#F4AU Sandown - Sunday Wrap

After a wet conclusion at Sandown Raceway on Sunday, Will Brown has claimed honours for Round Five of the 2016 CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship.

Will Brown, winner of Race One and Three, further extends his championship lead ahead of the season finale on the Gold Coast.

“To come out and win the last race, and still have good pace, we were really happy about that. So to win the weekend with what happened is a great weekend, and we look forward to the Gold Coast,” Brown said.

“I think we’ll still be looking for wins but we’ll see what happens when we get there. Luckily we raced there last year.”

Winner of Round Two at Phillip Island Jordan Love was second for the weekend overall, with the Team BRM pilot claiming another consistent points haul at Sandown.

Coincidentally, the podium trio of Brown, Love and Nick Rowe were the only drivers to previously experience Formula 4 in the wet.

“Pretty interesting weekend, not the best weekend but managed to stay consistent and keep it on the track,” Love said.

“The track was pretty greasy. I think the word I got before I went out was just to keep all fours on the track, because there’s bound to be a safety car when you’ve got a track that slippery and there was.

“I’m glad we kept it on track to come away with third so I’m happy with that.”

AGI Sport's Nick Rowe continued his streak of podiums to claim third for the weekend, and whilst a race win eluded Rowe he remains hopeful for his title aspirations.

“It would have been more possible if Race Three went our way, but we’ll see how we go. We’ve still got three races left and anything can happen,” Rowe said.

“It was a good weekend. I can’t thank AGI Sport enough for everything they do for me. It’s great to have a team like that behind me, SCT Logistics for their support, and all the boys for the good racing.”

After claiming Saturday’s Race Two win, Team BRM’s Josh Denton also claimed Burson Auto Parts Rookie of the Round honours.

“It was very difficult, having the dry race yesterday and then the wet race today,” Denton said.

“It’s been amazing this year. We’ve definitely learnt a lot from the start of the year. To come away with the race win yesterday was pretty amazing.”

Round Six of the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship will next visit the streets of the Gold Coast, in what will be a thrilling final round of the year.

Round Six of the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship will next visit the streets of the Gold Coast, in what will be a thrilling final round of the year as Will Brown, Nick Rowe and Jordan Love aim for title honours.

Race Three Results

Sandown Overall Standings

AMENDMENT: RACE TWO - SANDOWN
WILL BROWN EXCLUDED FROM RACE TWO

Team BRM's Will Brown has been excluded from the results of Race Two due to a technical infringement, after post-race inspections in parc fermé.

All entrants were inspected at the conclusion of the race and passed scrutineering with no other issues presented.

Team BRM's Josh Denton has now been declared the race winner of Race Two, with Nick Rowe and Jordan Love also promoted to the podium placings for the race.

Race Three for the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship will get underway from 9:05am Sunday 18 September.

For an extended race wrap, please see the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship website: http://www.formula4.com.au/?p=9161

Race Two Results

#F4AU Sandown - Round Five - Saturday Wrap

Team BRM’s Will Brown has claimed two wins from two races at Sandown for Round Five of the 2016 CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship.

Having won a Toyota 86 Series race prior to today’s 2nd Formula 4 race, momentum was beneficial to the Toowoomba pilot’s charge up to the lead.

“Yeah pretty exciting, we’ve obviously got double duties this weekend,” Brown said.

“We’ve taken both wins today in both categories, so looking forward to the day. I got another 86 race coming up so you never know what could happen. We’ll press on and try to get another one!”

AGI Sport’s Nick Rowe lead much of the first portion of Race Two, pulling out a mighty gap after an impressive opening lap. However Rowe had to be content with third place come the finish line, with Josh Denton pulling off a brilliant move down at Dandenong Road in the final laps of the race.

“Yeah mate started P1 and got a good start, got to the lead, got to a bit of a gap,” Rowe said.

“I can’t thank the boys at AGI Sport enough, they’re awesome at setting up cars, good blokes. I can’t thank SCT Logistics for all their support on the race track and off the race track.”

VIDEO: Race Two Wrap

Denton was buzzing after claiming his best result of the season, extending his Burson Auto Parts Rookie of the Year championship lead.

“It was a very exciting race. The start wasn’t too good but I fought my way back and made some pretty good moves down onto Dandenong Road against Jordan [Love] and Nick Rowe on the last lap,” Denton said.

“That was pretty scary, but I managed to pull it off! It was a good race in the end.

“Since the start of the year I’ve definitely made a lot of improvements. I’m feeling pretty excited going into the next race and going into the last round at Gold Coast.”

JRD’s Tyler Everingham had started the race from the front row, and initially got the jump over U Race It Pole Position sitter Nick Rowe.

Unfortunately the Dubbo driver out-braked himself into Turn One, but still produced some impressive overtaking manoeuvres throughout the race to eventually cross the line in 7th.

