News
PRESS RELEASE – Leeds leads a triple treat of race wins for AGI Sport
Returning Formula 4 driver Luis Leeds has clinched the opening round of the 2019 CAMS Payce Australian Formula 4 Championship with a race one win and a second in race three.
The results gave him enough points to take the lead in the championship ahead of Ryan Suhle and Lochie Hughes.
“There was a lot of pressure in the lead up to the event. I knew being my second full year in in Australian Formula four that I had to deliver and that’s what I did,” Leeds said.
“The team gave me a great car and and it handled perfectly all weekend especially throughout qualifying and that how I was able to have good track position in all the races.
“I love the track and I think it suits my driving style, always prioritising the exits because they are such long straights so hopefully I’m here more often,” Leeds continued.
The final race was the only non-safety car race of the weekend and Leeds couldn’t quite catch team mate and last year’s champion Jayden Ojeda.
“From here we work on areas we need to improve… obviously I didn’t quite have the race pace in that last one so I need to sit down and analyse why so that I’m getting faster and faster each round this season and win the championship,” Leeds said.
Last year’s champion was proud to wear the number one and said racing at the GP was a huge kick.
“It’s everything that every kid dreams of so really stoked to be here,” Ojeda said.
Ojeda had battled a bad start in race one and some contact with a team mate in race two resulted in a DNF for the Sydney-bred racer.
“The weekend didn’t start out as we would like, we had a good qualifying session but obviously race one and two didn’t go as planned but luckily we finished on a high with the race win,” Jayden said.
He had plenty of thanks for the team and his sponsor Anthony Mansell who provided the car for the weekend.
“ A big thank you to AJM Transport and AGI Sport for making the weekend happen,” Ojeda said.
Victorian driver Antonio Astuti made it a clean sweep of races for the AGI Sport team with a win in race two.
Antonio took advantage of an incident between Ojeda and Josh Smith to charge to the front of the pack before claiming the race win from Thomas Smith.
“I’m in love with the circuit, it proves for some awesome racing, especially with these cars you’re able to race really close and really fast and over every inch of track and I’m sure it’s as exciting on TV as it is in the cockpit. The cars have been awesome and the team have been really good, I’ve been able to push to the limits as a driver and in race two achieve a good result,” Antonio said.
Unfortunately Astuti was unable to back up for another win in race three after an incident with Josh Smith relegated him to fifteenth place.
“Definitely hit that high with the race two win around here at the Grand Prix is something very special and it was awesome. Today’s race didn’t quite go as expected we had good speed but there was plenty of variables including a team mate. Unfortunate, very disappointing but I’m looking forward to the next round with a much better performance,” Antonio said.
Formula Ford graduate Jackson Burton managed to come to grips with the track quickly enough to manage a fourth place finish in his first ever Formula Four race.
“First race weekend was quite amazing to be on the Aus GP circuit. Had a good result in place one but not so good in race two with the safety cars. It was pretty hectic but overall a good weekend,” Jackson said.
He took to the track and atmosphere with little trouble.
“I didn’t feel like I was under too much pressure, I took it seriously but I just went on track and did what I had to do. It was easy to focus on what I had to fix on track to improve. The car is quite difference to my Formula Ford, they’re easy and fun to drive so the racing was good,” Burton said.
Rounding out the AGI Sport five car team was ex-BRM driver Josh Smith who was excited to steer at the iconic street race.
“The track is unreal, the names that have driven here, Michael Schumacher still has the record from 2004 so you get guys like that who have raced here and won here and it’s a real privilege to get to race at the same track,” Josh said.
Unfortunately his weekend ended with a five second penalty after a ill-thought out move on team mate Antonio Astuti dashed both their hopes.
“Qualifying wasn’t too bad I got seventh and sixth but from there it just went downhill. Race One finished eighth, just lacked a little bit of pace. Race Two I had a little bit of a coming together with Jayden unfortunately punctured his tire and bent my front wing and had little to no downforce so went off the track because of that,” Josh said.
“Race 3 got off to a decent start, was coming in sixth most of the race and then unfortunately I went for a silly move on my team mate Antonio and locked a front left because I touched the grass and lost control really ruined both our races, really not what I want especially on a team mate,” Josh said.
The trio of winning drivers all managed a good haul of championship points to kick start their championship tilt but there’s still a lot of racing to be done with double rounds for most of the remaining race weekends.
The 2019 CAMS Payce Australian Formula 4 Championship returns to Sydney Motorsport Park in May 17-19.
