Photo: Great South Photography

The Spectrum 015-driving Marco Manson tops the standings at the halfway point of the New Zealand Formula Ford season.

Round one was at Teretonga on January 23-25, and Manson showed he was the driver to beat from the off by topping practice. He had a 0.429-second gap to Maxim Kirwan in second place, and 0.52s to Toby Musico in third.

His advantage grew in qualifying, as he clinched pole for the season-opening race by 1.316s. Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi was second, with Dylan Petch and Campbell Owens the only other drivers within 1.7s of Manson.

However it was a different story in the race itself, which was soaking wet. Manson had a super slow start and was fifth before the opening corner. Eskandari-Marandi took the lead by avoiding wheelspin off the line, but could do little up front as the safety car was summoned due to Musico skating off into turn one’s gravel trap.

Racing resumed on lap six, and Petch looked to either side of Eskandari-Marandi at turn one as Manson flew off but carried enough speed to eventually rejoin the track at the back. Petch then had to hold off Owens, and on lap seven Kirwan mirrored Manson’s off. Toby McCormack was next to go off there, but he got beached and it led to the race finishing behind the safety car and Manson finishing ninth.

It remained wet the next day for race two, which used the same grid. Manson again started badly, losing two places before getting back past Jacob Begg with greater speed exiting turn one. Owens made contact with Musico and sent him off, triggering a safety car period that lasted until the end of lap four and earning himself a 10s penalty.

Manson reclaimed the lead down the pit straight as the field returned to racing speeds, while Izaak Fletcher fell from fourth to sixth through turn one.

There was a 2.5s gap between Manson and Eskandari-Marandi on lap seven when he flew through the gravel at turn three but again maintained enough speed to emerge from the other side of it and rejoin the track in eighth.

Eskandari-Marandi kept the lead to the finish, and on the final lap Owens swept around the outside of Begg at turn one in a move he ‘wasn’t expecting to stick’. His penalty dropped him to eighth though, and Begg ended up holding off Petch for second by 0.105s.

Manson went on a charge, going from eight seconds behind the leader to 2.86s by the end as he recovered to fifth.

Drivers’ fastest laps from the weekend until that point set the dry race three’s grid, so Manson got another pole ahead of Owens.

The first pressure on the poleman came at the last corner on laps two and three. Next time by, Owens was all over Manson the whole lap and a group formed with Petch and Fletcher. Petch got on Owens’ inside at the final corner, and through turn one on lap five Owens lost two places. He reclaimed third around the outside of turn one a lap later, and the lead fight was reinvigorated on lap nine when Manson had a big slide.

Petch got alongside him all the way to the exit of turn one on lap 10, and on lap 13 that lasted until turn three where Manson braked late to stay ahead. He was alongside through the lengthy turn one again on lap 14, but then he lost out to Owens as lap 15 began.

Owens’ favoured attack spot once into second was also turn one, and when Petch tried pressuring Manson too he got baulked and lost third to Musico. He had been picking off drivers, and taken fourth from Fletcher during lap 14.

Lap 18 began with Manson leading by 0.094s, and Owens almost had contact with him as they went through turn one. That was the last attack, while Eskandari-Marandi rose from seventh to fifth in a three-wide photo finish.

Round two took place at Timaru on January 30-February 1, and Manson led the way in practice again. This time his advantage around the shorter circuit was 0.412s over Kirwan. That was slashed to 0.053s in qualifying, and Fletcher was only 0.072s off pole. Owens trailed by 0.193s in fourth, Eskandari-Marandi was sixth and 0.5s split the top 11.

Manson led lights-to-flag in race one, finishing 1.959s ahead of Kirwan. Owens had an off after the same corner on lap one and two, which cost him third to Fletcher. He slipstreamed back past on lap three, and after Fletcher pitted Eskandari-Marandi was next to challenge him. They traded places on lap five, and Petch soon got past too.

Owens then repeated his earlier off, and finished sixth before a five-second driving standards penalty for Eskandari-Marandi meant he moved up to fifth.

Manson had another lights-to-flag success in race two. Jake Bryant made a great launch to get into second and initially distance himself from Kirwan, but the front row starter was back ahead by turn three of lap two.

There was a brief off for Manson but he was untroubled, and Bryant held on for the rest of the race to make the podium. Eskandari-Marandi overtook Fletcher for fourth on lap six, and Owens was close behind until Musico went into his side at the hairpin on the last lap. He had dropped to ninth by the finish, but gained back a spot once Musico was penalised.

