CAMS Rising Stars win 2 of the 3 Races at the Island
September 26, 2011
CAMS Rising Star drivers Trent Harrison and Jack Le Brocq were looking to continue to prove their place will be at the top of the podium as the season rolls on in the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Phillip Island over the weekend, a point both Le Brocq and Harrison drilled home taking race wins, including Harrison’s convincing maiden victory.
With back to back race weekends, the series returned to the island after a year’s break, and a confident AMSF team had all eyes set on seeing their star drivers tip the balance of the championship to their favour.
It wasn’t long before Harrison and Round 5 winner Le Brocq had their Penrite Mygale’s topping the first practice timesheets, split by rival Waters, the three racers held an edge over the field. Ever confident in performance of car and driver, Harrison was clearly comfortable back at the island, securing the fastest third sector, and fastest time of the early session with a 1:38.1171, Le Brocq set the fastest first and second sector times during the session on the way to third fastest.
Second practice
had Harrison gearing up for some hot laps, pitting for setup changes to settle the chassis before flying through the mid session, setting what would be the third fastest time. Le Brocq went faster as the session progressed, posting the #49’s best time in the dying minutes to pip teammate Harrison for second.
The final session of the day, qualifying would prove to be a positive session seeing Le Brocq and Harrison again make their mark at the head of the times. Completing one flyer each before returning to the pits for the Minda Motorsport team to work more magic, it would be that flyer to place Le Brocq in second, sharing the front row with championship leader Waters. Harrison returned to the track going faster again, locking down third in his #12 Penrite Mygale, his best qualifying position yet.
Saturday’s Race 1 saw Le Brocq and Harrison start well to remain in their qualifying order. The Minda pair immediately showing great race pace were all over the back of leader Waters as they entered the main straight for the first time. Positioning his Penrite Mygale in the tow, Le Brocq made the move into turn one to take the lead. Harrison too was looking for a run at Waters as they pulled a gap on the field. Le Brocq went wide through Lukey Heights allowing Waters to retake the race lead but not for very long. On the next lap around both Le Brocq and Harrison passed Waters into turn 1, Harrison wasn’t content with second as he slipped by Le Brocq under brakes at Honda. The pair then began to drive away from the pack heading for certain victory before a safety car was deployed. At the restart the field bunched up behind the Rising Star tow and were 3 abreast going into Honda, with nowhere to go, Le Brocq was squeezed and launched over Williamson and out of contention. Harrison made it through the trouble but was back to fourth and with battles every which way, came home holding the position as teammate Le Brocq pushed through the field in the closing laps to recover for 13th.
#49 Jack Le Brocq
After the safety car it was a bit unfortunate with all the cars weaving around under brakes and I had nowhere to go. Not a great result considering our pace, but nothing’s bent badly so we’ll have a better look at it all and be good to go.
Race 2
When the lights went out Harrison took to the slip stream looking for third under Williamson as the top four went nose to tail through the opening turns. Le Brocq was on a charge to move up the field, having brought the #49 Penrite Mygale into the top ten by lap three. Finding the gap on both Waters and Williamson, Harrison put in the fastest sector two time on lap three to take the lead and drive away from the field, putting in an outstanding performance with his strong focus bringing him home to take his maiden race victory. Le Brocq had to fight, continuing his charge through the field to take fourth, and set himself back in contention.
#12 Trent Harrison
“It’s been a long time coming. I really had to put my head down and I finally did it! The car was very good once again – it did go away towards the end with the tyres quite hot which made it harder to drive, but it obviously was one of the best cars out there today. This win is such a big weight off my shoulders, the long build up, all the hard work, I just had to get that first one and now we keep it going.”
The final race of the weekend was sure to be an all out attack, both Le Brocq and Harrison firing away from the line. Le Brocq was on the attack taking third from his teammate in the opening lap, to then follow up with a similar move through the opening turns gaining second from Williamson. Harrison was challenging Foster, losing the position before striving back into fourth, the position he would hold through to the chequered flag. Determined to go harder, he pushed on to set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:38.4742. Le Brocq wanted another win for the Minda Motorsport team, playing it hard with Waters and Williamson, looking for a gap, finding the tow, protecting position while vying for the lead. The break came on lap five when he made a clean move through on series leader Waters to have another Penrite Mygale out in front on the run to the flag. With the leader’s times within hundredths of a second, Le Brocq’s win was all the sweeter for the fight, while Harrison’s result had cemented his place in second for the round.
#49 Jack Le Brocq
“I’m happy with that. I was struggling at Honda corner but moved into the lead by lap five. We had the speed so I could make a good move to pass Waters before the safety car, then kept the momentum going and held off til the chequered flag. It was a tough race and we were running the white line, keeping it very tight to stay in the number one position. The championship should get more interesting now that Trent (Harrison) and I have our heads down, are racking up good points, and we’re looking good to be able to have a run at the championship.”
#12 Trent Harrison
“I lost a couple of places early, then struggled to get back from there. It’s good to know we still had the fastest lap so the car consistently showed speed, but the lost spots early on hurt me. It’s been a very positive weekend for me and the team, we’re moving a good way up, getting better and better as year goes on, and the next one’s going to bring more wins – we’ll be ready again.”
Bruin Beasley, Team Manager
“Trent and Jack are both doing a fantastic job. The whole team has put in a lot of hard work this season to get the cars where they need to be and both are now really fast. The boys are both stepping up, are committed to always improving and with both having wins this weekend – we’re all confident we’re on the right track and can keep going up from here.”
The CAMS Rising Star drivers proved their abilities to succeed once more, certainly making their mark at the top and showing their strength to contend the 2011 Australian Formula Ford Championship, with two from three race wins. With Harrison wrapping up second for the round, he moves into equal fourth in the championship hunt, Le Brocq settled in third 28 points ahead. Another big boost to the confidence of the Minda Motorsport crew has been strengthened by the promise of the AMSF Rookie Rising Stars who showed a commitment to follow their experienced teammates to the top.
Round 6 points
1 Cameron Waters 47
2 Trent Harrison 44
3 Tom Williamson 38
4 Daniel Erickson 34
5 Jack Le Brocq 32
Championship standings post Round 6
1 Cameron Waters 315
2 Nick Foster 222
3 Jack Le Brocq 209
= 4 Trent Harrison 181
= 4 Tom Williamson 181
The CAMS Rising Star Programs are proudly supported by CAMS, The Australian Sports Commission, Minda Motorsport, Penrite, Go Markets, OAMPS, Relux Slabs, Revolution Racegear and Mark Webber.