Christchurch’s Will Neale and Auckland’s Dylan Grant go head-to-head again in the 2024/25 Yokohama South Island Formula Ford Championship in Christchurch this weekend. Ruapuna plays host to the second round of the single seater series.
Grant (Van Diemen RF03) will be looking for race victories after finishing second to Neale (Van Diemen RF94) across the first four races of the season at Timaru earlier in the month.
Not only are championship points at stake for both overall and Class, but this round is also part of the annual Wigram Revival meeting with the prestigious Wigram Cup up for grabs in the final Formula Ford race of the day.
“I’m looking forward to the weekend,” said Neale. “It’s a really competitive field and should be really close at Ruapuna.”
Third overall in the series is Izaac Fletcher (Ray GR20) followed by Jake Bryant (Van Diemen RF94) and Dylan Petch (Van Diemen RF92), all vying for podium positions and race wins. All three swapped positions three to five over the first four races and will no doubt be battling again this weekend.
Winton’s Jacob Begg (Mygale SJ08A), in his second season, and rookie teammate Ryan Denize (Mygale SJ08A) sit seventh and eighth overall, with Dyson Freeman (Van Diemen RF92) ninth and first in Class 2.
Saturday morning sees qualifying take place with the Hampton Downs NZ Driving Academy $500 cash prize for fastest driver. The award is part of the $60,000 Formula Ford prize pool from the Tony Quinn Foundation with funding for travel and testing opportunities with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing NZ. NAPA Auto Parts will again offer prizes for both Driver of the Day and Rookie of the Year and Yokohama return 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 first of four races takes place Saturday afternoon with the remaining three races on Sunday.