Race three was the next day, with the same top two on the grid. Matthew Basso started third, ahead of Fletcher, Bryant, Owens and Eskandari-Marandi.

Kirwan took the lead on lap two after Manson put a wheel off, and on lap four Manson used the slipstream to get back ahead at the end of the back straight. They remained super close, and had not shaken off Basso when the safety car appeared on lap eight as a kerb hit led to Petch losing a wheel and crashing out.

Red flags waved on lap nine, which was where the restarted behind the safety car. Three laps of racing remained following that, and Manson initially got the jump but the slipstream effect brought his chasers back onto him. Basso overtook Kirwan on lap 10, and at the end of the back straight on lap 11 he got back past on the inside while Owens overtook Fletcher around the outside for fourth. Bryant had previously held fifth until he cut the chicane at the start of lap eight.

The victory fight came down to the last lap, and Kirwan squeezed down Manson’s inside at the end of the back straight to make the winning move.

Manson lined up on pole again in race four, ahead of Musico, Kirwan and Eskandari-Marandi. Kirwan took second on lap two, and Manson got defensive against him on lap four but Kirwan still found a way through as a four-car fight formed.

A lap later, Manson swept around the outside at the end of the back straight to snatch back the lead. Kirwan kept on his gearbox until a wide moment on lap seven meant he lost out to Musico and then Eskandari-Marandi. Third place returned to Kirwan on lap eight, and Musico’s robust defending against him after that allowed Manson to pull away to win. Kirwan did get his overtake done on lap 10, echoing the move Manson had made on him.

Results round-up
Teretonga race 1 (10 laps)
1 Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi 17m09.576s
2 Dylan Petch +0.565s
3 Campbell Owens +1.210s
4 Jacob Begg +1.519s
5 Izaak Fletcher +1.887s
6 Matthew Basso +2.794s
7 William Beck +3.832s
8 Olivia Lorenzen +7.371s
9 Marco Manson +7.640s
10 Maxim Kirwan +8.546s
Pole: Manson, 1m13.638s
Fastest lap: Manson, 1m14.390s

Teretonga race 2 (13 laps)
1 Eskandari-Marandi 19m04.922s
2 Begg +1.894s
3 Petch +1.999s
4 Fletcher +2.364s
5 Manson +2.863s
6 Kirwan +6.962s
7 Basso +8.209s
8 Owens +10.334s
9 Beck +46.538s
10 Lorenzen +1 lap
FL: Manson, 1m12.174s

Teretonga race 3 (18 laps)
1 Manson 19m30.395s
2 Owens +0.754s
3 Toby Musico +0.850s
4 Petch +1.139s
5 Eskandari-Marandi +5.510s
6 Begg +5.590s
7 Basso +5.603s
8 Fletcher +5.722s
9 Kirwan +5.747s
10 Beck +34.943s
FL: Owens, 1m03.533s

Timaru race 1 (10 laps)
1 Manson 11m05.818s
2 Kirwan +1.959s
3 Petch +11.393s
4 Jake Bryant +11.683s
5 Owens +12.343s
6 Toby McCormack +15.116s
7 Eskandari-Marandi +15.549s
8 Begg +16.011s
9 Cameron Freeman +19.191s
10 Beck +29.117s
P: Manson, 1m06.110s
FL: Manson, 1m05.895s

Timaru race 2 (10 laps)
1 Manson 11m23.063s
2 Kirwan +0.908s
3 Bryant +4.441s
4 Eskandari-Marandi +4.887s
5 Fletcher +5.147s
6 Basso +7.008s
7 Petch +7.171s
8 Owens +7.242s
9 McCormack +11.173s
10 Begg +11.275s
FL: Basso, 1m06.158s

Timaru race 3 (12 laps)
1 Kirwan 16m12.118s
2 Manson +0.128s
3 Basso +0.510s
4 Owens +1.844s
5 Fletcher +2.249s
6 Bryant +3.039s
7 Musico +3.123s
8 Eskandari-Marandi +3.352s
9 Begg +3.655s
10 Beck +4.189s
FL: Musico, 1m06.023s

