The Yokohama South Island Formula 1600 Championship was back in action over the weekend, a one day event in Timaru seeing Blake Knowles take all three race victories.
The day started off strongly for the Cantabrian, claiming pole position over current New Zealand Formula Ford champion Alex Crosbie by just 0.008 of a second. In doing so, he claimed the $500 cash prize from the Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy for fastest qualifier.
The narrative of the day up-front was the battle between the pair, Knowles getting the better of Crosbie on all three occasions, leaving Crosbie to finish second each race.
The fight for the final podium spot was also tight, Dylan Petch and Daniel Brown locked in competition over the day with Petch taking third in the first two races and Brown in the final.
Race 1 saw the battle between Knowles and Crosbie commence, the latter leading for the majority of proceedings before Knowles got ahead with two laps remaining.
Having set the fastest lap in Race 1, Crosbie started on pole for Race 2. He again led the field but superb driving and excellent spacial awareness from Knowles saw him take race victory.
Race 3 brought about more of the same, the longer 12-lap event seeing Crosbie lead for 10 of those before being past with two laps remaining.
For his two podiums, and a fourth, Petch was “Driver of the day”, taking home the NAPA Auto Parts $230 account credit for his great battles with Brown.
After two rounds this season, Knowles now leads the series by just 15 points over Crosbie, whilst Petch has moved up into third in the standings.
The South Island Formula 1600 will next head to Teretonga, taking part in a two day event over December 3-4.
Header Image: Mad Angles Photography