“It was just a bit of fun going around the outside! Thought I would give it a go,”

Everingham said.

“It was a little bit slippery on the rubber but it held.”

DREAM Motorsport’s Simon Fallon certainly created some impressive images for television, getting some air into Turn One towards the end of the race. The young Victorian took solace though in feeling extra speed aboard his CoolDrive supported Formula 4.

“At least we found some pace!” Fallon said.

“Had a bit of fun out there still. This year’s all about experience, it doesn’t matter too much we’ll take it as a positive and move on.”

Race Two was raced in honour of Australian Formula 3 and V8 Ute racer Luke Spalding, who passed away after a long battle with cancer. The entire Formula 4 grid wore #WeFlyWith23 decals in tribute to the 18-year-old.

“I just want to send a shoutout to Luke Spalding who unfortunately lost his life with cancer,” Nick Rowe said.

“I hope his family and everyone else involved with him is going alright.”

The CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship community wishes to extend its condolences to Luke Spalding's family, friends and colleagues.

The final 13-lap dash, Race Three, for the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship commences at 9:05am tomorrow.

Race Two Results

#F4AU Sandown (Retro Round) - Saturday Race One Wrap

Will Brown has further extended his championship lead by securing the opening race win at Sandown for Round Five of the CAMS Jayco Australian Formua 4 Championship.

Brown started alongside the U Race It Pole Position winner Jordan Love on the front row and got the jump over his Team BRM teammate.

AGI Sport’s Nick Rowe made a classic Turn One pass on Brown halfway through the race, with Brown running behind until the final few laps of the race where he reclaimed the lead.

“The battle with Nick was good. I probably didn’t race as good as I would have liked to,” Brown said.

“Started to look in the mirrors a bit and made a few mistakes. We came back from that after he passed us, got past him and then eyes forward.”

Love recovered to finish the race in 2nd, setting fastest laps throughout the race as he closed in on Rowe.

“Didn’t get the best of starts, so that really ruined pretty much the whole race I think,” Love said.

“We went back to almost fourth at the start. Managed to start chipping our way forward and had really good pace towards the end. Caught up to [Nick Rowe] Rowie and he managed to fire himself off, which is a little bit helpful!

“The aim was head down, try and catch [Brown] we did a little bit at the end but wasn’t enough time.”

Amongst the battle between Brown, Rowe and Love, Josh Denton was the benefactor amongst the commotion to collect the final podium place.

“The start wasn’t too good but after that I started chipping away at the leaders,” Denton said.

“Harry [Hayek] went off at Turn One which was unfortunate, but gave me a position. I kept chipping away, started to catch Jordan and then Nick fell off coming onto Dandenong Road which was unfortunate.

“That’s racing I guess! Slowly picked away it again, got third for the race which is really good.”

Denton’s third place is crucial as he aims to extend his lead in the Burson Auto Parts Rookie of the Year standings.

“Yeah that’s interesting, I’ve got a bit of a lead now I think. Should be good!” Denton said.

Race Two commences at 11:20am on Saturday, with a 13 lap sprint ahead of the final race on Sunday morning.

Race One Results

CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship

Round Five - Sandown Preview

The penultimate round of the 2016 CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship visits the historic Sandown Raceway this weekend in Victoria.

Supporting the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship at the inaugural round of the Pirtek Enduro Cup, championship stakes are high with Team BRM’s Will Brown leading ahead of AGI Sport’s Nick Rowe and Team BRM's Jordan Love.

“Last year wasn’t the greatest round but we’re looking forward to it this year,” Brown said.

“I really want to make sure that there’s no crashes so that I don’t lose any points, and just maintain in the top three.”

VIDEO: Sandown Retro Preview

With a string of podium finishes from Rowe, the West Australian pilot is also aiming for consistency at Sandown despite not previously racing a Formula 4 at Sandown.

“We’ve been slowly building up to some race wins and round wins, so hopefully at Sandown we can have a good run and get back to the front of this championship and really put on a good show at the last round [on the Gold Coast],” Rowe said.

Love is only ten points behind Rowe in the championship standings, and the Team BRM pilot hopes his Sandown experience will be another positive experience.

“Only two more rounds to go, I’m really looking forward to Sandown,” Love said.

“I raced there last year and loved it. Hopefully we can be quick there, but anything can happen and we’ll do everything we can.”

New Arrival
Cody Donald, KA3 frontrunner in the Australian Kart Championship, will pilot a second Junior Racing Development prepared Formula 4 for his national circuit racing debut.

The 16-year-old Victorian will partner up with fellow karting graduate Tyler Everingham, with Donald using the weekend as critical race experience as he prepares for a 2017 campaign.

“I am really looking forward to the Sandown event. I am trying to put together a full F4 program for 2017 and will use this round to gain valuable experience,” Cody said.

