McCormack clean sweeps North Island Formula Ford Series round at Manfeild

Toby McCormack has made a clean sweep of the 2024/25 Giltrap Group North Island Formula Ford Series (NIFF) round at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon over a weekend of vintage Formula Ford competition, winning all four races. In fact, McCormack has won six consecutive races out of ten held so far this season and sits second overall, just two points behind leader Blake Dowdall (Spectrum 015). Dowdall’s consistency in standing on the podium in every race, including three victories and two point-scoring pole positions, has enabled him to keep ahead for the moment.

“I’m very happy with a great weekend,” commented McCormack who picked up the NAPA Auto Parts Driver of the Day award. “We weren’t sure how we would go so surprised with our pace on older tyres. We missed pole by a such a small margin to Blake (Dowdall).”

“I love a good pole position,” said Dowdall. “And I don’t mind having $500 cash in the bank so thanks to the Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy who sponsor it!

“We were leading from the start (Race 1) for quite a while and had the measure of Toby under brakes. He was very quick on the straights and eventually took the lead.”

“It’s difficult to break the tow at Manfeild,” said McCormack (Spectrum 015). “On the last lap Reagan (Edwards) made a move on Blake which meant I could get a gap until the chequered flag.

“I had a much better start in the second race. After taking the lead after a couple of laps, I was actually able to control the race, making sure I made no mistake and was able to hold Blake out.

“I made a mistake at the start of Race 3 and dropped to the back of the field. However, while the others in front of me battling it out, it made their lap times slower, so I was able to catch up and battle for the win. Again, the fight with Blake in the final race was hard as I was having a problem with an oil warning light.”

Dowdall was also managing a braking issue in the final race.

“We lost our front brakes which made it a bit difficult,” said Dowdall. “It felt like a go-kart, so not ideal. The weekend went OK, and we know where to improve.”

Reagan Edwards (Spectrum 015) took three third placings before retiring out of the final feature race. The final podium position being taken up by leader of Class 2, Shane Drake.

The next NIFF round will be at Hampton Downs on the 23 February 2025. A number of drivers will head south at the end of January for the first two rounds of the NZ Formula Ford Championship.

The series is supported with part of a $60,000 Formula Ford prize pool from the Tony Quinn Foundation with funding for travel and testing opportunities with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing NZ. NAPA Auto Parts has prizes for both Driver of the Day and Rookie of the Year and Yokohama continues as the tyre of choice for Formula Ford Racing in NZ.

This summer sees a collaboration between Rodin Cars and MotorSport NZ to create a new pathway to Formula 1 with the NZFF champion and selected Formula Ford drivers invited to an all-expenses-paid, three-day testing and evaluation program with Rodin Cars in New Zealand. From there a driver who exhibits exceptional talent has the possibility to test with Rodin Motorsport in the UK with the possibility of securing a seat in one of Rodin’s F4 teams.