Minda Motorsport

When racing began, Brabham quickly asserted his speed, moving up the order to eighth, before a small mistake mid-race dropped him outside the top ten.

"I just tried to push the car a little too hard and ran wide," Brabham explained later. “It was a great experience running in the top ten, racing against guys who have done a lot of racing in these cars before.”

Brabham fought back in Race 2 on Sunday morning, charging from 15th on the grid to finish in a fine ninth place – his first points of the year. While this was followed by an incident in Race 3 when running seventh, the Queenslander was well pleased with his weekend.

"I was really happy with Race 2,” he said later. “I got another good start and managed to make up four places in first couple of laps. The lap seven safety car gave me a chance to have a crack at the guys in front on the restart too. To have points on the board in just the second round of the year is a great result for us.

“Race 3 was a bit of a shame, to be taken out so early when running seventh, but overall it’s been a very good learning weekend."

By contrast, team-mate Le Brocq ended his weekend on a high, having taken an 11th place finish in Race 3, his second such performance of the weekend.

The former karting and Formula Vee star showed impressive speed in all three races, with a fastest lap in Race 2 just three tenths slower than that of race winner Nick Foster. Unfortunately, Race 2 was also to be the low point of Le Brocq’s weekend, having come together with Kiwi Martin Short.

“Race 2 was fantastic until the incident,” said Le Brocq. “I was running in the top ten, battling with a few guys, including Matthew (Brabham). We’re learning a lot every time we jump in the car, and Matthew and I were both pressing on, doing lap times that were comparable to the leaders.

“The incident itself was just one of those things – Martin was running a tight line through turn two, and as soon as I turned in there was contact. The next thing I knew I was in the sand trap.

“What was even more unfortunate was that, as the marshals recovered the car, they tried to tow it a bit fast, and ended up rolling it over! I couldn’t believe it.

“To come back to eleventh again in race three was a good result. We learnt a lot, and proved that we have top ten pace. We were unlucky not to get a point in the end, but we’re still only just outside the top ten in the standings, so we can’t be disappointed with that.”

Jacobson was too unlucky not to add to his points tally this weekend, with eleventh in Race 2 proving the highlight of his weekend.

“On paper it wasn’t the best weekend for us,” he said, “but in terms of learning what these cars like, and what I need from them, it was very positive.

“I was really unhappy with the balance of the car yesterday (Saturday), so we sat down overnight and worked out some big changes. It was satisfying to be able to move up to eleventh in the morning race.”

At the end of the weekend, team principal Bruin Beasley expressed his pleasure at seeing his chargers continue to progress throughout the weekend.

“I was happy with the way all three boys drove,” he said. “Naturally I was a little disappointed for Matt that he wasn't able to bank a top ten as he was showing good speed, but we’ll keep working.

“Jack Le Brocq received the Kangan Best Presented Car award this weekend, which was a nice reward for the boys, and our major sponsor Penrite.

“It’s a steep learning curve every weekend, but that’s what this program is all about. The cars are quick, and we’re moving forward, so I’m very happy.”

Round 3 of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship will take place at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria on May 14-16.

The CAMS Rising Stars are proudly supported by the Confederation of Australian Motorsport, the Australian Sports Commission, Minda Motorsport, Penrite Oils, OAMPS Insurance Brokers, Boylan Traffic Solutions, Relux Slabs, Revolution Racegear, LCF Merchandise and Mark Webber.


ROUND 2 - IPSWICH 300, QUEENSLAND RACEWAY

Qualifying
12. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011d, 1:14.8941
16. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011c, 1:15.4022
20. Garry Jacobson, Spectrum 011c, 1:15.9095

Race 1
11. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011c
14. Garry Jacobson, Spectrum 011c
15. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011d

Race 2
9. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011d
11. Garry Jacobson, Spectrum 011c
DNF. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011c

Race 3
11. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011c
16. Garry Jacobson, Spectrum 011c
DNF. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011d