PRESS RELEASE – Ojeda wins – AGI Sport claims back-to-back Formula 4 Championships
Jayden Ojeda has wrapped up the 2018 CAMS PAYCE Australian Formula 4 Championship with one race to go at the final round in New Zealand.
“Yeah – it’s a good feeling – still hasn’t sunk in yet – it’s hard to take in right now but I think it will set in as I think about it,” Jayden said after the race.
Ojeda came from fourth place in a disaster ridden reverse grid race two to finish 1-2 with team mate Ryan Suhle and wrest the championship from his grasp.
Heavy rain overnight had left the track a little wet in places and both Jayden and Ryan were lucky to escape the first lap unscathed.
“There was a bit of carnage at the start, it was a little crazy, ended up run off the road with a little dirt on the tyres but I was happy with that,” Ryan said.
“Jayden really deserves this championship, I’m happy with another 1-2 and how it all went.”
Ojeda has been dominant throughout the season with numerous clean sweep race weekends but even he had to contend with some tricky slides through the first sector as he made his way to the lead from P4.
“There were a few people into a little bit of water so the cars were going all over the place. All I was thinking about was just making sure I didn’t collect someone or get collected, a few times I saw cars coming close but we got through it all and it just came down to qualifying laps between Ryan and myself to keep the gap,” Jayden said.
Teammate Ryan Suhle was right behind him as they made their way past front runner and 2018 Rookie of the Year Lochie Hughes.
“Got a run onto the back straight, I lined him up in the slipstream and I was watching my lights and getting all the shifts right,” Ryan said.
“Whoever braked later was going to get it and thankfully that was me.”
“I had to get past Lochie as quickly as possible because you don’t want to end up at the end of the race thinking what if… could I have caught Jayden? It gave me an opportunity to try and chase down Jayden but unfortunately just couldn’t do it,” Ryan said.
AGI Sport team mate Ardie Jonic was also happy to make it through the race with no damage.
“I got a pretty bad start in the second race, the pack went a bit crazy at the start and there were a couple of people off the track, a couple locked up but I made my way through pretty successfully and I was really happy with how it went, stamina hasn’t been a problem and I’m happy with the weekend overall,” Ardie said.
“P7 is one of my best finishes but I can do better and I will do better so I’m really looking forward to the future and getting a whole lot more comfortable with the car and becoming a better driver in general.”
Antonio Astuti from Astuti Motorsport joined the AGI Sport garage for the final New Zealand round after a diary clash meant his father couldn’t run the car.
“Stayed out of trouble somehow – that race was full of carnage but kept our nose clean and the car came out of it alright,” Antonio said.
“Didn’t quite get the final position we wanted so we will have a look at the data and hopefully move forward in the next race.”
With the championship sewn up Ojeda could relax for the final Sunday race, he managed a great start to get out the front and hold off team mate Ryan Suhle for yet another AGI Sport 1-2 finish.
Thoughts are already turning to what comes next for Ryan and Jayden in their motorsport careers.
“I’ll do the Bathurst 12 hour at the start of the year and then if we enjoy that we will figure out what to do for the rest of the year,” Ryan said.
“For next year we are still not sure, we get a few tests days for winning the championship so we will see if anything comes of that. It will come down to budget obviously so we will see what doors we can open and what opportunities we can create,” Jayden said.
The AGI Sport team and drivers will celebrate Sunday night at the end of year awards dinner in Auckland and then enjoy a well deserved rest before deciding what’s next in 2019.
PRESS RELEASE – Ojeda finds a triple treat in Sydney
Jayden Ojeda has proven himself the most dominant Formula 4 driver ever of the Australian Championship by clean sweeping another round to take his total race win haul to twelve races in a season.
The Sydney-sider took advantage of his home track knowledge to steer to the front of every race despite not qualifying first in any of the races.
“We had a great weekend with three wins and clean sweeping the round. Ryan had a lot of pace but it was just a bit unfortunate the first two races, he made it a second that final race which is a great result for AGI Sport with a 1-2 finish,” Jayden said.
Team mate Ryan Suhle topped both practice sessions and secured pole positions in Races One and Three but found himself fighting for every single championship point with two amazing drives through the field.
In Race One an unlucky over-rev at start saw the car hit limp mode, by the time Ryan restarted he was at the back of the ten-car pack but a blistering drive saw Ryan pick off rivals one-by-one to finish third with some handy points.
