Lachlan Mineeff has consolidated his top-six position in the Australian Formula Ford Championship with another consistent performance in the penultimate round of the series at Phillip Island on the weekend.
In his first visit to the high-speed circuit, Mineeff qualified eighth and maintained his position in Race 1. He took advantage of some incidents in Race 2 to move up to fourth, and while an incident early in Race 3 saw him fall down the order, he salvaged a 13th place finish to secure seventh overall.
“Before the weekend, everyone was telling me how good Phillip Island was, and after driving it for the first time, I was able to understand why,” Mineeff said.
“In Friday practice, it was wet in the morning but it dried out in the afternoon, and I was able to learn the track.
“Our qualifying speed was good – I got held up by another car on my best lap, so eighth wasn’t a true reflection of our position in the field.
“Most of the first race was behind the Safety Car, so there weren’t many opportunities to make up positions.
“In Race 2 I had a near-miss – heading over Lukey Heights, I sustained some slight contact in my rear wheel from Hunter McElrea, who then speared back across the track and collected the car in front of me – I was very lucky not to be caught up in the incident.
“Heading into Race 3 and starting on the second row of the grid, I was confident of a strong showing. Unfortunately, I had a minor incident on the first lap, which cost me some time and places.
“I fell down to 19th position but I put my head down and concentrated on recovering as many positions as possible. We salvaged some points and ended up coming away with a good overall result.”
With one round remaining, Mineeff has closed to within 16 points of the series top five.
“The last round is at Sydney Motorsport Park, a track where I’ve done plenty of laps,” Mineeff said.
“Our goal for my rookie season was to finish in the top 10; top five would be well above our expectations.”
Round Results Summary
Qualifying: 8th
Race 1: 8th
Race 2: 4th
Race 3: 13th
Overall: 7th
Top 10 Points – After Round 6
- Hunter McElrea – 278
- Hamish Ribarits – 267
- Zac Soutar – 209
- Nathan Herne – 186
- Liam McLellan – 158
- Lachlan Mineeff – 142
- Angelo Mouzouris – 127
- Cody Donald – 116
- Cameron Shields – 108
- Bart Horsten – 101
Lachlan Mineeff is proudly sponsored by:
Southern Star Truck Centre
UsedTrucks.Sydney
Acceleration Helmet Parts
Race Stars Simulators+ Slot Cars Bowral
Zego Building Systems
Midcoast Trucks
Lous Smash Repairs
Pitman Truck Sales
Global Equipment Finance
Bowdens Own
Thermo King Rail
National Truck Wholesalers
