The 2025/26 South Island Formula Ford Championship (SIFF) is back in action with its penultimate round this weekend at the Thunder Down Under race meeting at the Timaru International Raceway (31 Jan–1 Feb 2026).
Auckland’s Marco Manson has a substantial 248-point lead over Canterbury’s Dylan Petch after a perfect points-scoring third round in Invercargill in early December.
Manson has won ten of the 12 races so far this season and is the driver to beat this series. However, Petch is also a race winner with plenty of experience and, as he has shown across the season, is willing to take the fight to Manson.
New SIFF member joining the grid is 12-year-old Australian Seb Eskandari-Marandi. Eskandari-Marandi was the standout driver at last weekend’s opening NZ Formula Ford Championship round at Teretonga Park in his very first race car meeting.
Winning the first two races and placing fifth in the third has him leading that championship, and he is expected to feature this weekend, which also doubles as the second round of the NZFF.
“I’ve done a test day there (Timaru),” said Seb Eskandari-Marandi.
“I look forward to going there to race. The competition is tough, and I think Marco and Dylan will be hard to beat.”
Eskandari-Marandi will join fellow Australian drivers Toby Musico and Michal Basso in the Nigel Barclay Racing Projects team. Musico competed in an earlier SIFF round in Christchurch and showed top form last weekend, moving up through the NZFF field in the final feature race to finish third on the podium.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Musico.
“It was a great ending on a high note at Teretonga. I haven’t been to Timaru but have done a lot of laps on the simulator, so I’m familiar with the layout.
Also, ones to watch are fourth overall, Maxim Kirwan, who stood on the podium three times at the opening SIFF round at Timaru last November, and Izaak Fletcher.
Fletcher comes off a strong NZFF round last weekend and will definitely be in the mix. With third-placed Zach Tucker having not entered, this opens the door for Kirwan to move up the leaderboard and close the 28-point gap to Petch.
The four races across the two-day event are expected to be very competitive, with NZFF drivers joining the field.
Friday sees practice plus a 20-minute qualifying session, followed by a $500 Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy cash prize for pole position. Saturday’s program includes two ten-lap races with two 12-lap races on Sunday.
The South Island Formula Ford Club acknowledges the support from Team Hutchinson Ford. Available throughout the Formula Ford season are funding and support from both the Tony Quinn Foundation and the Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy, while Yokohama returns as the tyre of choice for Formula Ford Racing in NZ and as the NAPA Driver of the Day Award.
Overall Points after Rnd 3/5:
- Marco Manson 877
- Dylan Petch 629
- Zach Tucker 619
- Maxim Kirwan 601
- Jake Bryant 577
- Izaak Fletcher 513
- Reagan Edwards 486
- Jackson Culver 323
- Cameron Freeman 300
- Toby Musico 213
- Jacob Begg 210
- Matthew Basso 166
- Archie Dampier-Crossley 141
- Dyson Freeman 33
Entry List (#, Driver, Chassis)
- 14, Braxton Kraayvanger, Van Dieman RF02
- 16, Mathew Basso, Mygale SJ08A
- 18, Jacob Begg, Ray GR21
- 19, Cameron Freeman, Van Dieman RF92
- 20, Olivia Lorenzen, Van Dieman RF01
- 21, Toby Musico, Mygale SJ08A
- 23, Campbell Owens, Spectrum 015
- 26, Dyson Freeman, Van Dieman RF01
- 28, William Beck, Spectrum 010b
- 35, Izaak Fletcher, Ray GR20
- 39, Dylan Petch Van Dieman RF93
- 44, Seb Eskandari-Marandi, Mygale SJ08A
- 68, Maxim Kirwan, Spectrum 015
- 69, Marco Manson, Spectrum 015
- 77, Jake Bryant, Van Dieman RF94
- 86, Toby McCormack, Spectrum 010
Header Image: Euan Cameron
