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With a rich vein of West Australian talent having come through the Formula Ford ranks in previous years, it's a wonder the field of sixteen drivers assembled for round two of the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Barbagallo next week doesn't contain a local West Australian driver.
With the likes of past Australian Formula Ford Champions Garth Tander and Daniel Elliott having come from Western Australia, it's surprising that WA won't have a local driver to cheer home when the series make its way to Barbagallo on 23-25 March.
It's even further surprising when you consider the fact that the series assembled its largest ever field for the opening round at the Clipsal 500 this year, since the introduction of the Ford Fiesta 160cc engines in 2006.
Twenty-five drivers took to the streets of Adelaide at the beginning of the month to battle the demanding street circuit, and while that number will reduce to sixteen for Barbagallo, it's still very pleasing for the category.
"Sixteen is still great numbers for Perth given the logistical issues and the extra money it costs for teams and young drivers to compete," explains Category Manager Margaret Hardy.
"If we had a few local West Australian competitors like we normally do, the field would be closer to twenty so it's pleasing to see the numbers steadily on the rise."
Tander and Elliott have since moved on to bigger and better things, Tander having well and truly established himself as a V8 Supercar ace, and Elliott earning himself a drive in the Fujitsu V8 Development Series with the Ford Rising Stars program after being crowned Formula Ford champion in 2005.
"I believe in going through the ranks and taking the proper steps to progress your career to ensure you have ticked all the boxes before making the next step," explains Elliott.
"It surprises me that some of the local WA drivers aren't having a go while the national series is in town because it's a fantastic way to get some experience.
"There is no doubt that I wouldn't have been able to progress to the V8 Development Series if I didn't drive in the Australian Formula Ford Championship where I was able to learn the tracks and learn how to go about preparing for a race meeting."
Western Australia will still have strong ties to the Formula Ford paddock when the series arrives at Barbagallo next week, with fourteen students from the Engineering School of Edith Cowan University (ECU) set to lend a helping hand to the category throughout the weekend.
"The course is in Motorsport Engineering, it is the first such degree course in Australia and models the very successful similar courses run by several universities in the UK," explains Course Liaison John Hurney.
"The students are really looking forward to their involvement next weekend.
"I believe they will get some insight into the challenges faced by professional race teams and let them get up close and personal with serious, national championship level motor racing - which is ultimately where many of them want to work."
Locally based Fastlane Racing Driver School, in which both Tander and Elliott ran with when they won their Australian Formula Ford titles, has traditionally ran cars at National level but this year chose to focus on state level and challenge again nationally in coming years.
Formula Ford schedule Round 2
Friday 23 March
Practice 1 9:35am- 9:55am
Practice 2 11:10am- 11:30am
Saturday 24 March
Qualifying 10:25am- 10:45am
Race 1 12:30pm-12:50pm
(12 laps)
Sunday 25 March
Race 2 9:15am-9:35am
(12 laps)
Race 3 12:10pm-12:30pm
(12 laps)
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