Young female racer Imogen Radburn will follow in the footsteps of former series winner Leanne Tander by making her Australian Formula Ford debut at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend.
Radburn, 16, forms part of a three-pronged CHE Racing attack on Round 4 of the Australian Formula Ford Series alongside national title leader Jimmy Piszcyk and Zak Lobko.
Contesting the New South Wales Formula Ford Championship, Radburn’s best results came at the previous round held at Wakefield Park where she just missed a podium finish.
Her national opportunity comes as the Australian Formula Ford Series links up with the NSW Championship for the first time this season.
While Radburn is making her national debut, her team-mate Piszcyk will be looking to keep the hungry pack at bay, currently holding a slender four-point lead over rival Valentino Astuti.
Piszcyk has emerged as one of this country’s leading young prospects, including an impressive performance at Phillip Island during Round 2, plus breaking the Winton lap record set last year by fellow CHE Racing driver Tom Sargent in the same Mygale.
Another driver to watch will be Lobko as he gradually adapts to the rigours of national competition and is continually improving at each round.
Qualifying begins at 11:20am before Race 1 occurs later on Saturday afternoon ahead of two races on Sunday as CHE Racing completes double duty for the first time this year with Tom Sargent contesting Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge at Queensland Raceway.
QUOTES
Jimmy Piszcyk
#93 Iocane/CHE Racing
“I’m definitely feeling confident. The CHE cars are fast at Sydney Motorsport Park we’ve done some good testing there,” said Piszcyk.
“I’m feeling confident in myself, so hopefully the round turns out to be a good one.
“Having those testing miles under my belt will hopefully give an advantage. It will all be about who utilises the car and the track the best. The driver and team that does that will most likely be the one who wins the races.
“I’ll try and take every lap and race as its comes, but I have the championship in the back of my mind too. The plan is to be as fast as we can and do it as clean as we can.”
Zak Lobko
#7 CHE Racing
“I’m looking forward to it. I had some good pace in testing,” said Lobko.
“It’s a home race, so I feel I should do good. I’ve had good pace in recent rounds, but a few mistakes too, but these are the things you learn from.
“If I can run in the top five, I will be pleased with that. Obviously, we want to do better than that, so we’ll see where we are on Friday practice and see where the pace is at.”
Imogen Radburn
#29 CHE Racing
“I'm pretty keen for Sydney Motorsport Park. I’m not that stressed about making my national debut – I’m just looking forward to being put against 30-plus competitors. It’s the biggest field I’ve ever raced against,” said Radburn.
“I like Sydney Motorsport Park. I’ve had a few race meetings around there, but out of all the times I’ve been there, I’ve only had one dry race – Everything else has been wet! The forecast for this weekend is dry, so that will be a new challenge to learn to get the most out of the car in the dry.
“For me, it’s great to be the only female representative in the Duratec Formula Ford class. Once the helmet is on, it doesn’t matter about gender, you still have the same chance as anyone else.
“Leanne Tander is a great example of what is possible. She won the 2016 Formula Ford title and is a real inspiration for all.
“My goal is to give it my best. It’s my first national race, but I’m hoping for a positive outcome and see where we sit against the best Formula Ford drivers in Australia."
Cameron Hill
Team owner, CHE Racing
“It’s a massive weekend for our team with Tom Sargent racing Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge in Queensland while we have our young Formula Ford stars at Sydney Motorsport Park,” he said.
“Jimmy is in great form, leading the championship, and now we have the home track advantage up here in Sydney.
“Zak has also been very impressive having jumped straight into national competition, he has been making big gains every time he hits the track.
“It’s also exciting to have Imogen join us for her first national level Formula Ford event. It will be a great learning experience for her, she is very sharp and listens to feedback very well. Every time she goes out, she sets a PB, which proves she is only getting better with every lap.
“I’ll be busy thinking about the Formula Fords as well as the Porsche but we have a great team and I have full confidence that we will run well at both events.”