Starting third in the reverse grid Race Two Ryan got off to a good start only to run into trouble in the first lap.
“Coming through Corporate Hill just sort of had to have a bit of a crack and got a bit of aero wash on the front wing and it was my fault,” Ryan explained.
“Just sort of come onto the throttle a bit too much with the wash a little bit too hard for cold tyres.”
“You know you’ve got to have a bit of a go if you want to be fast on cold tyres and unfortunately just dropped a wheel of on the worst place to drop a wheel off on this track and just spun me around and sent me backwards down towards the hairpin,” Ryan explained.
However Ryan got straight back into the zone and climbed back up to a fourth place finish.
Rookie driver Ardie Jonic managed his best ever race finish with a P7 in the final race of the weekend.
“It was kinda like a break through feeling after working so hard all weekend trying to get the car right and especially trying to get my driving right,” Ardie said.
“So this gives me a lot of confidence going into New Zealand hopefully be at the same level that I am here at New Zealand or higher.”
The young driver is using his rookie season as a massive learning curve making the jump from Speedway to circuit racing with the support of his grandfather.
That’s meant a lot of time working with his engineer to fine-tune the car and adjust his driving to the different tracks of a national competition.
“Phillip Island was really fun because I was with the pack and it was only my first or second race,” Ardie said.
“But Sydney is a tough track, it’s hard on your arms and shoulders and neck because it’s so high speed.”
Jayden Ojeda goes into the final round with a healthy championship lead and knows he has a lot of people to thank for the opportunity.
“To get those 12 race wins is just unbelievable, I just can’t thank all my sponsors enough. SMS Diesel OE Germany, Kaato, Sakura Filters, Engine Sensors Australia and Pure Traveller, my family and their massive support and Martin who does a lot behind the scenes, I wouldn’t be here without them,” Jayden smiled.
The championship heads across the ditch for the final round, stamping the passports to New Zealands Pukekohe track which means it’s back to a level playing field for all the Australian drivers.
“I know myself and Ryan will be in at EurOz sometime in the next couple of weeks just getting a bit of sim practice because that is the best and closest thing we are going to get to racing on the actual track,” Jayden said.
Ardie Jonic is also going to use the downtime between races to study the track through a simulator.
“I will be on my Xbox trying to figure out the track – I’ll be playing Xbox for racing purposes only!”
The 2018 CAMS PAYCE Australian Formula 4 Championship will be decided at Pukekohe November 2-4.
PRESS RELEASE – Suhle wins first race for AGI Sport in 2018
AGI Sport has won its first race for the 2018 Australian Formula 4 season after Ryan Suhle stormed home with a five second lead in race two.
Race two is traditionally a reverse grid start with the top five of the R1 finish order flipped this weekend. Jayden Ojeda was starting P2 with team mate Ryan Suhle coming out of P4.
Both boys nailed their starts and fought out the first three laps in a close 1,2 battle until electrical issues brought Ojeda’s race to a premature end.
“There was an electrical issue of some sort. It just lost power when I shifted up to fifth gear on the third lap before the hair pin so a bit disappointing,” Ojeda said.
“I think the positive from the race was I got better start that I did in race one so we will take that into race three and see what we can do from there.”
This left Ryan Suhle out the front of the pack with top rival Cameron Shields boxed up behind a BRM teammate. By the time Shields got round for second place Suhle had built up a comfortable five second lead and was never going to be reeled in.
Suhle was delighted to be on the pace so early.
“It was an awesome feeling to win my first race, not just for AGI Sport but also for the year as well,’ Suhle said.
“We had one race win last year but it was in the middle of the season so I think it’s good to get it early and it shows we are better off this year.”
“We’ve got more pace and I’ve got more race craft, to win the second race gives me real confidence to go into the end of the year,” Suhle said.
Suhle qualified just 0.002 seconds behind pole-sitter Cameron Shields for the final race of the weekend but thinks he can turn that to his advantage.
“I really do think the inside line through (turn) one is where you want to be. In both races P2 has gotten in front of the pole-sitter and for me I’d rather start P2 and I think I’m in the ideal seat going in to the first lap,” Suhle said.
Ojeda is also hoping to put the electrical issues behind him and get his head down for race three.
“It’s my first year of Formula Four so it’s going to be quite difficult because I haven’t had the experience of say Cameron Shields and Ryan Suhle but I feel like I’m doing alright at the moment so keep plugging at it,” Ojeda said.
