Photo: Geoff Ridder
New Zealand Formula Ford drivers put on a show in round two at Highlands Motorsport Park.
Blake Dowdall was fastest in the red-flagged qualifying session, setting a 1m43.084s to lead Australian racer Lincoln Taylor by 0.235 seconds. Toby McCormack and James Penrose were 0.4s and 0.5s off pole, with Dylan Grant and William Neale also within a second of Dowdall.
Taylor swept across at the start of race one to lead, then Penrose flew past the front row starters before the turn two/three chicane. Taylor had a look at getting back past at the turn 14 hairpin, but went off at the penultimate corner and fell to fifth.
Grant inherited third, but William Neale passed him at turn 14 on lap two. Campbell Owens crashed out shortly after, and the safety car came out.
On the lap five restart, Neale held off Taylor until the sweeping turn 10, and four corners later Taylor darted past Penrose. Taylor quicked gapped himself from the battle for third after that, and finished 2.245s behind Dowdall.
Neale demoted Penrose to fourth at turrn 14 on lap six, but his defensive line on the exit set up Penrose to get back past at the turns 15/16 chicane. Roles reversed on the next lap, and Penrose’s defending brought Grant into the battle.
The pressure reduced on Neale when Penrose spun at the penultimate corner of the penultimate lap, and Grant finished fourth but was penalised five seconds so Izaak Fletcher took the position in a photo finish with Jake Bryant.
Taylor led almost the entirety of race two but failed to win. He was passed by Dowdall on lap three, but got back ahead the next lap and beat him to the chequered flag by 0.106s. However a five-second penalty for track limits abuse (which was appealed) demoted him to fourth, so Dowdall was victorious by 0.477s over Penrose. Neale claimed the South Island FFord title in third.
Race three was a thriller, with Dowdall on pole. Taylor cut across him at the start, and Penrose made it three-wide as Dowdall traversed the grass. Taylor led into the chicane, and Penrose took second. Neale was in sixth, stuck behind Dylan Petch.
Penrose struck the pit wall on lap two and soon retired, which freed Dowdall. He closed in on Taylor, and attacked at the bridge on lap six. They began lap seven 0.096s apart, and he got alongside at turn 19. After going side-by-side on lap eight, he took the lead a lap later by diving down the inside at turn 10. It was now a three-car fight.
Neale had passed Petch (another retiree) on lap two, and cannily drove past Grant at turn two on lap four. He was 2.6s off the lead then, and 0.385s behind at the start of lap 10 as Taylor moved back ahead.
At turn 17, Neale got the run on Dowdall and passed on the inside, then at turn 14 next time by darted down Taylor’s inside. Taylor pulled off a switchback at turn 10 to reclaim the lead, but then dropped a wheel in the grass and two places. Not giving up, he made an incredible dive on Dowdall at turn 14 and completed the move at turn 15.
Neale won, and Grant was second as Taylor and Dowdall got track limits penalties. Jacob Begg put in a defensive masterclass in fifth, soaking up laps of pressure, and Bryant snatched sixth from McCormack at the flag.
Results round-up
Race 1 (10 laps)
1 Blake Dowdall 20m38.453s
2 Lincoln Taylor +2.245s
3 William Neale +9.423s
4 Izaak Fletcher +12.247s
5 Jake Bryant +12.330s
6 Jacob Begg +13.724s
7 Daniel Kelly +13.966s
8 Dylan Grant +15.381s
9 Diesel Thomas +20.139s
10 Toby McCormack +20.183s
Pole: Dowdall, 1m43.084s
Fastest lap: Dowdall, 1m43.813s
Race 2 (12 laps)
1 Dowdall 20m59.354s
2 James Penrose +0.477s
3 Neale +4.742s
4 Taylor +4.894s
5 Dylan Petch +5.101s
6 Grant +5.595s
7 Begg +9.443s
8 Bryant +9.674s
9 McCormack +10.042s
10 Reagan Edwards +16.284s
FL: Dowdall, 1m43.749s
Race 3 (12 laps)
1 Neale 20m56.173s
2 Grant +3.622s
3 Taylor +5.797s
4 Dowdall +5.925s
5 Begg +14.482s
6 Bryant +15.406s
7 McCormack +15.570s
8 Edwards +15.819s
9 Jacob Cunniffe +21.630s
10 Kelly +26.462s
FL: Dowdall, 1m43.182s
Championship standings
1 Dowdall 468 2 Neale 430 3 Taylor 409 4 Grant 395 5 Penrose 309 6 Begg 305 7 McCormack 304 8 Cunniffe 261 9 Fletcher 252 10 Edwards 207