Sargent Charges Hard at Phillip Island

A weekend of rapid improvement has seen Tom Sargent score the coveted CHI Hard Charger Award in Round 6 of the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Phillip Island on the weekend.

After taking some time to learn the track in Friday practice, Sargent qualified 13^th. In Race 1, he improved to 10^th despite only two laps of the race being held under green conditions.

Sargent made up more places in Race 2 despite another Safety Car intervention that limited the amount of green running; he finished sixth.

The Young racer finally had a clear run in Race 3 and immediately moved into the top four, becoming engaged in a battle with Zac Soutar. The two drivers swapped positions several times, Sargent eventually missing out on a top-three finish by just 0.5s when Soutar slipstreamed his way past on the run to the finish line.

For his first time racing at the Phillip Island track, Sargent was very happy with the results.

“It was definitely a learning experience, but we made rapid progress every time we went on track,” Sargent said.

“In Friday practice, it was wet and I was a fair way off the pace, but once it dried out I became a lot more confident and by the end of the third race, I had the pace to compete with the leaders.

“Qualifying didn’t go according to plan – I didn’t use the tow very well, so that’s something I’ll learn for the future. But to be fighting for a top-three finish after qualifying down in 13^th was a really good way to finish the weekend, and the Hard Charger Award was the icing on the cake.”

Sargent’s continued strong form has seen him improve to 11^th in the Australian Formula Ford Championship standings, and he’s aiming to break into the top 10 in the final round of the series.

“To be 11^th in the points is really good considering I missed the first two rounds, but to finish in the top 10 in my rookie season would be fantastic,” Sargent concluded.

The seventh and last round of the series will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park, 26-28 October.

 

Round Results Summary

Qualifying: 13^th

Race 1: 10^th

Race 2: 6^th

Race 3: 4^th

Overall: 5^th

 

Top 10 Points – After Round 6

1. Hunter McElrea – 278
2. Hamish Ribarits – 267
3. Zac Soutar – 209
4. Nathan Herne – 186
5. Liam McLellan – 158
6. Lachlan Mineeff – 142
7. Angelo Mouzouris – 127
8. Cody Donald – 116
9. Cameron Shields – 108
10. Bart Horsten – 101

(11. Tom Sargent – 100)