Skip to content

ff1600

NSW Formula ford championship ...breeding legends
Home arrow FF1600 News arrow Championship News arrow Simpson Stars at Wakefield Park in Championship Opener
Simpson Stars at Wakefield Park in Championship Opener PDF Print E-mail
Written by NSWFF Media   
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Ryan Simpson
Ryan Simpson (Pic by John Morris MPix)

Dominant! That was the best way to describe the performance of newcomer Ryan Simpson at Wakefield Park Raceway last weekend during the opening round of the NSW Formula Ford 1600 Championship.

Simpson, who has joined the Anglo Australian Motorsport team for this year after a highly successful stint in the Formula Vee ranks, was simply a cut above the rest from qualifying through to the third and final race over the course of the weekend.

Simpson (Comtec Spirit WL07) kicked off the weekend by posting the fastest lap in qualifying, and he soon turned that pace into race winning pace, where he won three from three races.

Sitting strongly in the lead of the NSW Championship point standings, Simpson now looks in good shape to be one of the leading championship contenders for the remainder of the year.

thumb_tweedie0801b.jpg
Tom Tweedie
There is no doubt that fellow Anglo Australian Motorsport driver Tom Tweedie (Comtec Spirit WL07) will be a threat to Simpson in the Championship and he showed that during the opening round by finishing second behind Simpson in qualifying and all three races. In particular Tweedie kept Simpson honest during both race two and three, and it was the latter race where Tweedie took control of the lead briefly in the closing stages only to have Simpson gain control back moments later. At the fall of the chequered flag Simpson took a car length win over Tweedie.

One of the standout performers to come from the weekend was Bruce McCabe (RF98 Van Diemen). The former Anglo Australian Motorsport driver showed a great turn of form and speed to finish third for the weekend. Throughout the weekend McCabe fought tooth and nail with former NSW Champion Matthew Howard (RF 91 Van Diemen) over the two races on Sunday for the final spot on the podium, but was able to get the upper hand.

thumb_nsw0801a.jpg
Round 1 Field (Pic by John Morris MPix)
Howard finished fourth in both race two and three, and that showed, driving his RF91 Van Diemen, that he still has what it takes to be a podium threat and it is hoped that he can contest the entire championship as he is by far the most experienced driver in the field.
Teenager Nathan Morcom, debuting for the Anglo Australian Motorsport team aboard a Comtec Spirit WL07, showed impressive speed during the weekend when he qualified in third place, which completed the top 3 places for the Anglo Australian Motorsport team. During the three races Morcom, a current Australian Go Karting Champion, was in the wars and came on strong in the final race only to have a spectacular coming together with Derryn Harrison (Spectrum 09B) during the middle stages at turn seven ‘the fishhook’ and finished out of the running.

Icon Motorsport driver Derryn Harrison had by far his best result in his four year’s competing in the NSW Championship with a third place finish in the opening race on Saturday afternoon. For Harrison Sunday proved more difficult as he suffered a few spins during the second race, and was charging his way up to another podium finish during the final race only to be an innocent party in the incident between himself and Morcom.

Other drivers to make their debut in the NSW Championship and achieve credible results included Adam Lucas (Spectrum 06B), Russell Newell (Spectrum 07B), Daniel Lewis (RF02 Van Diemen), and James Stewart (Spectrum 07B).

The second round of the NSW Formula Ford 1600 Championship is to be held on the weekend of May 24 – 25 at Eastern Creek Raceway.

 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]