Noah Sands has clinched runner-up honours in his rookie Australian Formula Ford Championship season with more strong results in the season finale at Phillip Island on the weekend.
It was the first time the Leeton driver had visited the Victorian circuit, but he did not take long to acquaint himself with the venue, qualifying in fifth position despite not having the advantage of a slipstream from other competitors.
“At Phillip Island, you want to try and get a tow from another car in qualifying – it can make a big difference to your lap time,” Sands explained.
“Unfortunately, I was on my own for the whole session so I didn’t have that advantage, so I was happy to still end up in the top five.”
In the first race, Sands worked his way up to second but ran wide at turn four and fell to 14th. He ultimately recovered to finish eighth.
“The race was going well, up until I made a little mistake and ran off the track,” Sands said.
“My pace was good, so I was able to fight back strongly.”
Sands progressed from eighth to fourth in race two, before improving to second in race three.
“The second race was straightforward; I had a clean run and made up some places. In the last race, I had a really strong start, moved up to second on the first lap and chased Tom (Sargent) to the finish.
The results from the three races, combined with the points he had scored earlier in the season, saw Sands earning enough points to finish second in the Australian Formula Ford Championship behind Sargent and securing a 1-2 finish for the CHE Racing Team.
“Overall, it was another successful weekend, especially the last two races,” Sands said.
“The championship result is fantastic and very unexpected. Formula Ford is well known for being a competitive category with a lot of talented young drivers, so to finish second in my rookie year is awesome.
“A big thank you the CHE Racing Team for giving me a fast car all year and to Cameron (Hill) for the driver coaching. I’ve learned so much from him this year, and having Tom as such a fast team mate has been valuable as well – it’s given me a really good benchmark not only for my driving, but also to learn about car setup.”
With his maiden national Formula Ford season completed, plans are now underway for Sands’ 2022 racing program, which is set to be announced early in the new year.
Round Results Summary
Qualifying: 5th
Race 1: 8th
Race 2: 4th
Race 3: 2nd
Overall: 3rd
