Positive weekend ends in disappointment for Brabs

Matthew Brabham driving for the CAMS Rising Star/ Minda Motorsports team disappointingly finished in the gravel trap after being hit from behind on lap 2 of the final race at Round 2 of the Genuine Ford Parts Formula Ford National Championship which was held yesterday at the Queensland Raceway.

Despite the setback the young 16 year old third generation driver did take a positive out of the weekend, as he achieved one of his main goals by scoring his first Championship points when he finished a hard fought 9^th place in race two.

Qualifying put the CAMS Rising Star / Minda Motorsports team on the back foot in unusual circumstances as a calculated gamble backfired leaving all three cars further down the field than was expected. Due to the fact that the session was 20 minutes long and you only have a few laps to get the best out of the tyres it was decided to go out on older tyres and then change to the new ones halfway through the session. Unfortunately there was some oil on the track at that point and Matthew and his team mates all went slower on the new tyres putting them 12^th, 16^th & 20^th on the grid.

In race 1 Brabs stormed up to 9^th in the opening laps only to make a mistake out of turn one and spin to the rear of the field, with the help of the safety car Matthew managed to recover to 15^th  place.

Starting 15^th in race two Matthew was quickly moving through the field with some forceful passing and for a brief second had his nose up into 7^th place on the last lap only to drop back to 9^th in the scramble to the chequered flag. However that 9^th place finish ensured his first National Championship points of the season.

The final race again started well jumping past 2 cars on the first lap, unfortunately a misguided lunge from a fellow competitor ended in Matthew being hit on the rear wheel which sent him off through the gravel trap with broken suspension and into retirement.

“It was very disappointing to finish the day in the gravel trap as the guy had no chance of making a pass in that situation, however I did  score my first championship points which was my main goal coming into this race. It was a shame as I felt I was really racing well and was having some fun at the same time, but these things happen in racing and you just have to learn to deal with it and move on to the next race”. A dejected Matty Brabs explained after the race.

The next race for Matthew Brabham is Round 3 of the Genuine Ford Parts National Formula Ford Championship held at the Winton track in Victoria in two weeks on May 16^th.