The fourth round of the 2024/25 North Island Formula Ford Series (NIFF) at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park saw a thrilling showdown between points leader Blake Dowdall and his closest rival, Toby McCormack. With the one-day Auckland Car Club meeting delivering intense racing throughout.
Dowdall kicked off the day by taking pole position in qualifying, and went on to win the first two races. However, McCormack was able to fight back in the final, taking victory in the 15-lap feature race.
Dowdall commented, “We came here to extend our points lead which we have done. We are always chasing a clean sweep, but Toby (McCormack) got me in the end so credit to him for his win (Race 3).”
McCormack added, “It was a pretty good weekend. I managed to be with Blake (Dowdall) right from the start, but didn’t quite have the speed in the first two races. We managed to pull through for the win in the third which I’m pretty happy with.”
Rookie Marco Manson finished third in all three races, earning the Driver of the Day Award.
The racing was incredibly close; Dowdall won the first race by 0.020 seconds, and the second by 0.007 seconds. Dowdall said, “It was so close at the end. It is so good to race against someone as good as Toby who you can trust so the racing is clean.”
Manson’s podium finishes were followed by Leo Scott, Reagan Edwards, Shane Drake, Jack Groenewald, and Fletcher Sloan in varying positions throughout the races.
The final feature race saw both Dowdall and McCormack drop down the field early, before battling back after a safety car and red flag. McCormack ultimately won the race with a strong final lap. Dowdall stated, “I got a really good restart. It was another hard race with Toby and he got a good draft and got by on the last lap and I came under pressure from Marco (Manson).”
McCormack explained his win: “On the last lap I got a good run and got in front, once in the lead I essentially did a quali lap and got through for the win.”
Manson finished third again, followed by Drake, Owens, Groenewald, Graham and Crocker.
Following Round 4 of the season, Dowdall now holds a 12-point lead heading into the penultimate round, having gained 10 points on his rival McCormack on Sunday.
The fifth and penultimate round will take place March 21-23, 2025, at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, part of the third NZ Formula Ford Championship round.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