“I have never been on the Sandown circuit so there are no set goals other than to finish all the sessions and races, every lap is just so important.”

Entry List

Burson Rookie of the Year Standings
The championship battle amongst the Burson Rookie of the Year drivers remains very close with only six races remaining for the year across two rounds.

Team BRM’s Josh Denton leads AGI Sport’s Jack Smith by only three points.

“I haven’t been there before, but from what I’ve heard it’s been a bit bumpy,” Denton said.

“I’m sure it’s a really good track. I don’t think we’ll use much of the kerbs but I’m definitely looking forward to it. Especially learning a new track. It should be good."

“Expectations for Sandown is just to continue moving forward and making gains,” Smith said.

“We haven’t been to the track so hopefully we learn it quickly and continue moving forward.

DREAM Motorsport teammates Simon Fallon and Josh Conroy lie third and fourth in the rookie standings, albeit separated by two points.

VIDEO: Formula 4 Drivers Talk Retro Race Cars

Retro Round
The Wilson Security Sandown 500 this weekend celebrates the Retro Round, despite the average age of a Formula 4 driver being 18.

Responses were varied amongst the drivers between rumbling old school V8 machinery, and high-pitched V10 Formula 1 machinery of last decade.

“Dad’s got a couple of old GT Falcons and SLR Toranas so I wouldn’t mind having a run in one of their race cars back in the day,” Brown said.

“2004 Ferrari F1 car, that’d be alright!” Rowe said.

“Probably an old school V8, one of the old touring cars I reckon that’d be good fun,” Love said.

“An old F1 car would be cool like a 2000s car or a bit later than that. The aero, grip and straight line speed they have would be phenomenal,” Grove said.

“Probably one of Marcos Ambrose’s Pirtek cars,” Denton said.

“A retro Formula 1,” Everingham said.

Championship Standings

Schedule
Friday 16 September
9:05am: Practice One
12:00pm: Practice Two
2:15pm: U Race It Pole Position
5:15pm: Race One (13 laps)

Saturday 17 September
11:20am: Race Two (13 laps)

Sunday 18 September
9:05am: Race Three (13 laps)

#F4AU Queensland - Saturday Wrap

CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship leader Will Brown has returned to the winners' circle after clinching victory in Race Two at Queensland Raceway.

The Team BRM pilot lead the field from pole position to lead home a Team BRM 1-2-3, with Jordan Love and Harry Hayek directly behind.

"Got the start so I was able to manage first and take the win, which is great points for the championship," Brown said.

"It was a great race, Jordan Love behind me following pretty tight. It's been good. Starting off third tomorrow so hopefully I can get a good start. If I can maintain third that'd be good, if I move up any more that'll be bonus. Just looking for points once again."

After a difficult weekend in the previous round at Sydney Motorsport Park, Love was pleased to clinch crucial championship points as he's engaged in a battle with Nick Rowe and Will Brown for the championship lead.

"Little bit better than the first race so we're happy with that," Love said.

"I still think we need a little bit more to come out with a win. We'll work on that overnight and hopefully we can do that in Race Three."

After clinching his first race win earlier this morning, Harry Hayek jumped Rowe for 3rd place in Race Two.

"It was alright, had a good start, got the jump on Nick (Rowe) going into third and that's how it remained for the rest of the race," Hayek said.

"It's good to see us BRM boys slowly pulling away from Nick and AGI. I gave it everything, slowly catching bit by bit. We're all so evenly paced it's very hard. Looking forward to tomorrow where I'll be up the front."

Rowe held station in 4th place after making a slow getaway off the start line, though the top four finishers had been lapping closely within three tenths lap-after-lap.

"Struggled a little bit off the start there, I just can't get my head around it," Rowe said.

"Still finished with good championship points. It's hard work out there, it's pretty hot. We'll see how we go tomorrow it's all a bit of fun and games. I'm happy to be here racing in sunny Queensland. What else would you rather be doing with all me mates!?"

Rowe's AGI Sport/SCT Logistics teammate Jack Smith has enjoyed a competitive showing this weekend, clinching two consecutive fifth place finishes and finished behind his teammate Rowe in Race Two.

Josh Denton enjoyed a spirited battle for sixth place with JRD's Tyler Everingham, making an impressive move on the fellow Australian Formula 4 rookie in the early stage of Race Two.

In this morning's opening race, after claiming his first U Race It Pole Position yesterday, Team BRM’s Harry Hayek broke through to claim his first Australian Formula 4 Championship win.

Hayek made a superb getaway off the start line ahead of fellow front row starter Nick Rowe, to eventually finish 1.2 seconds ahead of the AGI Sport pilot. The New South Welshman drew comparison between his first race win and his pride and joy road car back home.

“Let’s just say I thought that RX8…driving that thing was good but that was unbelievable!” Hayek enthused.