Timaru race 4 (12 laps)
1 Manson 13m25.653s
2 Kirwan +0.865s
3 Musico +1.723s
4 Eskandari-Marandi +1.987s
5 Basso +1.987s
6 Petch +6.016s
7 Owens +9.439s
8 McCormack +11.832s
9 Begg +14.165s
10 Fletcher +14.322s
FL: Kirwan, 1m05.936s

Championship standings
1 Manson 456   2 Eskandari-Marandi 400   3 Kirwan 390   4 Owens 358   5 Petch 331   6 Basso 323   7 Begg 319   8 Fletcher 308   9 Beck 246   10 Musco 198

The post Manson leads at season’s halfway point in New Zealand FFord appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Blake Dowdall

New Zealand Formula Ford’s 2025 season kicked off at Timaru this weekend, and Blake Dowdall left as points leader.

Free practice was on Friday, and Will Neale topped FP1 by 0.066 seconds over Dylan Petch with a 1m06.112s. Petch lowered the pace to 1m05.946s in FP2, leading Neale by 0.099s, Toby McCormack by 0.121s and reigning champion Blake Knowles by 0.148s.

Laptimes were even faster in FP3, with Neale returning to the top. He set a 1m05.784s, edging Knowles by 0.13s and Dowdall by 0.143s.

Neale continued to be fastest in qualifying, improving to 1m05.705s to snatch pole by 0.096s from Knowles. Dowdall and Dylan Grant trailed by 0.178s and 0.201s respectively, and McCormack was excluded for breaching technical regulations after going seventh fastest.

The first two races followed on Saturday, then races three and four on Sunday.

Race one was hectic, and Grant jumped up into the lead early on. He managed to hold it, as Neale immediately lost ground on lap one and had to work to reclaim it in the race’s first half while Knowles dropped position after position.

Another to go on a charge was Petch, who entered podium contention in the race’s second half and finished a distant second behind Grant.

There was four-and-a-half seconds between those two, and only half a second between Petch and Neale in third. There was another big gap to Lincoln Taylor in fourth, with James Penrose not too far behind him. Knowles and Dowdall were a lonely sixth and seventh, and McCormack recovered to 12th.

Knowles again had a downwards trajectory early in race two, and Neale held the lead at first but soon ended up squabbling with Knowles. Dowdall passed both and pulled way to win by 1.9s.

Neale triumphed in his fight against Knowles by 0.314s, and Penrose got himself into fourth then held on to that position by 0.154s. He was helped by Petch and Taylor fighting behind him.

Knowles was on course for race three victory before retiring a few laps from the finish (meaning a one-minute penalty for careless driving went unserved), leaving Dowdall in the perfect position to capitalise. Except he was passed by Taylor and then Petch.

Australian racer Taylor’s breakthrough win was earned by 1.359s, and Dowdall held off McCormack for second by 0.375s after Petch – who had risen up from seventh – was disqualified from the runner-up spot for breaching technical regulations.

Neale ran in fourth for much of the race but lost ground late on and finished 10th, albeit with the fastest lap.

Race four was also dramatic, as red flags waved early on. Dowdall led from the start until lap eight, when Neale and Taylor got through. He reclaimed one spot on the penultimate lap, then passed Taylor on the final lap to win.

Neale inherited second once Taylor was penalised five seconds for jumping the start, dropping him to seventh, and Petch was disqualfied due to another technical breach after finishing fourth on-the-road.

Results round-up
Race 1 (10 laps)
1 Dylan Grant 12m40.050s
2 Dylan Petch +4.564s
3 Will Neale +5.014s
4 Lincoln Taylor +8.396s
5 James Penrose +9.053s
6 Blake Knowles +11.653s
7 Blake Dowdall +13.394s
8 Izaak Fletcher +15.417s
9 Jacob Cunniffe +16.175s
10 Jacob Begg +16.980s
Pole: Neale, 1m05.705s
Fastest lap: Grant, 1m13.583s

Race 2 (10 laps)
1 Dowdall 11m10.646s
2 Neale +1.943s
3 Knowles +2.257s
4 Penrose +8.691s
5 Petch +8.845s
6 Taylor +9.214s
7 Jake Bryant +9.617s
8 Jack Noble-Adams +9.749s
9 Grant +10.135s
10 Begg +11.315s
FL: Toby McCormack, 1m06.127s

