ROWAN SHEPHERD - YOUR 2012/13 CHAMPION

The Weldwell New Zealand Formula First championship is seen by many as the pinnacle of junior motorsport development classes, seeing drivers such as Mitch Evans, Nick Cassidy and Shane van Gisbergen go through the class. The 2012/13 season will be another to go down as a historic season, with the likes of Rowan Shepherd, Ryan Hellier, Oliver Gordon and Taylor Cockerton shining throughout the season. Not to mention, one of the closer rookie battles in recent years, amongst Aaron Marr and thirteen year old Jacob Smith. The final round of the championship would be held at the Taupo Motorsport Park, culminating with the IRC series.

After a mixed bag of a qualifying session, which saw the championship leader Rowan Shepherd take the number one spot, with the driver looking for the slightest error from Shepherd, second placed Ryan Hellier sitting beside him on the grid. Third would go to Oliver Gordon, with Dave Ruthven and Taylor Cockerton filling out the top five.

The first race of the round would be one for the ages for Wanganui’s Aaron Marr, as a determined run from seventh during the eight lap race would see him take the victory. This would be Sabre Motorsport’s first in three years. Michael Shepherd Racing’s Rowan Shepherd would take second overall, all but claiming the title, with Ryan Hellier’s fourth place overall finish – but still only seven hundredths behind. The Safety Step/Scorpion Racecars machine of Tayor Cockerton would take third.

Fifth spot would go to Waiuku’s Cory Holmes, keeping his hopes alive for a top five championship finish. Oliver Gordon, Jacob Smith and Dave Ruthven would be close behind, finish ahead of Dave Scammell and Ian Foster who capped off the top ten.

The second race of the weekend was full of drama from the outset, as just when the Weldwell Formula First class headed on track, there was some precipitation rolling in. In a last minute gamble, the Ardex/All Subaru Partsworld machine of Cory Holmes rolled out on track the only car on wets. Within the first few corners, the confidence level of Holmes in the wet compared to the others around was evident, as the number eight machine would cut his way up to second overall by lap two.

But as the rain halted, the track dried out enough for the non wet tyred machines to grip up and regain their confidence in the circuit, leaving Holmes with a huge target on his back for the remainder of the race. One of those drivers on the rampage was Taylor Cockerton, who had slipped to seventh by the first lap, only to charge his way back to the front pack by the end of the race. With one to go, Cockerton made his move on the group, drafting past then leader Ryan Hellier during the back straight to take the victory. Hellier would sit in second across the line, with Shepherd in third. Cory Holmes would hold on for fourth place overall, with Oliver Gordon taking the fifth spot. Rookie of the year contender and winner of race one, Aaron Marr would slip near the rear of the field early on, but another great drive would see him fire back up the standings before the chequered flag. Marr would finish just behind the 46 machine Dave Ruthven.

The final race of the championship would be a mere formality championship wise, as a near insurmountable advantage set by Rowan Shepherd in the Inov8 machine would mean merely finishing would be good enough. But during the early laps, it was evident that just finishing wasn’t enough, as Shepherd would fight it out with Ryan Hellier during the majority of the eight lap race. The trio of Gordon, Cockerton and Marr wouldn’t be too far behind through the race, creating a five car train, keeping to true Weldwell NZ Formula First style.

In the end though, with the title all but wrapped up, Shepherd held back on the frenetic final lap, leaving the duel to Cockerton and Hellier for the last victory of the season. A resilient Hellier would cross the line one tenth in front of Cockerton for another victory added to his tally, with Aaron Marr making the podium with the third place spot.

But all the plaudits would be saved for the new Weldwell New Zealand Formula First champion, the driver of the MSR/Inov8 machine, Rowan Shepherd.

After a season the began with a seemingly unthinkable mechanical issue causing a heavy early deficit points wise, Shepherd showed the determination and consistency throughout the season to claw back point by crucial point. This determination held true even with when the team reclaimed the series lead late on, withstanding the immense pressure from Ryan Hellier and co during the remainder of the season.

Congratulations from everyone within the Formula First championship.

The 2013 rookie of the year title will be heading to Wanganui this season, as Speedsport Scholarship winner Aaron Marr would claim the advantage over thirteen year old, Jacob Smith.

Despite a late onslaught from Formula First President, Ian Foster, it will be Papamoa’s Ron Carter who will take home the sunset title. The Sunset award, for drivers over the age of 40, was fiercely competed throughout the season, with epic duels between Bob Dillow and Carter epitomising what the award was about. In the end, Dillow and Carter were separated by a mere 45 points, pointing to all out war for the title next season.