Underrated performance for Brad James at Winton

Brad James flew under the radar at Winton for the opening round of the Formula Ford Stars & Renegades Series, but the Marcos Ambrose Motorsport driver left the rural Victorian circuit a respectable sixth in the standings after rapid progression throughout the weekend.

Opening his account with seventh in the opener, a trip to pit lane cost James a strong result in the second, before capping off the weekend by scoring sixth in Sunday’s pair of races.

James is relatively new to Formula Ford and the hot conditions added to the challenge, especially the longer 30-minute Feature events at the end of Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s a lot harder than what I expected,” James reflected.

“The half an hour race to finish was pretty physical, but we got through it.

“It got hot. You need to stay in the zone and not let the heat get to you. Towards the end, the final few laps it was getting difficult and I was on my own, though pushing to catch the drivers in front.”

Progression for James continues to be rapid as he adapts to a different driving style.

“We found a couple of technique improvements because driving these Formula Fords is a lot different to what I’m used to in the Excel,” he explained.

“They don’t have much lateral grip, so it’s all about the entry and exit of the corners.”

A solid haul of points places him sixth in the standings and James is eager to continue this development at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“I’ve got some good points,” James said.

“Obviously, the final race of Round 1 could have been a bit better if didn’t come into the pits, but it’s awesome to get some good points in the bag and it sets us up for the rest of the season.”

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