Le Brocq takes control on the Gold Coast

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.