“We are in this for a championship so I always have the championship in the back of my mind, obviously still very early days so not over-thinking it at the moment.”
Race three to come at 15.55 AEST live on Fox Sports Channel 506 ahead of Round 2 at Phillip Island in June.
PRESS RELEASE – AGI Sport wins championship in Paradise
AGI Sport driver Nick Rowe realised his championship dreams in the final round of the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship on the streets of Surfers Paradise.
The Western Australian driver claimed an unassailable points lead in the first race of the weekend with a third place finish after two full seasons in the series and a couple of races in the inaugural championship.
“Can’t thank the boys enough, been a lot of hard work over the past three years and now we are the Champions, looking forward to tonight,” Nick smiled.
Nick also won the round with a first place in a drenched race two and a hard fought second place in what will be his final race in Formula 4.
The rain had cleared to bright sunshine for the Sunday race and Nick was looking forward to driving without the pressure of championship points.
Saturday pacesetter Simon Fallon and Kiwi driver Liam Lawson weren’t going to make it easy for him though and the pressure was on from the start.
“I’d gone out there to really enjoy it cos the championship is over and got an alright jump had to bomb it into turn one to get past Fallon,” Nick said.
“Put my head and got a bit of a gap and then the safety car of course put them all back together. We didn’t have the best restart, they managed to stick in my tow and then I made a mistake down at turn 12 and lost the rears and that gap closed up a lot,” Nick continued.
“At the Beach Chicane I made another mistake trying to get away from Lawson and then he got past me just. Real good race… almost got him back at turn one on the final lap but he just outbraked me. Awesome race… awesome race,” Nick said.
Newcastle driver Sage Murdoch was disappointed after failing to qualify on Friday. The rookie also found the unforgiving street circuit daunting in the wet but enjoyed the experience by the final race.
“It’s a good track, very bumpy and it was hard to find time out there. Found it in the end, fifth quickest I think,” Sage said.
“The street circuit is very greasy, found a wall in the first race, second race kept it clean and I think I finished eighth.”
The young driver was also full of praise for his teammates championship win and his generosity of knowledge.
“I cant thank Nick enough, he’s basically taught me all I know , he’s been really good,” Sage said.
Best Leisure Industries driver Zak Best also found the Surfers streets challenging managing to get inside the top ten for the weekend and the championship.
“Yesterday in the wet we were battling for sixth, seventh and eighth. We ended up sixth in the second wet race and 9th in the first one,” Zak said.
The Benalla-based driver managed to keep off the walls and finish with an unscathed car and he enjoyed the street racing.
“Beach chicane is probably the most challenging part of the street circuit otherwise the track is pretty good,” Zak said.
The team finishes up the season with a championship dinner and will immediately start testing 2018 drivers next week.
To hear more about the 2018 championship or to book a test drive please email Team Principal Adam Gotch on adam@agi-group.com.au.
PRESS RELEASE – Rowe takes the Aussie F4 Championship
Nick Rowe has secured the 2017 CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship in soggy conditions at the Gold Coast.
The 19-year-old managed to qualify pole position in dry conditions on the Friday but it was a different story on the Saturday morning waking to grey skies, showers and water on the track.
Nick was fully focused though knowing he could get the job done by the end of the first race.
“As long as I beat Shields (Cameron) in the first race I’d get the championship, 52 points ahead and 25 points for a race win so just tried to focus on beating him and as long as I beat him then it was all over”.
There were a few nail biting moments at the start of the race as Nick was relegated first to second place by Simon Fallon and then to third as Liam Lawson went through the inside.
“Started pole, just trying to get a good jump. Couldn’t get the best jump, settled into third and then couldn’t really take much of a risk, boys came over the radio and said Shields was down the back, run off… so I just dropped off for the championship,” Nick said.
And then it was just head down and try and hold his place.
“For the last lap, got a bit emotional coming into the beach chicane, got it together and finished it off,” Nick continued.
The championship comes at the culmination of a difficult year with both Nick’s father and grandfather facing health issues.
Grandpa John was at the Gold Coast to watch his grandson win the championship despite suffering a cardiac arrest on the dummy grid at the previous race in Sydney. It was touch and go for a while with paramedics having to restart his heart followed by major surgery.
“This championship means everything, everything I’ve ever done I’ve never won an Australian title so yeah, for my family to be here and everything Adam’s done for me and all the AGI boys who have been in F4 since the very beginning and seen how far it’s come and what we are capable of now is a great feeling and they’ve worked so hard and I think the emotion has showed now,” Nick finished.