Race 3 (12 laps)
1 Taylor 14m04.637s
2 Dowdall +1.359s
3 McCormack +1.734s
4 Grant +2.345s
5 Penrose +3.243s
6 Begg +3.989s
7 Bryant +4.595s
8 Noble-Adams +4.999s
9 Cunniffe +5.217s
10 Neale +5.714s
FL: Neale, 1m06.134s

Race 4 (12 laps)
1 Dowdall 22m49.205s
2 Neale +0.563s
3 Grant +1.200s
4 Penrose +4.454s
5 McCormack +4.583s
6 Noble-Adams +5.289s
7 Taylor +5.507s
8 Fletcher +5.625s
9 Bryant +6.465s
10 Begg +6.691s
FL: Dowdall, 1m06.367s

Championship standings
1 Dowdall 262   2 Grant 238   3 Neale 235   4 Taylor 228   5 Penrose 212   6 McCormack 181   7 Begg 165   8 Fletcher 162   9 Cunniffe 153   10 Ryan Denize 121

The post Blake Dowdall leads the way after NZ FFord round one at Timaru appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Terry Marshal/Euan Cameron Photography

The 2024 New Zealand Formula Ford championship began last weekend at the Timaru circuit.

Three practice sessions and qualifying kicked off the event, and Blake Knowles set the practice pace with a 1m05.735s lap. That put him 0.135s ahead of William Neale, with Dylan Grant 0.597s behind in third. The qualifying pace was slower, as Neale took pole with a 1m06.248s. Sebastian Manson was 0.192s behind in second, with Knowles 0.259s back in third.

Manson took the lead from Neale before the first corner of race one and held it all the way to the finish of the 10-lap encounter. The top three immediately broke away from the rest of the 22-car field, and Knowles attacked Neale at the end of the back straight on lap two but put a wheel into the dirt rather than making a move.

Just 0.767s covered the trio on on lap three, and 0.456s on lap seven. Knowles repeated his attempt at passing Neale on lap four, while on lap five Neale had tried the outside of Manson at the end of the back straight and the leader cut across him as they exited the hairpin at the end of the straight.

Knowles pressured Neale down the pit straight and into turn one on lap eight, then again down the back straight and this time did get by while also visiting the dirt. Neale reclaimed second at the next corner, and the pair dropped 1.275s behind Manson. He won by 1.549s, with 0.31s splitting Neale and Knowles. Grant was fourth, while Mason Potter rose from 10th to finish sixth.

A very distant 20th was MotorSport New Zealand’s CEO Elton Goonan, who has FFord experience but was a circuit debutant.

Neale started from pole for race two, ahead of Manson and Knowles. Manson’s grid spot proved advantageous again as he led the field after just a few metres.

Knowles took second from Neale at the hairpin on lap two, and attacked Manson three times mid-race before finally getting ahead on lap seven by going around the outside – and putting his wheels into the dirt – at the hairpin. Lapping Keith Miller complicated his final lap defences but Knowles held Manson off by 0.277s, until a five-second penalty post-race handed a second victory to his rival. A lap three off dropped Grant from fifth to 13th, and he recovered to eighth.

The front of the grid was unchanged for race three. Manson had better traction off the line to lead, and won by 0.213s over Knowles. He attempted to dive down the inside of Neale at the hairpin on lap three, got ahead on lap five then set the fastest lap as he chased the leader. Several drivers behind spun and crashed, but the safety car was not needed.

Knowles’ fastest lap earned him second on the grid for the 12-lap race four, and he converted it into the lead straight away. Manson also passed Neale, then ran side-by-side with Knowles before passing into turn one on lap two.

The lead returned to Knowles on lap four, but Manson repeated his move on lap five. Knowles went around his outside at the hairpin, Manson passed him again down the pit straight on lap seven, then Knowles did his hairpin move again. That brought Neale into play and he passed Manson after making contact.

Points leader Manson returned to second and finished 2.133s behind winner Knowles, before a five-second penalty dropped him to seventh.

