Leeds, 1m35.0263s
Race 3 (11 laps)
1 Suhle 17m41.2864s
2 Leeds +0.0059s
3 Astuti +0.3956s
4 Harvey +7.9631s
5 Walls +8.3083s
6 Mansell +19.9907s
7 Hayek +1 lap
P: Leeds, 1m34.2180s
FL: Astuti, 1m34.9510s
Race 4 (9 laps)
1 Leeds 15m57.4890s
2 Hughes +2.165s
3 Astuti +4.4755s
4 Suhle +5.1193s
5 Hayek +5.2065s
6 Walls +5.3033s
7 Harvey +10.450s
Ret Mansell
P: Leeds, 1m33.6533s
FL: Leeds, 1m34.6036s
Race 5 (12 laps)
1 Suhle 19m15.0401s
2 Leeds +2.8449s
3 Astuti +4.4996s
4 Mansell +7.1106s
5 Walls +7.9853s
6 Hughes +9.1124s
7 Harvey +14.7236s
8 Hayek +1m46.1325s
FL: Leeds, 1m34.9027s
Race 6 (12 laps)
1 Leeds 19m12.2058s
2 Astuti +7.4289s
3 Hughes +9.666s
4 Hayek +11.1052s
5 Walls +13.6489s
6 Suhle +16.9853s
7 Mansell +17.1917s
8 Harvey +18.8323s
P: Leeds, 1m33.7107s
FL: Leeds, 1m35.1033s
Championship standings
1?Leeds 239? ?2?Suhle 158? ?3?Astuti 158? ?4 Hughes 151? ?5?Walls 77? ?6 Harvey 66? ?7 Hayek 62? ?8?Tommy Smith 44? ?9 Jayden Ojeda 35? ?10 Taylor Cockerton 31