Title fight wide open as North Island Formula Ford Series heads to Taupo

The second round of the 2025/26 Giltrap Group North Island Formula Ford Series (NIFF) will see a new name on the leaderboard after the one-day meeting at Taupo Motorsport Park on Sunday. Current overall points leader, Auckland’s Dylan Grant, had a perfect opening round at Hampton Downs in early October but won’t be on the grid for the rest of the season, electing to move to the TA2 NZ category. This gives an opportunity for second overall, Jack Groenewald (Mygale SJ07A), to take over the lead, having a 33-point lead over William Beck (Spectrum 010).

Shane Drake (Van Diemen RF92) is just one-point behind Beck with fellow rookie Ollie Sentch (Van Diemen Stealth) another two-points further back. All three battled in the mid-field at Hampton Downs and will be seeking more podium places.

Campbell Owens (Spectrum 015) will be wanting to make amends after a poor opening round along with Toby McCormack (Spectrum 010) whose car has been through a major rebuild having just arrived in the country before Round 1. Owens showed strong pace in his ex-McCormack Spectrum and will certainly be one of the front runners.

Joining the field and coming off a successful debut in the South Island Formula Ford Series last weekend is Maxim Kirwan (Spectrum 015). The 14-year-old from Auckland stood on the podium in three of the four races driving a Mygale and will be brimming with confidence heading to Taupo.

James Collie returns in his Class 2 Van Diemen after a strong outing in only his second year in motorsport.

The one-day event run by the Auckland Car Club also sees the return of Kim Crocker (Van Diemen RF01) and Tony Graham (Van Diemen RF85) to the field. Drivers and teams face qualifying and three races across the day.

The NIFF organising committee welcome the return of major sponsor the Giltrap Group along with the Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy cash prize for fastest qualifier at each round. Yokohama are continuing their backing of the series along with the support from NAPA with their Driver of the Day award.