Queensland Raceway will play host to Round Five of the 2017 CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship – supporting the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint.
It was a fiercely contested Round Four meeting at Phillip Island in May, as Victorian Simon Fallon (Team BRM) claimed his first ever round victory in his Australian Formula 4 career. Fellow CAMS Foundation Rising Stars Ryan Suhle (Zagame Autosport) and Cameron Shields (Team BRM) joined Fallon for a Rising Star lockout on the Phillip Island podium.
Fallon will be looking to notch up back-to-back wins as attention turns to Ipswich.
“I’m really keen to jump back into the car after the long break, but pretty keen to get the season back underway,” Fallon said.
“The track at Queensland Raceway is pretty fun but unfortunately it is a very hard track to overtake, so qualifying will be key.”
Shields is the highest placed Rising Star and is only 29 points off Australian Formula 4 Championship leader Nick Rowe.
“I am incredibly excited for the weekend ahead, being my home round for the season,” Shields said.
“The track itself is one of the easier layouts for the Australian Formula 4 Championship, but it is one of the most difficult tracks to refine and be fast on.”
Fellow Queenslander Ryan Suhle has a substantial lead in the Burson Auto Parts Rookie of the Year standings, with 54 points covering he and his nearest contender Aaron Love.
“It’s great to be leading the Burson Auto Parts rookie class, which was my goal coming into this season,” Suhle said.
“I really feel with three rounds left, we have all the pieces of the puzzle to challenge for wins and possibly the outright championship, which is super exciting for me.”
Zane Morse (Team BRM) enjoyed a breakthrough round at Phillip Island with a second place finish in Race Two, providing the young Canberra Rising Star a welcome confidence boost in his debut Formula 4 season.
“I’m really excited for Queensland, it’s going to be very close between everyone but it’s going to be very hard to pass,” Morse said.
“The Burson Auto Parts Rookie of the Year battle looks very challenging, but hopefully I’ll pull through and get some really good points.”
Morse, and his fellow CAMS Foundation Rising Stars and Formula 4 colleagues, recently completed a CAMS Academy camp on the Gold Coast presented by Morris Finance. The Formula 4 racers received physiological training from esteemed motor sport trainers Fitness2Podium.
“The CAMS Academy was an amazing experience at Bond University. It was an honour to attend and although with every other person I gained a lot from the short time we were there,” Cameron Shields said.
With a two-month gap since Round Four at Phillip Island, the CAMS Academy camp was a welcome event for the drivers to regroup.
“It was tough having a two-month break, it really made me realise how much I love racing,” Suhle said.
“It was great to have the CAMS Academy during the break, as it gave me an opportunity to implement all the great stuff I learnt into my daily life and training.”
Practice two, qualifying and all three races will be televised live on Fox Sports 506 as part of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship coverage.
Follow @Formula4AU on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for on-the-ground content, including driver interviews throughout the weekend, and @CAMS_Foundation for daily updates on Rising Star results.
CAMS Foundation Rising Stars
#5 – Ryan Suhle (QLD) (R), Zagame Autosport, Ray White/CAMS Foundation Rising Star
#11 – Zane Morse (ACT) (R), Team BRM, Charman Earthmoving/CAMS Foundation Rising Star
#27 – Simon Fallon (VIC), Team BRM, CoolDrive/Fallon Developments/CAMS Foundation Rising Star
#73 – Cameron Shields (QLD), Team BRM, McDonald’s Australia/Dependable Sheds/CAMS Foundation Rising Star
Schedule (AEST)
Practice One: Friday 28 July, 8:55am (20 minutes)
Practice Two: Friday 28 July, 10:25am (20 minutes)
Qualifying: Friday 28 July, 2:25pm (20 minutes)
Race One: Saturday 29 July, 12:25pm (13 laps)
Race Two: Saturday 29 July, 2:40pm (13 laps)
Race Three: Sunday 30 July, 11:05am (13 laps)
Weather
Friday: Min 5 / Max 25 – Mostly sunny
Saturday: Min 7 / Max 27 – Sunny
Sunday: Min 7 / Max 27 – Sunny
Championship points (After Round 4)
- Nick Rowe – AGI Sport: 187
- Liam Lawson – Team BRM: 186
- Cameron Shields – Team BRM: 158
- Ryan Suhle – Zagame Autosport: 120
- Josh Denton – Team BRM: 106
- Tyler Everingham – Zagame Autosport: 104
- Simon Fallon – Team BRM: 74
- Aaron Love – Team BRM: 66
- Zane Morse – Team BRM: 62
- Jordan Mazzaroli – JRD: 56
- Zakkary Best – AGI Sport: 40
- Harley Haber – AGI Sport: 34
- Sage Murdoch – AGI Sport: 18
