It’s ‘game-on’ as the penultimate round of the 2026 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship supported by Ford takes place this weekend at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in the North Waikato.
At the previous second round held in Timaru, Auckland’s Marco Manson leapt up the leaderboard from fifth to first to take a 56-point lead ahead of Seb Eskandari, with Maxim Kirwan in third, a further 10 points behind.
“I’m excited about it, to be honest,” said Manson.
“I did a few laps when I first started (in Formula Ford). I did OK and got into the top three, so optimistic for the weekend.”
While Eskandari hasn’t raced at Hampton Downs, Kirwan heads there with plenty of experience.
“We have definitely got the pace,” said Kirwan.
“I think that we have got the pace to take more race wins and the championship. I’ve been to Hampton Downs plenty of times, so I know what is required.”
Also in the mix are Campbell Owens, Dylan Petch, Mathew Basso, Jacob Begg and Toby Musico, who have all stood on the podium in the seven races held so far this season.
Dylan Petch heads north having raced last weekend at the final South Island Formula Ford Championship round, where he finished runner-up to Manson, who took the title.
“We found a few things after Timaru (Rnd 2) which we have improved on,” said Petch.
“We feel OK with the car but haven’t done the laps around Hampton Downs that others have done.”
Back on familiar ground are William Beck and Toby McCormack. Both finished on the podium at the opening NIFF round at Hampton Downs last October. Olivia Lorenzen returns to the grid after purchasing the ex-Zach Blincoe Mygale SJ08A.
The event also doubles as the fourth round of the 2025/26 Giltrap Group North Island Formula Ford Series (NIFF), which is currently led by Jack Groenewald with a 71-point lead over Oliver Sentch, with Owens in third.
Owens is the in-form driver, winning three of the four races at the last meeting in Feilding. Also in the field is James Collie.
Drivers and teams have 60 minutes of practice on Saturday morning, followed by a 20-minute qualifying session before the first 12-lap race in the afternoon. Sunday sees two more 12-lap races before the final 15-lap Ron Frost Memorial Trophy race on Sunday afternoon.
Rodin Cars is supporting the championship by giving the overall winner of the Championship, plus a wildcard, a three-day free test at their facility at Mt Lyford, with the opportunity for further testing in a Formula 4 car in the UK as part of their Formula Ford to F1 programme.
The championship continues to be supported by Yokohama, the tyre of choice for Formula Ford Racing in NZ. The Tony Quinn Foundation provides a $60,000.00 Travel Fund to be shared between each entrant who competes in all four rounds of the championship. Included in this is the Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy Pole Award.
The Foundation will also offer, for the first time, $10,000 in cash for the overall champion.
NZ Formula Ford Championship Overall Points after 2/4 rounds:
(Position, Driver, Chassis, Points)
- Marco Manson, Spectrum 015, 456
- Sebastian Eskandari, Mygale SJ08A, 400
- Maxim Kirwan, Spectrum 015, 390
- Campbell Owens, Spectrum 015, 358
- Dylan Petch, Van Dieman RF93, 331
- Mathew Basso, Mygale SJ08A, 323
- Jacob Begg, Ray GR21, 319
- Izaak Fletcher, Ray GR20, 308
- William Beck, Spectrum 010b, 246
- Toby Musico, Mygale SJ08A, 198
- Olivia Lorenzen, Mygale SJ08A ,163
- Toby McCormack, Spectrum 010, 160
2025/26 Giltrap Group North Island Formula Ford Series – Overall Points after 3/5 rounds:
(Position, Driver, Chassis, Points)
- Jack Groenewald, Mygale SJ07A, 593
- Oliver Sentch, Van Diemen Stealth, 522
- Campbell Owens, Spectrum 015, 517
- Shane Drake, Van Diemen RF92, 504
- William Beck, Spectrum 010b, 450
- Toby McCormack, Spectrum 010, 446
- James Collie, Van Diemen RF91, 249
- Dylan Grant, Van Diemen RF03, 227
- Olivia Lorenzen, Mygale SJ08A, 171
- Braxton Kraayvanger, Van Diemen RF02, 129
- Maxim Kirwan, Spectrum 015, 67
Header Image: GreatSouth Photography
