February 27, 2018

 

The Red Arrow drivers scored two podiums and won race one, while McKinlay's Osvaldo Angelone emerged victorious after an exciting race two as the Career Ladder's entry series saw its first night of action.
It was a crowded night in Melbourne, with 32 cars lining up on the grid for the opening race of the season. New drivers, new teams - the fare you'd come to expect from the Formula Challenge. And yet so much anticipation for what was to come.

Chris Shepherd sealed pole position, 0.235 ahead of Butcher. Third was Philipp Koenig of Bluvos TR Motorsport, with Ivan Leonov of Cenobite completing the top two rows.

Race One saw poleman Shepherd barged off the podium by a grid penalty, going on to finish in fourth, while Red Arrow's Butcher held off all threats to claim his third overall Formula Challenge win. Adrian Campfield put STAX on the podium in second, while Koenig maintained position and finished less than half a second behind.

The partially-reversed grid Race Two saw a lot more action - of the chaotic kind - as drivers jostled for position throughout the field. It was Osvaldo Angelone's turn to finish in front as the Colombian found a reply to everything Butcher had to throw at him. Koenig claimed another third, while behind them Mateusz Ziubinski climbed 21 places to finish in P7.

The results of the first races see Butcher open a nine-point lead in the championship ahead of Angelone. Koenig is third, a further four points adrift.

Red Arrow Racing leads McKinlay Engineering by 11 points in the Teams' Championship with STAX Racing, scoreless in race two, in third.

Full results

Re-live broadcast: