Joe Fawcett announces himself as a title contender

If Joe Fawcett didn’t enter the opening round of the Formula Ford Stars & Renegades Series as a title contender, then he certainly left as one.

Rewinding back to Winton, Fawcett and series leader Kobi Williams highlighted the closeness of Formula Ford racing in four tightly contested battles across the weekend.

Fawcett was pleased by the pace he displayed straight out of the box, but will aim to build on this during the races after he won one race to Williams’ three.

“It was really good to come here with solid pace right out of the opening practice session,” said Fawcett.

“This was proved in qualifying well. It was a bit unfortunate to make a few mistakes in the first three races, but we were able to clear those to win the final.

“I expected to be quick, though I wasn’t sure we would be fighting for the win in every race, but it was really nice to be at the front.”

Winton wasn’t the first time Fawcett and Williams have met, Winton was just the start of a new chapter in their rivalry.

“We’ve raced against each other for nearly 10 years in karing and Formula Ford, so we’ve done it before,” said Fawcett.

“I learnt a lot racing with Kobi at Winton, it was really clean and close.”

There were further lessons learnt by Fawcett, which will put him in good stead for Sydney and the rest of the season.

“I learnt a lot about trying to keep the tyre in hot conditions and how we can adjust the car for later on in the race rather than just one-lap pace,” Fawcett explained.

These learnings are in reaction to the fresh race format provided by the Formula Ford Stars & Renegades Series.

“I liked the format with the separate events on each of the two days,” Fawcett revealed. “It’s good if your Saturday doesn’t go well on Sunday you can reset and the longer races were different, which provided a different challenge for all of us.”

Round 2 at Sydney Motorsport Park will add further nuances for competitors including night racing.

“It’ll be super cool to race under lights in Sydney and being at night with less UV it might help the tyre degradation, but Sydney Motorsport Park is always horrible for it no matter how long the races are,” Fawcett detailed. 

“There will be a bit of work to make sure the car is right for that, but we’ll get on with it.”

The next round of the Formula Ford Stars & Renegades is at Sydney Motorsport Park featured as part of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series on May 30-June 1.