Noah Sands has impressed in his debut car race meeting in the NSW Formula Ford Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park, recording results of fourth, third and sixth in Sunday’s three races.
In the morning qualifying session, Sands recorded the fourth-fastest lap time in his Mygale race car, earning him a starting position on the second row of the grid.
The 16-year-old Leeton driver was full of nervous energy before taking to the track for his very first car race, but made a sensible start and slotted into fourth position, a spot he held for the duration of the race.
“I just wanted to have a trouble-free run in my first race, and that’s how it panned out,” Sands said.
The drivers were faced with challenging conditions in the day’s second race, due to absorbent material placed on the circuit to soak up an earlier oil spill. However, Sands was not the least bit daunted by the slippery track surface and pushed hard to record a third-place finish.
“It was a tricky race; in the early laps, there was a lot of dust being thrown up by the cars ahead, which made it difficult to see where I was going,” Sands said.
“The dust also reduced the grip levels, but fortunately my CHE Racing Team did a great job of setting up my car and it really suited the conditions.”
The soaring western Sydney temperatures took their toll on Sands and his car in Race 3, but he was still able to complete his fine debut event with sixth place.
“The last race was the toughest; the tyres were hot and to be honest, I was getting pretty hot inside the car as well!” Sands said.
“I lost a few places at the start and from that point, I focused on consolidating the weekend with a solid finish rather than pushing too hard and making any unnecessary mistakes.”
Overall, Sands was satisfied with his maiden Formula Ford outing.
“There were a lot of positives to come out of the weekend, especially with our lap times which were close to the front-runners,” he said.
“The biggest thing I learned was the physical and mental challenges of competing in a Formula Ford race; you can do as much testing as you like, but maintaining focus and concentration over a race distance, especially in such hot conditions, is a completely different ball game.”
Sands will be back behind the wheel of his Formula Ford for the final round of the NSW Championship at Goulburn’s Wakefield Park circuit, 12-13 December.