Results round-up
Race 1 (10 laps)
1 Sebastian Manson 11m14.793s
2 William Neale +1.549s
3 Blake Knowles +1.859s
4 Dylan Grant +3.033s
5 Izaak Fletcher +5.544s
6 Mason Potter +7.581s
7 Jake Byrant +7.858s
8 Simon Hunter +11.343s
9 Zac Blincoe +11.499s
10 Caleb Byers +12.459s
Pole: Neale, 1m06.248s
Fastest lap: Knowles, 1m06.660s

Race 2 (10 laps)
1 Manson 11m16.336s
2 Neale +0.190s
3 Fletcher +3.098s
4 Knowles +4.723s
5 Blincoe +6.230s
6 Hunter +8.570s
7 Potter +8.676s
8 Grant +9.638s
9 Bryant +10.239s
10 Byers +11.451s
FL: Manson, 1m06.542s

Race 3 (10 laps)
1 Manson 11m09.964s
2 Knowles +0.213s
3 Neale +0.612s
4 Grant +1.118
5 Fletcher +3.536s
6 Potter +9.431s
7 Blincoe +10.691s
8 Dylan Petch +10.838s
9 Daniel Kelly +14.118s
10 Toby McCormack +16.116s
FL: Neale, 1m05.790s

Race 4 (12 laps)
1 Knowles 13m27.873s
2 Neale +3.541s
3 Grant +3.835s
4 Potter +4.023s
5 Fletcher +4.593s
6 Byers +4.766s
7 Manson +7.133s
8 Blincoe +8.963s
9 Byrant +18.804s
10 Kelly +20.728s
FL: Manson, 1m06.331s

Championship standings
1 Manson 267   2 Neale 263   3 Knowles 256   4 Grant 207   5 Fletcher 207   6 Potter 186   7 Blincoe 166   8 Byrant 130   9 Byers 129   10 Kelly 129

The post Manson takes early points lead in opening NZ FFord round at Timaru appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Toyota Racing Series

Neale Motorsport’s Andrew Tang picked up his second victory of the 2014 Toyota Racing Series season, having inherited the win in race three at Timaru.

Indeed, the Singaporean did not wind up leading a single lap, as he settled into second from his front row stating position, with championship leader Martin Rump setting the race pace at the front end.

The duo were unmatched on raw speed for the duration of the race, quickly establishing and maintaining a gap of several seconds over their nearest rivals. As Rump comfortably led all 20 laps, Tang stayed within a reasonable distance behind the leader and crossed the line less than two seconds adrift.

Ready to celebrate his maiden victory, the championship leader was then informed of an earlier false start and given a post-race penalty of ten seconds, dropping him to fourth.

As such, with Tang moving into first, it was Jann Mardenborough, having spent the entire race under immense pressure from James Munro, who secured the final podium position.

Further down the field, Ryan Tveter kept sophomore drivers Steijn Schothorst and Damon Leitch at bay to take fifth, while Denis Korneev led the Victory pair of Michael Scott and Brendon Leitch in eighth.

While it was a rather quiet and incident-free final race, there were still a number of retirements throughout the field. Macauley Jones was ruled out of contention on lap one, while Egor Orudzhev had a mechanical failure six laps into the race while running in fifth.

As it stands after two rounds, Rump leads Mardenborough in the standings by eight points, while Orudzhev remains in third.

Race results

Championship standings

The post Tang inherits race three win after Rump is penalized appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Toyota Racing Series

British racer Jann Mardenborough led a Giles Motorsport 1-2 in the second race at Timaru, converting a reverse-grid pole into a comfortable win.

In a somewhat hectic race, which saw two safety car periods, Mardenborough’s lead never appeared to be under much of a threat and, after 15 laps of on-and-off green flag running, the Brit crossed the line in first to take his maiden victory in single-seaters.

Front row starter Martin Rump calmly settled for second and took over in the lead of the standings. Dutchman Steijn Schothorst crossed the line in third after moving up several spots at the start, but was shortly penalized for a premature getaway and dropped out of the top ten.

As such, Egor Orudzhev picked up the final podium place, holding off Damon Leitch. Gustavo Lima took his best finish in the series in fifth, while Neil Alberico narrowly kept Levin Amweg at bay for sixth.

Jordan Oon, Robin Hansson and Ryan Tveter rounded out the top ten.

The post Mardenborough secures maiden single-seater win at Timaru appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Toyota Racing Series

Neale Motorsport’s James Munro became the third race winner of the 2014 Toyota Racing Series season, producing an extremely confident drive from pole at Timaru.

The Kiwi led every lap and calmly controlled the pace during the 15-lap run, taking the checkered flag more than three-and-a-half seconds ahead of nearest rival Steijn Schothorst.

Further down the grid things were nowhere near as smooth, as a big first-lap shunt in the midfield prompted a red flag and ruled out top-ten starters in Macauley Jones, Matteo Ferrer, Andrew Tang and Martin Kodric.

