Minda Motorsport

CAMS Rising Star Matthew Brabham has taken an impressive leap forward in his rookie Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship season, finishing all three races in seventh position at Winton this weekend.

In just his third round at national level, the sixteen year old karting graduate proved capable of mixing it with far more experienced rivals – and moves into the top ten on the points table as a result.

“I’m rapt with that,” beamed Brabham after the final race. “When you look at this field, the top six guys are all capable of winning races right now. For us to be right on their tales after just three meetings is very satisfying.

“This weekend was definitely a big step forward for me - it’s been great for my confidence. We were chasing the track all weekend - it was constantly changing due to the rubber going down from the V8 Supercars. We were loose on Friday, and then picked up some turn-in understeer yesterday, but by the end of the weekend I think we had it about right.

“We’re certainly not at the level of the outright quickest guys yet, but I’m just excited to be running where we are. The CAMS Rising Stars program is a great way to learn these cars, and working with the Minda Motorsport crew has been fantastic for me. We’ve managed to score a big bag of points this weekend, so I couldn’t be happier.”

Team Principal Bruin Beasley was also upbeat after the young Queenslander’s string of top results.

"I am really pleased with Matt’s performance,” said Beasley. “His speed is impressive, but it is his maturity as well that is giving him the results. He has raced wheel-to-wheel with some really good drivers this weekend and been able to hold his own. It’s amazing to think that this is only his first full season in Formula Ford.”

Friday fast-man and national series debutant, Liam Sager, also had reason to be pleased with his efforts, having battled well in the midfield in all three races for a best finish of 12th (Race 2).

“Overall it’s been a good weekend,” said Sager, “I’m really happy to come through the races with a clean car and some great experience. The Victorian State Championship is my focus this year, and I can take some fantastic knowledge back to that series from this round.

“I was a little disappointed that we qualified below where perhaps we could have (17th) – we were really fast on Friday but then just didn’t hook the car up on fresh tyres in qualifying.

“Still, it was good that we could tune it up for the races and make our way past a few. It was a great experience, and I can’t wait until the next round.”

Former karting and Formula Vee star Jack Le Brocq also fought hard across the three races – showing impressive determination after a disappointing qualifying run (19th) on Saturday morning.

“It certainly wasn’t the weekend I was looking for,” he reflected. “We really struggled with the car, and we worked hard on it but never really got it to where I needed it to be.

“Battling to get into the top 15 obviously wasn’t too satisfying, but that’s how racing is sometimes. We had good speed at Albert Park and Queensland Raceway, so we’ll keep our chin up and move forward.

“We still learnt a lot across the three races, and as long as we’re doing that then we’ll be ok.”

At the end of the weekend, Minda Motorsport Corporate Liaison Andrew McInnes was satisfied with the team’s performance.

“Three top tens for Matt is just awesome,” said McInnes, “the #83 car is probably a bit ahead of where we expected it to be at this stage of the season. Taking 18 points in one round is a massive effort against a field of this quality and experience.

“We’d like to think that by the end of the season we can bring all three cars into the top five. Liam’s not doing the full season, and we were very impressed with his national level debut.

“We know Jack has got what it takes as well. He is very technically minded, and it was frustrating for him that he didn’t quite get on top of it this weekend. But we saw in the first two rounds the potential he has got, so we’re really looking forward to seeing what we can do at the next round.”

The Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship continues at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway on June 18-20.

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.


WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY, WINTON, VIC – SUNDAY

Qualifying
8. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011d, 1:26.4038
17. Liam Sager, Spectrum 011b, 1:27.2760
19. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011c, 1:27.5057

Race 1
7. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011d
14. Liam Sager, Spectrum 011b
16. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011c

Race 2
7. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011d
12. Liam Sager, Spectrum 011b
17. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011c

Race 3
7. Matthew Brabham, Spectrum 011d
14. Liam Sager, Spectrum 011b
16. Jack Le Brocq, Spectrum 011c