CHE Racing Team's Jimmy Piszcyk and Zak Lobko are aiming to take home more trophies at the penultimate round of the Australian Formula Ford Series at The Bend Motorsport Park this weekend.
South Australian title leader Piszcyk currently holds a strong 36-point advantage in the title chase, coming off the back of a competitive event at Morgan Park last month where he extended his series lead.
Recently announcing his participation in the 2022 Ferrari Driver Academy – Asia Pacific and Oceania regional selection program, Piszcyk enters his home round in the box seat, but knows that he will have his work cut out for him in the hot field.
Piszcyk took pole at Morgan Park but was caught up in a tangle during Race 1 that lost him valuable positions. Consistency across the rest of the weekend ensured he extended his lead in the title.
Meanwhile, CHE Racing team-mate Lobko enjoyed a breakout weekend to finish competitively amongst the frontrunners as he targets a top 10 finish in the standings this season.
The Bend Motorsport Park provides yet another new challenge as Australia’s newest facility is one many of the sport’s rising stars are yet to race at, including the CHE Racing Team pair.
Yet again the CHE Racing Team squad will be split across two states completing double duty as current Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge leader Thomas Sargent will do battle at Victoria’s historic Sandown Raceway.
Last time the operation completed double duties back in August, CHE Racing Team came out resounding winners as it completed two clean-sweeps.
Qualifying and Race 1 for Formula Ford will be held on Saturday, with two more races on Sunday.
QUOTES
Jimmy Piszcyk
#93 Iocane/CHE Racing Team
“It might be home round, but I actually don’t know The Bend that well,” Piszcyk revealed.
“We’ve only done one test day with CHE in the Formula Ford and that’s it, so it’s a pretty fresh track for me.
“It’s not going to be worry, it’s going to be pretty even across the whole field because it’s hard a track to get to test with most teams based in New South Wales and Victoria, so it’s going to be pretty fresh for the whole entire field, which should hopefully lead to some good racing.
“Everyone has as much experience as each other so hopefully it turns out to be a good weekend.
“Although we didn’t win at Morgan Park, we did improve our lead in the standings and hopefully we can further build it at The Bend."
Zak Lobko
#7 Elite Attachments/CHE Racing Team
"We have done a test day at The Bend, but it was wet, and this weekend looks like it will be wet, so that might work out OK," he said.
"I've never raced at The Bend, and I actually haven't raced in the wet. I feel like I was quick in wet conditions in karting, but this will be a new challenge.
"I've done some sim work on The Bend so I feel like I know the track really well. I'll be doing lots of learning, but I know I have a good team to support me.
"Morgan Park went really well. I made a mistake in the second race, but to come back and pass Valentino (Astuti) at the end was really good."
Cameron Hill
Team Manager, CHE Racing Team
“I was really pleased with how the boys performed at Morgan Park, Zak especially in what was a breakthrough weekend,” Hill said.
“For Zak to qualify so strongly and race as well with genuine speed was so great to see. I’m glad to see all the pieces in the puzzle are starting to fall into place for him, he’s certainly been making big gains every round.
“Jimmy had a real championship weekend. He still extended his points lead despite not winning races and that was really positive. It was really difficult to pass there, so he had to keep a cool head on his shoulders and he did very well.
“Again, we have two racing categories in different states on the same weekend. Last time we proved to ourselves that we can do it and do it really well, but you can’t get complacent.
“There’s been a lot of work over the last two weeks to make sure we‘re prepared in every detail, so when we get to the race track, we have a seamless weekend.”
