Perfect Weekend for Sellars Caps Off Sensational Sandown

One week after a thrilling Round 5 at Symmons Plains, the Australian Formula Ford Series put on yet another weekend of fantastic racing at Sandown Raceway, as Harrison Sellars (#13 Altatek Racing Spectrum) completed a clean sweep of qualifying and all three races.

Claiming a maximum haul of 61 points for the round, Sellars was joined at the top of the Round 6 pecking order by Cody Maynes-Rutty (#69 Synergy Motorsport/Allotrac Spectrum) and Eddie Beswick (#30 Synergy Motorsport Spectrum), who netted 44 and 43 points respectively.

The results meant Beswick extended his championship lead to 38 points, while Sellars jumped to second in the standings with one round left in the season.

Race 2

Starting from pole position by virtue of winning Race 1 on Saturday, Sellars once again had the best launch off the line, holding a lead through the first turn with Beswick close behind.

Indeed, those watching the race may have been forgiven for thinking they were watching a replay of that previous day’s action, as yet another six-car battle pack for the lead had emerged by the time the field had completed the first lap.

As Maynes-Rutty, Evennett, Fawcett and Loiacono picked up where they left off in Race 1, Kobi Williams (#94 ACMF Finance Spectrum) showed the field he meant business as he charged from 20th on the grid to 9th in a single lap.

A strong headwind on the back straight made the tow even more powerful, and turn 6 became a very popular overtaking opportunity, seeing constant shuffling of both the lead pack and a second battle group jostling for 11th.

While Sellers, Beswick and Maynes-Rutty played musical chairs for the race lead in the closing stages, a tangle behind them at turn 9 saw Kyle Cotter’s Spectrum (#117 Kyle’s Trades Synergy Motorsport) marooned in the sandpit, bringing out the safety car with four minutes to go.

With no chance of resuming the race in time, the checkers waved a lap early, and it was Sellars who took the flag first to secure his second win from two races.

Beswick and Maynes-Rutty once again completed the podium, allowing Beswick to increase his championship advantage over Jack Bussey (#74 AG Equip Spectrum).

Race 2 results:

Race 3

Another pole position start led to another great getaway for Sellars, who led the field down to turn 1 once again. As championship leader Beswick glued himself to the #13’s gearbox, second-ranked Bussey spun behind them and scattered the field. While he was fortunate to avoid contact and re-joined the race, Lachlan Evennett (#88 BF Racing #ottostyle Mygale) was forced onto the grass, briefly becoming airborne after skimming across an access road.

While Beswick worked his way into the lead at turn 6, Evennett crawled to a halt with suspension damage, resulting in a five-minute safety car period. As the field launched into their first rolling restart of the weekend, Beswick timed the jump to perfection and found himself three car lengths ahead by the exit of turn 1.

However, strong winds turned the rest of the race into yet another epic slipstream battle. Beswick, Sellars and Maynes-Rutty traded the lead lap after lap, allowing a mass of ten cars to form a train behind them, which resulted in a 12-car fight for the lead in the dying stages.

As Beswick slipped to fifth, Sellars and Maynes-Rutty took the fight all the way to the finish. Crossing the line side-by-side, Sellars emerged victorious by a mere 0.0524 seconds, with Joe Fawcett (#23 KONSTRUKT/TOTAL Oil Australia Spectrum) rounding out the podium.

Race 3 results:

Round 6 Focus Driver Performance Hard Charger Award Winner: Joe Fawcett

The reigning Victorian Formula Ford Champion demonstrated great consistency across the weekend at Sandown, keeping the #23 KONSTRUKT/TOTAL Oil Australia Spectrum in touch with the leaders on every racing lap and capping off the round with a podium finish in Race 3.

Only one round remains in the 2024 Australian Formula Ford Series. Phillip Island will host the championship decider, with the AFFS field racing alongside the Victorian Formula Ford Championship once again across 4 – 6 October.

A full championship points update will soon be available on www.formulaford.org.au.

2024 Australian Formula Formula Ford Series Round 6 – Sandown Quoteboard

Round winner: Harrison Sellars, #13 Altatek Racing Spectrum

“I’ve had a few tough rounds, so not really looking for points, just more so race wins now. I can’t thank all the boys at Altatek enough. They’ve put in a lot of hard work and effort over the last year and a half, and it’s nice to pay it off finally for them. Massive thank you to the family and all of my supporters back home for making it possible, and to Formula Ford and all of the competitors for a great race and weekend.”

Round second place-getter: Cody Maynes-Rutty, #69 Synergy Motorsport/Allotrac Spectrum

“I’d like to thank my mum and dad for all the help this weekend, all the boys from Synergy, and Eddie and the Beswicks for all the support on the weekend. All of my sponsors – Allotrac, Australian Raceparts, Re Imagine and Vector Tuning. I couldn’t be here without them, so thank you.”

Round third place-getter: Eddie Beswick, #30 Synergy Motorsport Spectrum

“The approach to this weekend was all about the championship. I wasn’t racing too aggressively - you could see that in the last race - just looking at where Kobi (Williams) and Jack (Bussey) were coming into each race, and keeping an eye on them in the mirror. Pretty happy with it, and can’t wait to go to Phillip Island and hopefully wrap it up.”

Images: Phil Wisewould Photography and Pace Images