“That’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in…I’m speechless.”

Rowe was content with second place in Race One and clinching more crucial championship points, but was more ecstatic for his friend Hayek to claim his first Australian Formula 4 race win.

“So happy for this bloke,” Rowe said.

“I just couldn’t beat him. He was quick enough to win, he didn’t put foot wrong and that was that. So happy for you bro, well done.”

The third and the final 13 lap race will take place tomorrow at 12:20pm, with live television coverage on Fox Sports 5 (506) as part of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship support races.

Race One Results

Race Two Results

#F4AU Friday Wrap - Queensland Raceway

Team BRM's Harry Hayek has claimed his first U Race It Pole Position during today's CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship qualifying session today at Queensland Raceway.

Having recently returned from a stint in British F4, Hayek recently confirmed his plans to race in Australia for the remainder of the year with Team BRM after an impressive showing in the previous round at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“Yeah I’m ecstatic with that,” Hayek said.

“First U Race It Pole Position, it feels really good. Really happy with it. The times are really close. I just managed to put a really good lap together and get my first pole, it’s really good!”

AGI Sport/SCT Logistics pilot Nick Rowe was the fastest driver for much of the first half of the twenty minute session, however was edged out by his close friend Hayek by just 0.1783 seconds.

“I was two-thousandths down there in the middle, I knew I didn’t have anything else left,” Rowe said.

“It was good racing out there, hard work. I saw (Hayek) have a loop, which was pretty funny!”

Championship leader Will Brown was third, after initially being the fastest driver during the morning's opening practice session.

“It was pretty close between me and Rowie,” Brown said.

“Harry just blew us out of the water, as he does! We wish he’d stayed in England! It’ll be good racing tomorrow, looking forward to it.”

With two races to come tomorrow, Hayek will be eager to capitalise on his pole position and get a good start off the line.

“Something in my blood is that I love just to rev it up, left foot slip and there goes the burnout! I think I did a bit too much of that at Eastern Creek," Hayek said.

"So I need to have more discipline and get a good start.”

Race One for the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship gets underway from 11:20am Saturday morning, with Race Two at 2:40pm.

All sessions will be televised on Fox Sports 5 (506) as part of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship support races.

U Race It Pole Position - Qualifying Results

Practice One Results

Practice Two Results

Where Else But Queensland?

The CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship's next visit is Queensland Raceway for the championship's fourth round, supporting the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship this weekend at the Ipswich SuperSprint.

With only nine races remaining for the year over the next three rounds, the championship standings are starting to solidify with Will Brown, Nick Rowe and Jordan Love all within close distance to the championship lead.

Rowe enjoyed his first win of the season at the previous round at Sydney Motorsport Park, which was coincidentally where he scored his first Formula 4 win in 2015. It was a breakthrough round for both Rowe and AGI Sport, as both secured their first ever overall round victory in the Australian Formula 4 Championship.

The last round at Sydney Motorsport Park saw British F4 drivers Luis Leeds and Harry Hayek make a one-off return to the Australian Formula 4 championship, however Hayek has now confirmed he will see out the remainder of the year in the Australian championship.

"Racing in Britain has certainly opened my eyes and toughened me up," Hayek said. 

"I hope to utilise this experience back in Australia against some very talented drivers."

Hayek enjoyed a successful round at Queensland Raceway last year, finishing third overall behind current British F3 driver Thomas Randle. The round was taken out by eventual 2015 Australian Formula 4 champion Jordan Lloyd, who is currently embarking on a stint in USF2000.

The Championship Battle

Will Brown has returned to the top of the championship standings after the previous round at Sydney Motorsport Park, the Toowoomba driver is currently sitting on 156 points compared to Nick Rowe's 135.

Brown’s Team BRM teammate Jordan Love is eager to return to the top of the standings once more, after dropping to third place. The West Australian is only 10 points behind Rowe with 125 points to his name after three rounds.

DREAM Motorsport’s Josh Conroy is the new Burson Auto Parts Rookie championship leader heading into Round Four, with the New South Welshman sitting in fourth place overall on 69 points.

Team BRM’s Josh Denton is within striking distance of Conroy on 66 points, and an ever-improving Jack Smith will be keen to leapfrog both pilots as he sits sixth overall with 64 points.

Championship Standings

The Hashtag

In reference to Queensland Raceway affectionately known as ‘The Paper Clip’, this weekend’s #F4AU emoji of choice is unsurprisingly a racing car and paper clip.

Penrite Flashback - Queensland Raceway 2015 - Race Two 

Who's Racing?

When Are We On Track?

Weather 
Friday: 28°c, partly cloudy, although it should be shorts weather.
Saturday: 24°c, partly cloudy, split strategy between pants and shorts.
Sunday: 25°c, mostly sunny, bring sunnies or be prepared to squint all day.