There were no further interruptions after the race went green again. With Munro comfortably leading at the front, Schothorst soon found himself under pressure from third-placed Egor Orudzhev, who significantly closed in on the Dutchman in the latter stages of the race but wound up settling for third.

Damon Leitch took fourth, while his brother Brendon Leitch came home in sixth behind Neil Alberico – with both drivers celebrating their best results of the season so far.

Martin Rump and Jann Mardenborough managed to recover crucial points after tough luck in qualifying, taking seventh and eighth respectively by overtaking Ryan Tveter in the final laps. Behind the American, Matt Rao rounded out the top ten.

Race results

The post Munro takes commanding victory at Timaru appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Toyota Racing Series

The Toyota Racing Series qualifying at Timaru turned out to be a fruitful one for the championship’s rookies, with James Munro and Martin Rump topping a qualifying session each.

Neale’s Munro was the pacesetter in qualifying one, which was affected by two red flag periods. The Kiwi led coming into both and, as the session was called for good after the second stoppage, he picked up his first TRS pole.

Steijn Schothorst snuck into second before the premature end to the session, while early pacesetter Egor Orudzhev had to settle for third.

Damon Leitch took fourth, leading Macauley Jones and Neil Alberico. Matteo Ferrer, Levin Amweg, Andrew Tang and Martin Kodric rounded out the top ten. Meanwhile, championship leader Rump and Jann Mardenborough were among those whose chances at fighting for good positions were dashed by the second red flag.

There was more running under green in session two, although it was also affected by two stoppages. Neale teammates Munro and Tang were the ones setting the pace, with the Singaporean looking set to wrap up pole in the closing minutes.

However, with one minute remaining on the clock, it was Rump who put in a surprise flying lap to go two tenths clear on the top. Almost immediately after that, the session wound up red-flagged and the Estonian secured pole.

With Tang and Munro in second and third respectively, fourth place went to Jones. His teammate Schothorst picked up fifth, ahead of fellow sophomore Mardenborough and Ferrer, while Orudzhev, Ryan Tveter and Damon Leitch made up the remainder of the top ten.

Qualifying one

Qualifying two

The post James Munro and Martin Rump secure poles at Timaru appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Toyota Racing Series

British racer Jann Mardenborough produced a strong showing during Friday pratice running for the Toyota Racing Series round at Timaru, setting the quickest time of the day and topping the first two sessions, with session three going to Singaporean Andrew Tang.

A late-session effort in the opening practice allowed Mardenborough to narrowly beat Steijn Schothorst for the top of the leaderboards, as he beat the Dutchman’s time by just 0.01s.

Mardenborough’s teammate and championship leader Martin Rump took third, ahead of Denis Korneev and Levin Amweg. Thursday pacesetter James Munro was sixth, with Michael Scott, Jordan Oon, Brendon Leitch and Neil Alberico rounding out the top ten.

Mardenborough continued to set the pace in session two, beating the benchmark set by Tang just before a red flag. Rump was, again, third, leading Egor Orudzhev.

Damon Leitch was sixth, behind his younger brother Brendon and narrowly ahead of Giles driver Matt Rao. Munro, Pedro Piquet and Amweg made up the rest of the top ten.

The final session of the day saw Tang confidently secure the top spot, with Ryan Tveter in second and Rump in third. Schothorst and Ferrer followed, ahead of Macauley Jones and Mardenborough, with Leitch, Amweg and Gustavo Lima closing out the top ten.

Session results

Personal best time in bold
Best time of session in italics

The post Mardenborough, Tang top Friday practice sessions at Timaru appeared first on Formula Scout.

European F3 racers steal the show in round two as Auer claims points lead, while ex-GP3 man Felipe Guimaraes wins the F3 Brazil Open at Interlagos…

Toyota Racing Series

Having been the quickest man at the season opener at Teretonga last weekend, there was further good news for Lucas Auer before he arrived at Timaru with the announcement he will race for Prema in European F3 this year. When the action got underway he was on the pace again, topping both qualifying sessions to claim a double pole position.

In race one he claimed a comfortable four second win over defending champion Nick Cassidy with Bruno Bonifacio claiming his first podium finish of the campaign in third. Rookie Steijn Schothorst continued his fine form in fourth ahead of Damon Leitch and Felix Serralles, who had led the standings coming into the round.

