Queensland based racer Kyle Wood took out the fifth and penultimate round of the NSW Formula Ford Championship on the weekend (August 19 - 20). One of three newcomers, Wood alongside Leigh Burges and ex-motocross rider Andrew Taite, stepped onto the podium at the completion of the weekend at Goulburn's Wakefield Park Raceway which also saw Ben Morley wrap up the 2006 Championship in a superb performance.

It had been a luckless year for Wood, driving the RF98 Van Diemen, but he managed to turn things around at Wakefield Park after qualifying third and placing second behind Morley in race one and two. Stepping up his game in the third "trophy" race, the 20-year-old hit the front early and from there was well on the way to his maiden Formula Ford win. Wood defeated Burges and Taite (who placed second and third respectively) in a race that finished behind the safety car.

“My season up until this weekend had been dogged by bad luck, so it was awesome to finally breakthrough for my first win in Formula Ford and hopefully there will be more of the same,” said a jubilant Wood.

“I had a wonderful battle with Ben [Morley] for the early part of the third race but I managed to break away from the rest of the field. It was a shame that he failed to finish, but congratulations must go to him and his team on a fine job in taking out the NSW Championship.”

Ben Morley’s Championship fate was sealed after he won the second race on Saturday afternoon: the highlight which preceded the completion of the fifth round, where he amassed 416 points with his nearest rivals Nick Lowe (280) and Kristian Lindbom (271) trailing in his wake.

In an upset to the form guide, 23-year-old Castlereagh driver Andrew Taite (# 44 Mygale) finished the trophy race in third, by far his best result in only his second year of Formula Ford competition.

“I was able to take advantage of the incident late in the final race and move into third, so I’m absolutely stoked with this result and it’s certainly a wonderful surprise,” Taite said.

“Getting onto the podium was unexpected, but our pace was there all weekend. I was in the right place at the right time in order to capitalise and move into third place,” he stressed.

Earlier in the weekend it was Morley who blitzed the field in qualifying with a 1:04.4081 lap around the 2.2km Wakefield Park circuit, ahead of Stephen Payne (1:04.4653), Wood (1:04.5305), Burges (1:04.5635), and Kristian Lindbom (1:04.6273) in fifth. Joining the NSW Championship for the first time was Victorian visitor and son of 1987 Australian Sprintcar Champion Brett, Nick Lacey who managed to qualify a credible eighth.

In an incident-free opening race, Morley set a scorching pace to lead the entire eight lap journey, defeating Wood and Lindbom who placed second and third respectively. Qualifying in fourth was Burges, ahead of Payne (who had lost a number of positions on the opening lap after running wide on turn eight whilst placed second), Nick Lowe, Glenn Welch, Taite, Pattis, and Alan Price in 10th. The only non-finisher of race one was Lacey who suffered mechanical problems and retired to the infield on the third lap.

By taking out the second race of the weekend, Morley wrapped up the NSW Championship for good, but it wasn’t with a minor hitch as the start of the race was halted by a red flag after Pattis and Price collided entering turn three in the opening lap. This resulted in Pattis spinning and Price doing likewise, consequently, both drivers failed to restart.

After Pattis’ car was cleared from the track a full restart was ordered which gave Morley the upper hand in the opening two turns from front row starter Wood. Morley headed Wood, Lindbom and Burges up until the sixth lap when positions behind Morley and Lowe changed after Lindbom and Burges made contact as they approached turn two. This saw Lindbom vacate the track momentarily, only to rejoin the track at the foot of the top ten.

Positions at the head of the field remained the same up until the fall of the chequered flag as Morley outpaced Wood and Burges to win, while fourth place went to Payne followed by Lowe, Welch, Taite, Lindbom, Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series runner Colin Sieders and the returning Daniel Cotton.

The third and final 12 lap race of the weekend finished under safety car conditions, and the win went to Wood ahead of Burges and Taite. The safety car was brought out for Morley, who, after contact from Welch entering turn two on the ninth lap forced him to spin off the track and into the sand trap, requiring the safety car making a short lived appearance.

Another incident in race three saw Lindbom excluded from the results after he passed Lacey under the yellow flag. Earlier in lap three of the same race, Lindbom was in the wars - hit from behind entering turn eight by Payne resulting in both drivers spinning. Lindbom was able to continue while Payne limped back to the pits and retired with front end damage.

With the winner of NSW Championship decided, the sixth and final round at Eastern Creek Raceway on September 23 – 24 will see a three way battle between Lowe, Lindbom and Payne for second place in the Championship, as only 14 points separate the three.

Latest NSW Formula Ford Championship Point Standings (after round five):

1 Ben Morley – 416
2 Nick Lowe – 280
3 Kristian Lindbom – 271
4 Stephen Payne – 266
5 Leigh Burges - 244
6 Kyle Wood - 226
7 Glenn Welch - 208
8 Andrew Taite - 200
9 Matthew Howard - 196
10 Daniel Cotton – 163

Simpson Rookie of the Year Point Standings:

1 Kristian Lindbom – 271
2 Leigh Burgess – 244
3 Alan Price – 138
4 San Pattis – 136
5 Taz Douglas – 76