BENALLA, Vic., Australia – Aaron Cameron has been confirmed as the overall winner in a dramatic third round of the Australian Formula Ford Series at Winton on the weekend.
Driving his Spectrum 014, Cameron took pole position in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session, held on a damp but drying track. After Race 1 was declared a non-event due to a red flag for an opening corner incident, Cameron held out Sonic Motor Racing teammates Max Vidau and Hunter McElrea to win Race 2.
“Qualifying was tricky because of the evolving track conditions, and I knew whoever crossed the line last to start their final lap would have an advantage,” Cameron said.
“I lost the start to both the Sonic cars in Race 2, but I had the pace to get past them – it was a fun race.
In Race 3, Cameron lost the lead to Vidau after a slow start, and pursued the South Australian all the way to the finish line, falling less than 0.2s short at the finish line.
In the end, the bonus point Cameron scored for pole was enough for him to take the round victory ahead of Vidau; Borland Racing Developments driver Jayden Ojeda finished third overall with finishes of fourth and third in the two races, capitalizing after McElrea fell back in the closing laps of the final.
“In the last race, I knew what I had to do to win the round,” Cameron said.
“I had a few opportunities to pass Max but I knew second was good enough to win the weekend overall, so I didn’t take any unnecessary risks.
“There was a Safety Car mid-race which helped us, as the car was starting to go off – it allowed everything to cool down.”
Vidau extended his points lead to Ojeda while another consistent weekend for Cooper Murray saw the DREAM Motorsport driver improving to third on the points table ahead of McElrea; Liam McLellan fell to fifth after a difficult weekend.
The weekend also marked the opening round of the Formula Ford 1600 Series for Kent-powered cars, and Mitch Maddren recovered from a nasty incident to win the weekend.
Maddren was rear-ended by Simon Hodges at the start of Race 1, Hodges’ car landing on top of Maddren’s. The Queensland driver suffered a minor facial burn from the exhaust of Hodges’ car, but despite a trip to hospital, he was back in action the next day. He finished second behind Kane Coleman in Race 1, and won Race 2 to take the round victory ahead of Tim Hamilton, with Coleman in third.
The next round of the Australian Formula Ford Series is at Queensland Raceway, 8-9 July.
National Formula Ford is proudly supported by Mazda Road to Indy, Shell Helix, Yokohama and Ferodo.
Australian Formula Ford Series – Top 10 Points (after Round 3 of 6)
1. Max Vidau – 132
2. Jayden Ojeda – 103
3. Cooper Murray – 75
4. Hunter McElrea – 69
5. Liam McLellan –60
6. Jordan Boys – 55.5
7. Cameron Shields – 55
8. Aaron Cameron – 50
9. Nathan Herne – 44.5
10. Zac Soutar – 40.5
Australian Formula Ford 1600 Series – Top 5 Points (after Round 1 of 3)
1. Mitch Maddren – 36
=2. Kane Coleman – 30
=2. Tim Hamilton – 30
4. James Corbett – 24
=5. Daniel Holihan – 23
=5. Simon Hodges – 23