Traditional and competitive Formula Ford racing continued this weekend as the 2025/26 Yokohama South Island Formula Ford Championship (SIFF) held its second round at the Wigram Rival meeting in Christchurch.
While local Dylan Petch won the opening race on Saturday at the Euromarque Motorsport Park, it was Auckland’s Marco Manson that went on to win the remaining three races, including the prestigious Wigram Cup.
“That was pretty good,” commented Manson, having won the Wigram Cup.
“It was very tough, very long and very good. Dylan put a lot of pressure on me and didn’t make it easy, so it was really important to defend.”
As in the first round, Manson took the $500 Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy cash prize after setting the fastest lap in qualifying, just 0.029 seconds ahead of Petch.
Petch won the first race and finished second in the remaining three races.
“It was frustrating as we definitely had the pace to convert a few more wins,” said Petch.
“There was a lot more racing this weekend. So, good to brush up on the skills for the rest of the season, especially for the nationals. We had no DNFS (Did-not-finish), which is great. Good reliability for the round.”
Manson and Petch have, between them, won all eight races held so far, with the former now leading Petch by 103 points.
In the Wigram Cup, Manson effectively held the lead from start to finish with plenty of action happening behind him.
“We had lots of good battles this weekend and continue to learn heaps as well,” said Manson, who collected a Team Hutchinson Ford $500 prize for the round winner.
“Happy to extend the (Series) lead and looking forward to Teretonga (Rnd 3).”
Third in the Wigram Cup was new FIA Arrive and Drive World Cup kartsport champion Zach Tucker. Having won the world title last weekend in Malaysia, the Cantabrian was back in a single seater and finished the weekend third overall in the championship.
“I had lots of fun,” said Tucker.
“I’m new to this, and I really enjoyed it. The draft here is massive, so really enjoyable.
“I initially struggled to make the transition back in the car, but by the end of the weekend, we had built right up again. I was surprised my head could fit back in my helmet.”
Finishing third for the round and also picking up the NAPA Driver of the Day Award was Australian Toby Musico.
It was Musico’s first time racing in Christchurch with the aim of competing in the national championship starting early 2026.
For the first three races, Musico finished comfortably in the top five and had made his way up into second in the finale before tangling with Petch, deemed a racing incident, and dropped down the field, finishing sixth.
Also on the podium were Jake Bryant (Van Dieman RF94) and Reagan Edwards (Spectrum 015). Bryant holds fourth overall ahead of Izaak Fletcher (Ray GR20), Maxim Kirwan (Spectrum 015) and Jackson Culver (Ray GR20) while Edwards is eighth.
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.
Teams and drivers have a two-week break before the third round at Teretonga Park in Invercargill 6-7 December 2025.
Header Image: Euan Cameron
