Angelo Mouzouris has become the 2019 Australian Formula Ford Series Champion at Phillip Island this weekend.
In the 50th year of the prestigious national motorsport category, the 18 year old Melbourne driver etched this name onto an illustrious list of champions that the class has produced.
Mouzouris’ title is the 11th Formula Ford crown for Sonic Motor Racing Services, joining the likes of Will Davison, Jamie Whincup and David Reynolds who have won crowns for the champion team. It is also the team’s fourth Australian Formula Ford title in a row.
Driving his Sonic Mygale, Mouzouris finished fourth in Saturday’s first race before winning a damp Race 2 on Sunday morning, ensuring he could not be beaten with a race to spare.
In the final race of the year, Mouzouris played a sensible role in the race, coming home 11th.
As part of his series success, Mouzouris has won a test drive in a Porsche Carrera Cup car as he looks towards the next step in his career.
Callum Hedge enjoyed a consistent weekend, doing enough to finish third overall in the series. Hedge crossed the line third, fourth and eighth across the three races. The only compromise to his result was a penalty in Race 3 that dropped him to eighth.
Young gun Jay Hansen secured his maiden national-level Formula Ford victory, claiming the Race 3 win. Hansen finished fifth and sixth in the first two races before ripping through the field in the final race of the year to take a memorable victory.
Courtney Prince continued her improving pace, claiming a best place of sixth in the ultra-competitive races.
And as the round doubled as a national and Victorian state round, Sonic team entered a fifth car for Kyle Gurton. He finished third in the state title, completing the round with results just outside the top 10.
NOTE: A post-season penalty has seen Sonic driver Callum Hedge demoted to fourth overall in the 2019 Formula Ford Series standings.
QUOTES & RESULTS
Angelo Mouzouris
#2, Sonic Motor Racing/Pitbox
“It’s awesome to win the Formula Ford title. I’m really stoked and I don’t think it has set in yet,” said Angelo Mouzouris.
“Winning the title means a lot to me. Lots of people who have won this title and have moved onto bigger and better things in their career.
“It’s also awesome for Sonic who have had a lot of great drivers come through the team and win this title. It’s a privilege to have my name alongside those other drivers.
“My highlight was definitely the Winton Supercar round. I was able to take the clean sweep. I just missed out on the pole, but I feel that definitely set me up for the title.
“A big thank you to Sonic Motor Racing Services – Mike and Maria throughout the year. A big thanks to my sponsors and my dad as well for setting me up for this.”
Callum Hedge
#5, Sonic Motor Racing/Contract Flooring
“The weekend was good, pretty consistent, finishing third, fourth and fourth (before the penalty). It was a nice way to finish off the season,” said Callum Hedge.
“We managed to secure third in the championship which is also a good result for us.
“As a whole, the season was too up and down for us. We had some great rounds, but then some really average rounds – negative points at Sundown really hurt us.
“This is definitely the best learning category, so it was great too tick this off my list and continue my career progression from here.”
Jay Hanson
#4, Sonic Motor Racing/AWC Motorsport Academy
“The weekend didn’t start off that well, qualifying eighth, but as we know, the toe plays a big factor here at Phillip Island so we knew we’d be in with a chance for the races,” said Jay Hansen.
“Race 1 was good, finishing fifth. The first race today was wet, so we needed to be careful. I had a clash with Zac Soutar at MG. I fell to 19th and got back to sixth.
“In the last race, with was an awesome race with some of the guys out there. Zac and I pulled away and I was able to come away with the win. It’s great to get my first win at a national level, and a great way to finish the season.”
Courtney Prince
#3, Sonic Motor Racing/Dragway Performance
“It was a solid weekend for me,” said Courtney Prince.
“I was around that seventh, eighth positions. It was challenging being around that mid-pack, always fighting. But there was really good strong battles, and there was some great racing in the last race, so it was a nice way to cap off the year.
“Now, we look toward what next season will bring.”
Kyle Gurton
#77, Sonic Motor Racing
“It wasn’t the best weekend. I qualified 12th overall, which isn’t great, but I understand that I’m still new at Formula Ford, so I’m learning all the time,” said Kyle Gurton.
“I made some mistakes in Race 1 but crawled back in the wet Race 2. It was good to get more experience in those conditions.
“In Race 3, I got a really good start and raced with the guys at the front. I came home 12th, but it was good experience.”
