Going by the results so far this season, it will be a tough to predict who will lead the New South Wales (NSW) Formula Ford 1600 State Championship coming out of round five this weekend (August 11 – 12) at Goulburn’s Wakefield Park Raceway.

Reigning champion Ben Morley (Icon Motorsport Spectrum 09B) and the returning Rob Storey (Anglo Australian Motorsport Spirit WL07) have fought neck and neck all throughout 2007, taking turns at winning races and leading the championship.

However, with Morley currently sitting only seven points ahead of Storey on the leader board, the championship chase has opened up with the #1 Spectrum steerer no doubt aiming to extend that points gap even further when a field of close to 20 competitors take to the tight confines of Goulburn’s 2.2km circuit.

While Morley will be focussed on his fourth consecutive round victory, get set for Storey to fight hard on-track trying to ditch the second fiddle tag and do one better than his weekend of second places from round four last month.

The CAMS Rising Stars duo of Daniel Erickson (Spectrum 010B) and Scott Pye (Spectrum 010B) will no doubt be two strong competitors intent on knocking the top two campaigners off their mantle. But while Erickson has moved up to third in the championship after the last round, Pye’s persistent run of bad luck this year has not only dampened his championship campaign but made the job even tougher to bounce back into podium contention.

This weekend will also see Glenn Welch (Team Sydney Motorsport Listec Wil05) looking to get amongst winners circle for first time in 2007. Having already score two finishes inside the top three of the Trophy race this year, confidence levels will be high and expectations even more so to score his maiden race win of the season.

Reaping the rewards of consistency at the moment is Sydneysider Tom Tweedie (Anglo Australian Motorsport Van Diemen Stealth) who has jumped two spots into fourth on points. While determined more than ever to maintain a strong run of results, strong rivalry will surface in the form of Chris Goodman (Spectrum 010B) who scored his best results to date last month. Despite recording a race three DNF which cost him bitterly in the points department, Goodman is certainly one to keep an eye on.

Another driver looking to put in a solid top ten performance is local based driver Tom Ballard. The Canberra - ACT based driver has been amongst the top ten on numerous occasions this year, but the rookie Formula Ford driver is aiming to be as high up in the top ten as possible this weekend in all three races aboard the former Garry Watson Mygale SJ95. 

All the excitement of round five of the NSW Formula Ford 1600 Championship will get underway on Saturday, August 11, with qualifying in the morning followed by race one in the afternoon. While Sunday, August 12, will hold more on-track action with the remaining two races, including the all important Trophy race.

2007 NSW Formula Ford 1600 State Championship Point Standings – after round four
1. Ben Morley 237
2. Rob Storey 230
3. Daniel Erickson 190
4. Tom Tweedie 182
5. Glenn Welch 185