Le Brocq takes control on the Gold Coast
October 26, 2011
The penultimate round of the 2011 Australian Formula Ford Championship saw 18 entries head into the tight concrete canyon, and expectations were high in the CAMS Rising Stars pits as the Minda Motorsport team continued to strive for results.
Friday morning’s 20 minute practice session had Harrison settling in quickly to the challenging Surfers circuit, topping the timesheets early. As the laps passed, the times began to drop seeing teammate Le Brocq move to fifth, Harrison back to eighth while championship leader Waters secured the top time as the session was red flagged. With practice again underway, there was soon a full course yellow to end the session early, seeing Le Brocq in sixth, Harrison ninth, but the times didn’t reflect what was to come from the Penrite Mygales.
A delayed start to qualifying wasn’t the only drama in the next on track session for the CAMS Rising Stars. After setting the benchmark, Waters was in the wall as was championship contender Foster, leaving a seemingly clear opportunity for Le Brocq and Harrison to use the remaining minutes to show their pace. When qualifying was red flagged after Noonan hit the wall, both Penrite Mygales were in the top four and it was down to the final eight minutes for a clear run at pipping Waters’ time. Harrison headed for the pits from p2, bumped to fourth as the chequered flag was called early. Le Brocq had settled into sixth on row three, and there was an air of confidence after both drivers ran strongly, each sector within a tenth of their teammate during the interrupted session.
Jack Le Brocq #49
“I’ve had a good experience overseas in the break, learnt a lot and put a lot of laps under my belt so it’s been great to learn more of the technique, but coming back here and going to the Avon tyre on a street circuit took me most of today to get used to the grip levels again and how much the car moves around on these tyres.”
Trent Harrison #12
“We bent the steering in practice so made a couple of minor changes before qualifying to make the car nicer over the curbs and bumps and to get more turn mid corner. The car was performing really well and I was again up the front, second fastest, but was pipped at the last minute. Good to know we’re very close to the top times.”
Saturday morning brought Race 1 for the Formula Ford challengers and it was a clean start for both the Minda guys. The tight squeeze into the first chicanes saw Harrison back into fifth with Le Brocq right on him in sixth position. Le Brocq making the move on Harrison on lap 4 to take fifth. As the battles continued across the pack, a tangle at Bigpond corner put Harrison into the wall the right front damaged and his race over bring out the safety car. On the restart Le Brocq was running in fifth and was on the move before the chequered flag was shown with two still to run, Le Brocq drove brilliantly coming home in third.
Jack Le Brocq #49
“I was getting on top of it a bit more in the race, we had some good pace and I was able to make some moves forward so we’re looking good for the rest of the weekend.
“We were right up there in the lap times so Race 2 should be looking good and it’s great to have been having a battle with Trent (Harrison) along the way – it shows the team effort is there.”
Trent Harrison #12
“I was in fifth going ok and got tangled up with another car. That was enough to end my race with the whole front right corner damaged, but we’ll be all good to go again for Race 2.”
The field having dropped to 17 entries for Race 2, it wouldn’t be any easier as the CAMS Rising Stars hit the track for another hard fought race. Again, a clean start by the field saw the rush into the opening chicanes, Harrison making a move from rear of grid to 13th in the opening lap. When Waters hit the wall, the safety car was again called, with Le Brocq in second, Harrison in 12th on the restart. On lap five, Le Brocq took to the slip stream of Sager and captured the lead, but Sager fought back to resecure P1. For Harrison, it was a pit visit on lap four to treat a misfire but retirement was the only option, while his fellow #49 Penrite Mygale again used the slipstream advantage to take the lead once more along pit straight. Le Brocq secured his place at the helm, coming home to greet the flag and take the race win.
Jack Le Brocq #49
“I had a good race, and got the win! At the end I managed to stay in front and kept it off the wall. There were a few mistakes amongst the front runners which was good for me – I’ve got second in the championship now with a good gap of 21 points and we just need to keep building on that now.
“We made a few little changes to the car after Race 1, but didn’t go too far because the car is close to being right. We just need to get through the beach chicane a little quicker, but otherwise it’s pretty good!”
Trent Harrison #12
“I had a problem with a misfire in the car, which I’ve had a few times across the season and it seems to rear its head at all the wrong times.
“The car felt fine after the repairs from Race 1, but I was in traffic the whole time and only got in two flying laps.”
“It will be hard to pass starting from the back, but it will be fun. The speed is there if I can get a good run. We might make a small change to get a bit more power down grip, but the car isn’t bad. I just have to get through the cars, that’s all!”
The final race of the weekend saw Le Brocq lead away from pole, as Harrison started the charge through the field. On the second pass, Le Brocq straightlined the HSV beach chicane, seeing the Penrite Mygale airborne off the kerb. Harrison, plagued by mechanical concerns one more returned to pit lane at the close of just lap two while Le Brocq pressed on to have pulled a 3.5ssecond gap by the end of lap seven. With Minda Motorsport garage mate Williamson closing in over the last laps, he was right on the back of Le Brocq as the flag fell, Le Brocq having secured a second race win, leading every lap on the final run home.
Jack Le Brocq #49
“I got a good break at the start, put my head down and got out in front of the pack. I made a small mistake that brought me back to the following cars in the last couple of laps, but I held on when it mattered and got the win.
“Hopefully we can go to the next round at Symmons, have a clean race and win again. I’ve got a good gap to third now, so hopefully we can keep that going and secure second place in the championship.”
Bruin Beasley, Team Manager – Minda Motorsport
“For the team, a one and two is great. The CAMS boys have kept a good solid work ethic all weekend and while we were down a bit during practice and qualifying, they trucked on and kept a level head.
“We’ll be looking forward to Symmons Plains even with Waters having won a deserved championship, we’ll be going hard to impress to the end.
Round 7, Gold Coast 600 results
1st – Le Brocq 54
2nd – Williamson 42
3rd – Sager 36
16th – Harrison
2011 Australian Formula Ford Championship
1st – Waters 295
2nd – Le Brocq 231
3rd – Foster 194
4th – Williamson 185
5th – Harrison/Jacobson 137
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.