Young driver caught in contact with title rival
Tom Sargent has survived contact with one of his Australian Formula Ford Championship rivals to hold onto the points lead after Round 2 at Queensland Raceway on the weekend.
In his first visit to the track, Sargent qualified third, and finished third in Races 1 and 2.
“Considering I had never raced at the track before, I was pleased to qualify in the top three,” Sargent said.
“The first race was extremely wet, and again I was happy to bank a top-three result and avoid any damage.
“It dried out for Race 2, and my pace was good – I was in the lead pack for the whole race.”
The Young driver was battling for the lead in Race 3, but suffered contact with a title rival on the second lap which saw him falling down to 14th position. He fought back to eighth at the chequered flag, salvaging valuable points for his title campaign.
“It was a big impact and launched my car into the air, so it’s amazing I was able to continue,” Sargent said.
“It didn’t feel great – I think there was some damage that knocked the wishbones out of alignment, so it just a case of bringing it home and scoring points.”
Sargent said his drive in the final race was reflective of his approach to competing for a national title.
“Winning a championship is not about winning races on your good days, it’s about minimising the damage on your bad days,” he said.
“The first round at Sydney Motorsport Park was obviously an excellent weekend for us, and while this round wasn’t as strong, I felt we did a good job of damage limitation, especially in the last race. We’re still leading the points, although it’s now very close between the top three.
“The next round is at Winton, and we’ll have the chance to do some testing beforehand. The CHE Racing Team once again did a great job all weekend, and I’m confident we’ll be very competitive at Winton once again,” Sargent concluded.
Round Results Summary
Qualifying: 3rd
Race 1: 3rd
Race 2: 3rd
Race 3: 8th
Overall: 5th
Top 10 Points – After Round 2
1. Tom Sargent – 90
2. Callum Hedge – 86
3. Zac Soutar – 86
4. Angelo Mouzouris – 73
5. Cody Burcher – 62
6. Courtney Prince – 59
7. Lachlan Mineeff – 55
8. Jake Donaldson – 54
9. Jay Hanson – 51
10. Cody Donald – 39
