Christchurch’s Blake Knowles has dominated the penultimate round of the 2023 NAPA Auto Parts NZ Formula Ford Championship (NZFF) with four podium finishes at Teretonga Park, Invercargill, in the weekend. Knowles finished second in the opening race on Saturday and went on to win Sunday’s three races. Despite not having the best weekend at his home track, current national champion Alex Crosbie holds a narrow 52-point lead over Daniel Brown heading to the finale this weekend in Christchurch.
The meeting also doubled as the fifth and penultimate round of the Yokohama South Island Formula 1600 Championship (SIFF) and has seen a change in the leader board with Knowles taking over from Crosbie, again, heading to the finale this weekend in Christchurch.
“It’s pretty awesome to get the results in the weekend,” commented Knowles. “We managed to get a clean run all weekend and stayed out of trouble.”
Also on the top of the podium was rookie driver William Neale (Van Diemen Stealth). Neale had a strong showing in both North Island rounds of the national championship and took his maiden win in the opening race on Saturday, then following it up with two second and a third placings.
“Will (Neale) had an awesome race on Saturday,” commented Knowles. “Daniel (Brown) and I had a real battle for second allowing Will to get away and I run out of laps to catch him.”
Daniel Brown (Ray GR21) also had a stellar weekend winning the Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy $1,010.10 cash prize for fastest lap in qualifying and standing twice on the podium. His performance has seen him move into second overall in the national championship to Crosbie and fourth in the SIFF series, within striking distance of Knowles.
Things didn’t go well for a number of competitors with Crosbie (Ray GR21) recording a DNF (retirement) in Race 1 with a broken throttle cable. He best result for the round was a third place in Race 2, but still leads the national title fight. Dylan Grant (Van Diemen RF03) had two DNS’ (Did Not Start) first requiring an engine change overnight and later did not take the start line for Race 4, dashing his title hopes. Blake Dowdall (Spectrum 015) lost third gear finishing down the field in Race 1, while Sebastian Manson (Spectrum 015) finished all four races just short of the podium and sits in third overall on the points table.
“Daniel (Brown) and I had a lot of battles off the start line as he is a quick starter,” said Knowles. “In the final (Race 4) we were swapping the lead for most of the race until the safety car came out. I was fortunate to be in the lead as the race finished under the yellow (flag).
“The round has been a massive confidence booster for me, heading to Ruapuna (the final round). Hopefully we will hold onto our lead in the South Island series and keep chipping away at the national one as well.”
Jacob Cunniffe received the NAPA Auto Parts ‘Driver of the Day’ $230 cash prize for showing huge improvement over the season.
Both the NZ Formula Ford and the South Island F1600 Champinoships head to Christchurch this weekend for their final rounds. The national championship has two rounds in the North and two in the South Islands and is seen as crucial to the growth in both experience and confidence for young drivers wanting to progress their single seater career. The Tony Quinn Foundation has provided a travel grant to enable Formula Ford competitors to undertake this essential travel.
Up for grabs is the Hampton Downs NZ Race Academy $1,010.10 cash prize for fastest qualifier as well as the $230 NAPA Auto Parts ‘Driver of the Day’ prize. Also on offer is a Toyota Formula Regional Oceania FT60 test for the winner of the national title while both North and South Island series winners will get a FT50 test.
The Napa Auto Parts NZ Formula Ford Championship and the Yokohama South Island Formula 1600 Championship are also supported by Yokohama, the Tony Quinn Foundation and NAPA Auto Parts.
Overall Points – 2023 NAPA Auto Parts NZ Formula Ford Championship – after 3/4 rounds (Top 12)
1/ Alex Crosbie 709
2/ Daniel Brown 657
3/ Sebastian Manson 635
4/ Blake Knowles 599
5/ William Neale 552
6/ Blake Dowdall 538
7/ Dylan Grant 517
8/ Caleb Byers 497
9/ Jack Noble-Adams 457
10/ Mason Potter 409
11/ Dylan Petch 373
12/ Keith Miller 325
Overall Points – Yokohama South Island Formula 1600 Championship – after 5/6 rounds (Top 14)
1/ Blake Knowles 1022
2/ Alex Crosbie 958
3/ Will Neale 805
4/ Daniel Brown 797
5/ Caleb Byers 752
6/ Dylan Petch 738
7/ Thomas Flynn 505
8/ Jacob Cunniffe 435
9/ Dominic Robertson 418
10/ Dan Kelly 403
11/ Jake Bryant 341
12/ Robert Toshach 272
13/ Sebastion Manson 243
14/ Michael Hey 243
Results
Race 1 (10 laps)
1/ William Neale
2/ Blake Knowles
3/ Daniel Brown
4/ Sebastian Manson
5/ Caleb Byers
6/ Jack Noble-Adams
7/ Dylan Petch
8/ Jake Byrant
9/ Daniel Kelly
10/ Blake Dowdall
11/ Jacob Cunniffe
12/ Thomas Flynn
13/ Michael Hey
14/ Keith Millar
DNF Alex Crosbie
DNF Mason Potter
DNF Robert Toshach
DNS Dylan Grant
Race 2 (10 laps)
1/ Blake Knowles
2/ Will Neale
3/ Alex Crosbie
4/ Daniel Brown
5/ Blake Dowdall
6/ Sbastian Manson
7/ Caleb Byers
8/ Mason Potter
9/ Dylan Grant
10/ Dylan Petch
11/ Jack Noble-Adams
13/ Thomas Flynn
14/ Daniel Kelly
15/ Jacob Cunniffe
16/ Robert Toschach
17/ Michael Hey
18/ Keith Millar
Race 3 (10 laps)
1/ Blake Knowles
2/ Will Neale
3/ Blake Dowdall
4/ Daniel Brown
5/ Sebastian Manson
6/ Alex Crosbie
7/ Caleb Byers
8/ Mason Potter
9/ Jack Noble-Adams
10/ Thomas Flynn
11/ Jacob Cunniffe
12/ Daniel Kelly
13/ Dylan Petch
14/ Jake Bryant
15/ Robert Toshach
16/ Michael Hey
17/ Dylan Grant
18/ Keith Millar
Race 4 (11 laps)
1/ Blake Knowles
2/ Daniel Brown
3/ Will Neale
4/ Alex Crosbie
5/ Sebastian Manson
6/ Blake Dowdall
7/ Caleb Byers
8/ Jack Noble-Adams
9/ Dylan Petch
10/ Jake Byrant
11/ Thomas Flynn
12/ Daniel Kelly
13/ Jacob Cunniffe
14/ Robert Toshach
15/ Keith Millar
DNF Mason Potter
DNS Dyland Grant
DNS Michael Hey
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