Christchurch’s Blake Knowles dominated the penultimate round of the 2023 NAPA Auto Parts NZ Formula Ford Championship with four podium finishes at Teretonga Park, Invercargill. Knowles finished second in the opening race on Saturday and went on to win Sunday’s three races.
“It’s pretty awesome to get the results in the weekend, we managed to get a clean run all weekend and stayed out of trouble.The round has been a massive confidence booster for me, heading to Ruapuna. Hopefully, we will hold onto our lead in the South Island series and keep chipping away at the national one as well.”
Blake Knowles
Also on the top of the podium was rookie driver William Neale. Neale had a strong showing in both North Island rounds of the national championship and took his maiden win in the opening race on Saturday, then followed it up with two second and third placings.
“Will (Neale) had an awesome race on Saturday,” commented Knowles. “Daniel and I had a real battle for second allowing Will to get away and I run out of laps to catch him.”
Daniel Brown also had a stellar weekend winning the Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy $1,010.10 cash prize for the fastest lap in qualifying and standing twice on the podium. His performance has seen him move into second overall in the national championship to Crosbie and fourth in the SIFF series, within striking distance of Knowles.
Things didn’t go well for a number of leading competitors with Crosbie recording a DNF in Race 1, his best result for the round was a third place in Race 2. Heading into the weekend, Dylan Grant was lying in second place in the championship points, however, two DNS’ have dashed his title hopes. Blake Dowdall lost third gear finishing down the field in Race 1, while Sebastian Manson finished all four races just short of the podium and sits in third overall on the points table.
Jacob Cunniffe received the NAPA Auto Parts ‘Driver of the Day’ $230 cash prize for showing huge improvement over the season.
The current national champion Alex Crosbie holds a narrow 52-point lead over Daniel Brown heading to the finale this weekend in Christchurch.
Overall Points – 2023 NAPA Auto Parts NZ Formula Ford Championship – after 3/4 rounds (Top 12)
1/ Alex Crosbie 709
2/ Daniel Brown 657
3/ Sebastian Manson 635
4/ Blake Knowles 599
5/ William Neale 552
6/ Blake Dowdall 538
7/ Dylan Grant 517
8/ Caleb Byers 497
9/ Jack Noble-Adams 457
10/ Mason Potter 409
11/ Dylan Petch 373
12/ Keith Miller 325
The Napa Auto Parts NZ Formula Ford Championship
The national championship has two rounds in the North and two in the South Islands and is seen as crucial to the growth in both experience and confidence for young drivers wanting to progress their single-seater career. The Tony Quinn Foundation has provided a travel grant to enable Formula Ford competitors to undertake this essential travel.
Up for grabs is the Hampton Downs NZ Race Academy $1,010.10 cash prize for the fastest qualifier as well as the $230 NAPA Auto Parts ‘Driver of the Day’ prize. Also on offer is a Toyota Formula Regional Oceania FT60 test for the winner of the national title while both North and South Island series winners will get an FT50 test.
The Yokohama South Island Formula 1600 Championship is also supported by Yokohama, the Tony Quinn Foundation and NAPA Auto Parts.
*FEATURE IMAGE thanks to Euan Cameron
