Tom Sargent has secured a third-place finish in the 2019 Australian Formula Ford Championship, scoring a pair of top-three race results in the final round of the season at Phillip Island on the weekend, and finishing the event fourth overall despite a mechanical problem in the final race.
The Young driver was challenged by variable weather throughout the weekend, but said his car was fast in all conditions.
“In Friday practice, we didn’t get much dry running because it was raining on and off all day,” Sargent said.
“Despite the limited track time, we still came up with a good setup for qualifying and I was only 0.3s off pole position.
“In the first race, I was racing in the lead pack, and eventually finished second.
“The second race was very wet, and it took me a few laps to work out the best racing lines to avoid the slipperiest parts of the track. Considering the tough conditions, I was happy to finish third.
“It dried out for the last race, and I was really excited because I felt like we were going to have a good chance of fighting for the win. Unfortunately, the car had an electrical problem at the start, but thankfully I was still able to finish the race and score some valuable points.”
Sargent said he was very happy with an overall top-three result in his first full year of competition in the Australian Formula Ford Championship.
“It’s been a season with some highs and lows, but to come away with third place – considering we missed an entire round at Sandown – is an excellent result for me and all my supporters,” Sargent said.
“The Sandown crash was obviously the lowlight of the season, but there were some clear highlights as well, especially my pole position and round win at Sydney Motorsport Park, and race win at Tailem Bend.”
Sargent paid credit to those who backed his Formula Ford campaign.
“I’d like to thank all the sponsors who supported me this season, I’m pleased we were able to achieve some strong results for them,” he said.
I’d also like to thank the CHE Racing Team, who prepared a fantastic car for me all season, along with my friends and family.”
Sargent’s racing plans for the 2020 season will be announced in the coming months.
Round Results Summary
Qualifying: 3rd
Race 1: 2nd
Race 2: 3rd
Race 3: 20th
Overall: 4th
Top 10 Points – Final
- Angelo Mouzouris – 295
- Zac Soutar – 277
- Tom Sargent – 235
- Callum Hedge – 230
- Lachlan Mineeff – 228
- Cody Burcher – 217
- Jay Hanson – 209
- Courtney Prince – 175
- Cody Donald – 121
- Harrison Goodman – 110
