Productive National championship round debut for Rudolph:
By: Stubbies Workwear Racing
For Dane Rudolph his first foray into National Formula Ford Championship competition didn’t get off to the best of starts, but by the completion of the meeting he and the SWR (Stubbies Workwear Racing) team were quite content with their showing at
Heading into the third round of the National Championship quietly confident of a respectable showing, Rudolph and the SWR team battled engine issues with their Spectrum 09 on the Friday, which cost them valuable track setup time. Fortunately the presence of engine builder Peter Larner, along with SWR team members Brian and Ben Morley, provided a high level of technical engineering expertise.
“It was disappointing to be plagued throughout Friday with a mystery engine complication which didn’t allow us any time to play with the car setup,” said Rudolph. “Being in a National round requires you to spend as much time as possible out on the track chasing setup, as the competition is just so tough that you just cannot take anything for granted out there.”
Rudolph, after only three laps, qualified 18th with a best lap time of 1:40.3198 and for the opening race later on Friday afternoon the 19-year-old finished in 20th.
“The team was unable to get a handle on the engine gremlins which really saw us struggle,” Rudolph admitted. “After the opening race, Peter (Larner), Ben and Brian worked overtime to trace this engine problem. They tried replacing a number of parts in the engine all in the hope of fixing the mystery mechanical fault”.
For the second race on Saturday morning, the work the SWR team had done the previous night had improved the car quite substantially and this saw Rudolph finish a very respectable and confidence boosting 13th. Race two also saw Rudolph post his fastest lap time of the weekend, a 1:39.7054, which was close within one second of the front running drivers in the closing stages of the 10-lap event.
“I managed to avoid all the carnage out there and achieve a finish that the team and I were proud of,” beamed Rudolph. “I was locked in a number of battles for track position out there, which was exciting and really enjoyable.”
In the third and final race of the weekend on the Sunday, Rudolph, once again, scored a credible result after placing 15th and this capped off a pleasing finish to a somewhat tough weekend for the SWR team.
“The National competition saw me really have to drive the wheels off my car each and every lap,” explained Rudolph. “This weekend has been beneficial for not only me, but the entire team and despite a bit of bad luck, we are getting faster and faster with each track appearance.”
At the completion of the meeting, SWR team continued to receive helpful advice from Spectrum dealers, Borland Racing Team, and everyone is looking forward to the future.
“Their helpful and encouraging advice has pumped the entire SWR team up for the upcoming meetings and I will take all that was said on board with me,” commented Rudolph.
The next showing for SWR and Rudolph will be on the weekend of June 17 - 19 at Oran Park Raceway for round three of the Pettaras Press NSW State Series, whilst their next National round appearance will be at Eastern Creek Raceway on July 8 – 11.
Stubbies Workwear Racing:
Release by Daniel Powell – Redline Media
Phone: 0246 832464
Mobile: 0439 639 992
Email: Daniel@redlinemedia.com.au