Hamilton racing driver Martin Short has taken the lead in the ZOAGN New Zealand Formula Ford Championship after dominating Round 3 at Teretonga Park near Invercargill and Round 4 at Timaru International Motor Raceway. In both rounds Short showcased exceptional technique and outstanding mental agility as he rose to the challenge and showed the crowd, once again, what these single seater cars are capable of.
From the beginning of Round 3 Short’s determination to make his mark at Teretonga was clear. Throughout qualifying, Short battled it out for pole with Christchurch racer Matt Williams. The two swapped lap times throughout the 20 minute session until Short finally came out with the upper hand ahead of Williams by a mere 0.112 seconds.
Race 1 over 10 laps proved to be a superb exercise in slipstreaming as Short and Williams again traded places with some spectacular outside overtaking going into the Turn 1 sweeper. As the cars crossed the line together, it was Short who won by a nose from Williams with a gap back to Cassidy,
Williams got the better of Short on the opening lap of Race 2 and fended off several attacking manoeuvres to keep Short at bay although the finishing margin was a mere 0.019 secs.
The final race of the round was held over 15 laps and once again Short and Williams fought to the end. It was through a series of high speed dicing that Short’s came out on top after passing Williams on the final lap.
Short approached Round 4 with his first Championship lead this season and once again proved that he would be hard to beat. Short won two of the three races and came 3rd in the other at Round 4 held at Timaru, despite the miserable weather and poor visibilities.
It only took one lap of qualifying to show how difficult the track was as cars played slip and slide across the track and Andre Heimgartner contacted the wall coming onto the front straight damaging the front left suspension giving his crew some serious work to make the start of the opening race.
Damon Leitch, however, reveled in the wet conditions to set the pole position time, a considerable 0.772 secs ahead of Matt Williams who was only 0.066 secs ahead of Short.
The first race of 10 laps saw Williams beat Leitch off the line to open a lead, while Short pursued Leitch to overtake on the second lap. As Short set off after Williams he left Leitch to engage in a battle with Cassidy and Tim Vickers only to drop back with bad understeering problems. Short hit the front with three laps remaining then maintained his lead to finish 0.226 seconds ahead Williams, Cassidy, Tim Vickers and the rest of the competitors.
Race 2, saw some improvements in weather conditions but Short, starting on pole, was slow off the line allowing Cassidy the chance to hit the front and open up a good. Leitch appeared to have fixed his handling problems and moved up the order to come home in a well-deserved 2nd with Short recovering for 3rd.
The 3rd race at Timaru was back to the familiar old nose to tail, side by side dicing for which Formula Fords are renowned. Cassidy and Short fought off the line with Short gaining the lead on Lap 3 only to be overtaken by Cassidy on the next lap. Short undertook an excellent move around the outside under braking at the end of the back straight and from then on was barely challenged for the chequered flag. Williams then passed Cassidy to take 2nd while Cassidy was followed home by Leitch.
Short’s ZOAGN Formula Ford car has shot into the lead after dominating Rounds 2, 3 and 4 in the South Island. He goes into the next round at Manfield with 806 points, 143 points ahead of Nick Cassidy (663) in second and 155 points ahead of Matt Williams (651) in third.
The next round of the Championship is scheduled to take place on the weekend of 13-14 February at the Manfeild Park in Feilding.
Championship Points after Round 4:
1. Martin Short (Hamilton) = 806
2. Nick Cassidy (Auckland) = 663
3. Matt Williams (Christchurch) = 651
4. Damon Leitch (Invercargill) = 583
5. Andre Heimgartner (Auckland) = 577
From the beginning of Round 3 Short’s determination to make his mark at Teretonga was clear. Throughout qualifying, Short battled it out for pole with Christchurch racer Matt Williams. The two swapped lap times throughout the 20 minute session until Short finally came out with the upper hand ahead of Williams by a mere 0.112 seconds.
Race 1 over 10 laps proved to be a superb exercise in slipstreaming as Short and Williams again traded places with some spectacular outside overtaking going into the Turn 1 sweeper. As the cars crossed the line together, it was Short who won by a nose from Williams with a gap back to Cassidy,
Williams got the better of Short on the opening lap of Race 2 and fended off several attacking manoeuvres to keep Short at bay although the finishing margin was a mere 0.019 secs.
The final race of the round was held over 15 laps and once again Short and Williams fought to the end. It was through a series of high speed dicing that Short’s came out on top after passing Williams on the final lap.
Short approached Round 4 with his first Championship lead this season and once again proved that he would be hard to beat. Short won two of the three races and came 3rd in the other at Round 4 held at Timaru, despite the miserable weather and poor visibilities.
It only took one lap of qualifying to show how difficult the track was as cars played slip and slide across the track and Andre Heimgartner contacted the wall coming onto the front straight damaging the front left suspension giving his crew some serious work to make the start of the opening race.
Damon Leitch, however, reveled in the wet conditions to set the pole position time, a considerable 0.772 secs ahead of Matt Williams who was only 0.066 secs ahead of Short.
The first race of 10 laps saw Williams beat Leitch off the line to open a lead, while Short pursued Leitch to overtake on the second lap. As Short set off after Williams he left Leitch to engage in a battle with Cassidy and Tim Vickers only to drop back with bad understeering problems. Short hit the front with three laps remaining then maintained his lead to finish 0.226 seconds ahead Williams, Cassidy, Tim Vickers and the rest of the competitors.
Race 2, saw some improvements in weather conditions but Short, starting on pole, was slow off the line allowing Cassidy the chance to hit the front and open up a good. Leitch appeared to have fixed his handling problems and moved up the order to come home in a well-deserved 2nd with Short recovering for 3rd.
The 3rd race at Timaru was back to the familiar old nose to tail, side by side dicing for which Formula Fords are renowned. Cassidy and Short fought off the line with Short gaining the lead on Lap 3 only to be overtaken by Cassidy on the next lap. Short undertook an excellent move around the outside under braking at the end of the back straight and from then on was barely challenged for the chequered flag. Williams then passed Cassidy to take 2nd while Cassidy was followed home by Leitch.
Short’s ZOAGN Formula Ford car has shot into the lead after dominating Rounds 2, 3 and 4 in the South Island. He goes into the next round at Manfield with 806 points, 143 points ahead of Nick Cassidy (663) in second and 155 points ahead of Matt Williams (651) in third.
The next round of the Championship is scheduled to take place on the weekend of 13-14 February at the Manfeild Park in Feilding.
Championship Points after Round 4:
1. Martin Short (Hamilton) = 806
2. Nick Cassidy (Auckland) = 663
3. Matt Williams (Christchurch) = 651
4. Damon Leitch (Invercargill) = 583
5. Andre Heimgartner (Auckland) = 577
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