Report: Untouchable Auer takes victory in race one at Timaru

Serralles was able to fight back in race two and reclaim the points lead from his Austrian rival. Starting from the reverse grid pole position, the Puerto Rican led from lights to flag ahead of Leitch. Schothorst’s podium hopes ended with a black-and-orange flag for a broken front wing, allowing Cassidy to come through and grab a second top three finish – banking points in the knowledge he had only qualified ninth for race three. Bonifacio, Auer and Alex Lynn completed the top six.

Report: Serralles fights back with race two win at Timaru

Lynn had experienced a quiet weekend up to this stage but took full advantage of qualifying in second place for race three by beating Auer into turn one. The pair were nose-to-tail for the rest of the race but Lynn held on for his first win of the campaign. Serralles took third but saw Auer surge back into a six point lead in the standings. Schothorst, Leitch and Nicholas Latifi rounded out the top six finishers.

Report: Lynn holds off Auer for race three victory at Timaru

Formula 3 Brazil Open

The fourth running of the annual Formula 3 Brazil Open at Interlagos saw a lacklustre grid of only six cars as the category continues its decline on the South American continent.

Former GP3 and A1 Grand Prix driver Felipe Guimaraes claimed pole position and won the first of the two heats from Hitech Racing Brazil teammate Robert La Rocca. An electrical issue forced Guimaraes out of race two however, allowing La Rocca to win.

Report: Guimaraes in control in race one of Formula 3 Brazil Open

Report: La Rocca eases to victory in race two as Guimaraes hits trouble

The Venezuelan therefore started the pre-final from pole position but was beaten into the lead at the start by Guimaraes from alongside on the front row. The Brazilian’s lead wouldn’t last long though as he stopped with engine failure before the end of the first lap. La Rocca won comfortably ahead of the scrap for honours in the B class for 2001-spec cars between Eduardo Banzoli and Formula Renault regular Gustavo Lima.

Report: La Rocca benefits from more Guimaraes woe in pre-final

The tables turned in the final however with the mechanical issues befalling La Rocca instead, forcing him to start from the pits and finish five laps down. Despite starting last, Guimaraes was into the lead on the first lap and claimed a comfortable victory. Over a minute down the road was another GP3 racer, Russian Dmitry Suranovich, while Banzoli finished third overall as the victory in class B. La Rocca – who aims to race in GP3 this year – was classified fourth while Raphael Raucci and Gustavo Lima retired.

Report: Guimaraes triumphs in F3 Brazil Open as La Rocca runs out of luck

PaddockScout Driver of the Weekend: Lucas Auer – The top scorer in TRS this past weekend, it was difficult not to give the Austrian the award for the second consecutive week. Guimaraes was the fastest man in Brazil when his car was working, but he was also the most experienced.

Next weekend: Round three of the TRS comes from former A1GP venue Taupo.

The post Roundup: Auer, Serralles and Lynn share Timaru wins appeared first on Formula Scout.

It was Lucas Auer who started the race from pole, but he was overtaken by Lynn into turn one and spent the remainder of the race immediately behind the Brit, crossing the finish line two and a half tenths behind him.

Puerto Rican Felix Serralles had trouble keeping up with the leading pair for most times and even got passed for third by Bruno Bonifacio at one point, but regained that position when the Brazilian went off into the safety barrier on lap 14. It wasn’t enough to prevent Auer regaining the points lead, however.

The top five was completed by Steijn Schothorst and Damon Leitch, while Nicholas Latifi recorded a personal best finish of sixth. Nick Cassidy, the defending champion, was only seventh, but managed to set the new lap record for the track at 57.847 seconds, beating the time set by another series champion Mitch Evans in 2010.

Pipo Derani, Jann Mardenborough and Akash Nandy completed the top ten with Tatiana Calderon a further second off in eleventh.

Dennis Olsen, having originally finished 14th, inherited 12th due to time penalties for false starts which put Tanart Sathienthirakul and Andrew Tang right behind him. Spike Goddard completed the top 15, ahead of Michael Scott and Ryan Cullen.

After the Timaru round, Auer leads Serralles by a mere six points, with the man in third, Cassidy, a further 47 behind. The next round will take place at Taupo on 25-27 January.

Race 3 results

* indicates a post-race time penalty

Championship Standings

The post Lynn holds off Auer for race three victory at Timaru appeared first on Formula Scout.