Winton driver Jacob Begg sits sixth in the 2025 NAPA Auto Parts New Zealand Formula Ford Championship after an impressive outing at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell recently.
The event was also the final round of the South Island championship and Begg claimed fourth place overall, another fine effort in his first season in class 1.
Begg qualified seventh at Highlands and then recorded results of sixth, seventh and fifth in the three races to leave the round, the second in the NZ championship, sixth in the point standings. It is particularly impressive considering it is only Begg’s second season in the sport and his first in class 1 of the championship after he came so close to winning class 2 of the South Island championship in his rookie year.
In class 1 he is racing several vastly experienced competitors while there are two drivers from Australia who have also joined the fray.
Begg, 17, started his season in a Mygale SJ08 run by Racing Projects, contesting the first three rounds of the South Island Formula Ford Championship.
"It was pretty character-building," he said.
"We took some steps forward but due to financial reasons we made the decision to go our own way. We leased a car off the Crosbie family, a Ray GR21, and have since done two rounds of the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship. At the first round at Levels in Timaru we were building pace very early but could not translate it to qualifying."
It was a different story at Highlands.
"We went back to the drawing board and moved on to the second round at Highlands Motorsport Park. For me it was a brand-new track and I had no expectations. We tried to maximise as much as we could and had a really positive weekend. We made some changes and qualified seventh fastest and then scored a sixth in race one, a seventh in race two and fifth in race three. It was really cool, definitely a step forward," he said.
He attributes part of his success to another talented Southlander, Lamborghini Super Trofeo world champion Brendon Leitch.
"I really have been lucky to have Brendon Leitch supplying advice from across the ditch. He has been there and done that and is helping the next generation. We were sending him video footage from Highlands and he was giving us feedback."
For a time, it appeared Begg might not make it to the final two national rounds in the North Island at Hampton Downs in North Waikato from March 21-23 and Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon in Feilding from April 4-6 but it is now back on the cards.
"Our goal is to get there. It will be a learning experience and we will be trying to improve. We are really excited by our momentum.
‘I am lucky to have Jeremy Lennon and Devin Watts as my personal mechanics and Kevin Underwood has been a huge part of this year. I thank them and their families. It is amazing to have so much support from the Southland community and people," Begg said.
Motorsport New Zealand and Rodin Cars have partnered this season to offer the winner of the championship and selected Formula Ford drivers an invitation to an all-expenses-paid, three-day testing and evaluation programme with Rodin Cars in New Zealand.
From there, a driver who exhibits exceptional talent has the possibility to test with Rodin Motorsport in the UK with the chance of securing a seat in one of Rodin’s F4 teams.
A $51,000 travel fund has been made available by the Tony Quinn Foundation while NAPA Auto Parts will again offer prizes for driver of the day, while Yokohama returns as the tyre of choice for Formula Ford Racing in New Zealand.
By Lindsay Beer
