Blake Dowdall has stamped his mark early on the 2024/25 Giltrap Group North Island Formula Ford Series (NIFF) season at the opening round held at the Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.
Returning to the series after finishing third overall last season, Dowdall finished third in the opening race and went on to win the remaining two to hold a slim three-point lead over defending champion Dylan Grant (Van Diemen RF01), who claimed one race win and two second placings.
“It’s a great result,” commented Dowdall (Spectrum 015). “One of my best weekends competing in motorsport. We did a lot of work on the car over the off-season and ironed out a number of problems. It’s gave me a lot of confidence heading into the round as I know the Spectrum is a really fast car.”
Dowdall initially set the fastest lap in qualifying winning a $500 cash prize provided by the Hampton Downs NZ Driving Academy.
“The first race was in the dry and I had a great battle with Dylan (Grant) who got a great start off the line,” said Dowdall.
“There was a lot of side-by-side action with the lead changing a number of times. Toby (McCormack) was also in there as well and he just got passed me on the run to the line for second.”
McCormack has this season stepped up from the Van Diemen RF01 Scholarship Car to a quick Spectrum 015, qualifying second fastest and finishing the round fourth overall with three top five results.
“I’ve got to thank my engineer Jason Leifting for not listening to me before the start of Race 2,” said Dowdall. “It was wet, and I wanted a wet setup, and he gave me more of a dry one. As the track dried out the car came on later in the race and we had massive pace in the last couple of laps to take our first win of the season.
“The final race was pretty wet. We were about 10-seconds slower a lap, than on a dry track. Jack (Groenewald) got a mega start and initially led until I got back in front. I was fortunate from then on not to have any spray to contend with so got a clear run to the finish.”
Reagan Edwards (Spectrum 015) also had a solid weekend with a podium and two fourth placings and sits third overall, while Leo Scott (Spectrum 010), after a year off, showed that he will be competitive this season and in the hunt for podiums.
An inspired, surprise performance came from rookie Jack Groenewald (Mygale SJ07A). Coming from Formula First, Groenewald improved over the day after qualifying sixth fastest to take a podium, placing third in the rain-affected feature race to sit sixth overall.
Dowdall also won the NAPA Auto Parts Driver of the Day $300 trade prize.
Again, this season the Tony Quinn Foundation is offering funding for travel and testing opportunities with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing NZ while NAPA Auto Parts offer prizes for both Driver of the Day and Rookie of the Year; along with support from Yokohama as the tyre of choice for Formula Ford Racing in NZ.
This summer sees a collaboration between Rodin Cars and MotorSport NZ to create a new pathway to Formula 1 with the NZFF champion and selected Formula Ford drivers invited to an all-expenses-paid, three-day testing and evaluation program with Rodin Cars in New Zealand.
From there a driver who exhibits exceptional talent has the possibility to test with Rodin Motorsport in the UK with the possibility of securing a seat in one of Rodin’s F4 teams.
The North Island series heads to Taupo Motorsport Park, Taupo, for its second round, a one-day three-race meeting in support of the Auckland Car Club.
