After winning the opening round of the New Zealand Formula Ford championship, Palmerston North’s Blake Dowdall has more than just a maiden national title in his sights. The opportunity to be selected for Rodin Cars new Formula Ford to Formula 1 pathway programme has given the 17-year-old extra motivation.
The recently announced venture between Rodin Cars and MotorSport New Zealand offers the best Formula Ford drivers the opportunity for an evaluation test at Rodin’s own test track and manufacturing facility in North Canterbury, with the added chance to head to the UK to try out for a seat in one of Rodin Motorsport’s extensive racing programmes.
“The Rodin Cars offer is a massive incentive for me. I wake up in the morning and it makes me want to go to the gym, go for a run, work on the sim. It’s a big carrot in front of me when I realise the potential for what I’m doing,” said Dowdall.
Dowdall says the Rodin incentive has not only motivated him but just about all the competitors in this year’s championship, all hoping to be invited to the testing programme after the end of the season.
“I think after the first round I’ve proved, even if just to myself, that after doing everything I’ve done to prepare, I just need to keep training, stay consistent with it and keep hitting my marks for the rest of the championship.”
The Manawatu teenager started racing karts at age seven and then progressed to Formula First single-seater cars before stepping up to Formula Ford.
He has just started his third season and after Covid related delays and mechanical issues with his car, he is finally being able to show his talent. He is leading both the North Island Formula Ford series and the NAPA-sponsored national championship after the opening round at Levels Raceway, Timaru.
Over the four races at the opening round, Dowdall won two and was runner-up in another to end the weekend with a 24-point lead, an impressive start considering he’d never raced before on the tight and technical Levels circuit.
“We only did one test day prior and then rolled the car out and into qualifying. I can’t complain about how the car went.
“The competition was very tough, we couldn’t leave a millimetre in it otherwise you’d end up last. It was very difficult but very satisfying to go P3 in qualifying and then battling forward from there.”
More familiar with the North Island circuits, Dowdall faced stiff competition from the South Island locals who dominated the front of the grid.
“I think I put my success there down to braking late. It’s a track where there are a lot of low speed corners and I’ve always liked braking really late and that’s where I make up most of my time, I think anyway,” he said.
Not only has Dowdall put a big effort into his preparation, the same attention to detail has been applied to his Spectrum race car.
“We did a whole rebuild, the car was stripped back to the bare chassis and in my first drive this year at Hampton Downs we won by 11.3 seconds in the wet. That was a great way to start and we’ve kept the momentum going since then to now be leading the New Zealand championship. I couldn’t be happier.”
Dowdall’s run of success has also been aided by getting former Formula Ford racer, driver coach and engineering guru Jason Liefting in his camp.
“There are some things that can only be learnt with twenty years experience and Jason brings all that knowledge and support to our team.”
Dowdall says the Rodin opportunity has given him “a whole lot of hope” and he intends to keep on going down the pathway to F1 and to see what it brings.
The next racing down the national championship path will be at the Cromwell based Highlands Motorsport Park next weekend, another new track for Dowdall who says, from his sim work, is a high-speed track where lots of commitment is required.
And commitment is something Dowdall is already displaying both on and off the race track.
There are still ten races to go in the national championship before drivers will be considered for the Rodin test programme.
Dowdall leads the standings by 24 points over fellow North Island based driver Dylan Grant with last season’s runner-up driver Will Neale in third.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
Velocity News has done a fantastic job highlighting Blake Dowdall’s impressive start to the season and his determination to reach higher levels in motorsport. His drive, discipline, and focus on the Rodin opportunity make his journey even more exciting to follow!