The first graduates of a joint opportunity between Rodin Cars and MotorSport New Zealand have completed a three-day training and evaluation course and are applying their new skills and experiences to their racing programmes.
Two young Formula Ford drivers were recently given a unique opportunity to drive a selection of racing cars under expert tuition at Rodin Cars’ test and manufacturing facility at Mt Lyford in North Canterbury.
Under the watchful eye of professional driving instructor Mark Williamson, the pair experienced driving wings and slicks single-seater racing cars for the first time as part of the pathway from Formula Ford to Formula 1 incentive.
“They were both fresh from winning races in the New Zealand Formula Ford championship, and it was obvious they’d both amassed a great deal of confidence from their respective championship and race wins,” said Williamson.
Williamson coached seventeen-year-olds Blake Dowdall and Toby McCormack through driving a McLaren GT4 car before taking to Rodin’s private test track in Formula 4 and Formula 3 open-wheel cars.
“Blake was impressive in our McLaren GT4 race car and looked very comfortable with the car on the limit. For his first laps in a GT car, this was impressive,” said Williamson.
“Blake adapted quickly to wings and slicks in our F4 car and looked at home from his early laps. Very impressed with Blake’s progress in our F3 car, which saw him finish just nine-tenths of a second off our outright lap record.
“He also has a really good understanding of what he wants in car setup and how to articulate that to the engineers. I’m sure Blake has a bright future ahead of him.”
Dowdall gained automatic entry into the three-day testing programme for recently winning the national Formula Ford title, while McCormack was a ‘wild-card’ chosen for his race-winning performances throughout the season.
“Toby really impressed with his maturity and communication skills. Up to speed quickly in the McLaren and looked confident in the car,” said Williamson, who acknowledged the young Aucklander had some recent wings and slicks experience.
“This experience showed with his excellent consistency and speed in our F4 car, he adapted naturally to the requirements of left-foot braking and was particularly strong in high-speed corners.”
McCormack has already started racing in the Australian Formula Ford series, while Dowdall is still weighing his options and hopes to continue competing in open-wheel cars.
“Working with a professional driving coach was a new experience for me, and Mark’s knowledge of F4 and GT cars helped us get up to speed very quickly,” said McCormack.
“To drive three new cars we’d both never driven before was an incredible experience. There are definitely driving techniques that I learnt at Rodin that I will continue to carry over for the next few years of my racing.”
McCormack summed his experiences at Rodin as “amazing”.
“Very few people get to drive on that track, so to be one of those is really cool. And to see through the Rodin manufacturing facility was eye-opening, to say the least.
“I would like to thank Rodin Cars and Motorsport New Zealand for the awesome opportunity to be part of this test. I had a lot of fun and made some great memories.”
Dowdall was equally impressed with his first visit to Rodin Cars.
“I had very high expectations and I knew the cars and facilities were state-of-the-art, but I was still absolutely blown away by the facilities, cars and all-round quality of the programme,” said Dowdall.
“The week at Rodin was full of firsts for me. I’ve never had any real one-on-one coaching before, so working with Mark was a great experience. Another first for me was the wings and slicks experience; it was the first real go I’d had in a car with downforce.
“It was difficult to learn to trust the downforce to begin with, but I got on top of the car quickly, and it all became very natural to me, with Mark’s help.”
Having only raced Formula First and Formula Ford, stepping up to higher category cars showed Dowdall how much precision engineering goes into manufacturing ‘proper’ race cars.
“You don’t realise until you’ve driven something that has world-class engineering, like the McLaren. It just about felt like I was driving in a game, and the same deal with the F4, because everything works exactly how it should.
“It’s certainly a week I’ll remember for a very long time!”
Motorsport New Zealand President Deborah Day acknowledged this new partnership with Rodin Cars and the opportunities it provides to Formula Ford champions going forward.
“We are incredibly grateful that Rodin Cars has partnered with us to put forward this incredible opportunity for our aspiring young drivers.
“Both Blake and Toby can hold their heads high as both great ambassadors for the sport and great examples of the talent that the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship produces,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Rodin Cars and Rodin Motorsport, Emma Duncan, was impressed with the quality of their first recipients for the pathway programme.
“At Rodin, we are passionate about creating meaningful opportunities for the next generation of racing talent. Blake and Toby were exceptional representatives of the skill and potential coming through New Zealand motorsport.
“Their ability to adapt to the cars, to absorb coaching, and deliver on track was truly impressive,” said Duncan.
“We are proud to support this important step in their careers and look forward to seeing where their journey takes them next.”
The short documentary capturing one day of the testing and evaluations at Rodin Cars can now be viewed on YouTube. The film crew followed Dowdall and McCormack through the F4 part of the programme.
Header Image: MoMac