AGI Sport congratulates Nick Rowe on his hard work and the championship win. We are looking forward to seeing what the next chapter brings for this Australia Champion.
PRESS RELEASE – Nick Rowe leading F4 Championship
Phillip Island is known as a driver’s track and with good reason. This weekend the race leader didn’t always win the race with a number of incidents and penalties deciding the round result and giving the championship advantage to AGI Sport’s Nick Rowe.
The weekend proved challenging from the outset. Despite posting fast times in practice a couple of missed opportunities in qualifying relegated the AGI Sport drivers further back then usual for the opening race of the weekend.
With only four points between Nick Rowe and championship leader Liam Lawson from New Zealand every single race of the weekend was going to count in the points tally.
Nick Rowe started race one from P8 on a dry track and took every advantage he could to gain places eventually finishing just behind rival Liam Lawson.
“We come forward in the race to finish fourth and had some more battles out there with Tyler (Everingham) and a couple of moves outside of Honda and the one outside of Lukey Heights was awesome,” Nick said.
Sage Murdoch was starting to have some great pace when a fuel pressure issue put his race to rest while Zak Best was coming to grips with putting his sectors together and finished further back then he would have liked.
Race 2 on the Saturday afternoon was a reverse grid for the top five. Nick Rowe started P2 and immediately jumped to the lead and pulled out a two second advantage.
The West Australian then put his head down and was making significant gains on the rest of the field when an incident between Ryan Suhle and Cameron Shields took both drivers off the track.
The hold-up cost Nick his gap and a controversial restart saw the AGI Sport team lodge a protest.
“Unfortunately there was a safety car and there was a bit of a debacle and I’m pretty sure Liam (Lawson) passed me before the start/finish line,” said Nick.
Despite finishing third Nick managed to get enough points to jump ahead of championship leader Liam Lawson who copped a 5 second penalty for his restart misdemeanour while Ryan Suhle wore a hefty thirty second penalty for his move on Cameron Shields
The time penalties also propelled AGI Sport/Racesah driver Sage Murdoch to his best result yet with a handy fourth place.
The young driver from Newcastle was happy with his result.
“I had some pace, I needed it at the start but I had it at the end so I just tried to get as fast as I could around the track and I got it at the end. “
“Phillip Island is tough, you’ve got to really keep pace through the corners and you can’t really make a mistake because you’re either into the rubber or just slow,” Sage said.
AGI Sport drivers were picking up the pace with the cars proving first, second and fourth fastest on the track during race two with Best Industries Zakkery Best posting some of his fastest times of the weekend towards the end of the race.
Race three was marred by a huge shunt when Aaron Love slid across the grass and ended up taking Sage Murdoch off the track and shuttled him into a gravel trap.
“I thought I had passed Lovie but he just tagged me a little bit and I hit the gravel trap and I flipped,” Sage said.
“It’s just a race incident, there was nothing Lovie could do on the grass.”
‘I got a bit more experience in the car this weekend and more experience on the track and I’m finding a lot of confidence in the overtaking so I can bring that to the next one,” Sage finished.
Nick Rowe also found the grass a few times as light rain made the track super-slippery into the safety car restart.
“I got a mega- restart got up to about third straight away and then I just broke on the white line and in the wet you never break on the white line.”
‘You live and you learn but we’ll be right, we will be back again at the next round,” Nick opined.
Race winner Liam Lawson was penalised 30 seconds for overtaking under yellow flags and relegated to last place giving Nick Rowe the championship lead.
The CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 championship will now take an eight week break before returning at Queensland Raceway in Ipswich on July 28-30.
AGI Sport adds a third driver for the 2017 Formula 4 season
AGI Sport has announced a third driver for the 2017 CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship.
Victorian Zakkary Best has joined Sage Murdoch and Harley Haber in the line-up of the Sydney-based squad having completed a season of Aussie Racing Cars last year.
At 14 years of age Zak was the youngest driver to ever compete in Aussie Racing Cars pulling out a race win at Phillip Island, finishing an impressive 12th in the championship and securing the John Bowe Rising Star Award.
Now 15, Zak brings with him a solid karting background having risen through the ranks of club championships, the Australasian Titles and the Golden Power Series.
Best tested for the team at Wakefield Park last week during his first AGI Sport Formula 4 hit-out of 2017 and quickly came to grips with the Mygale Formula 4 chassis.
“Wakefield is a technical and challenging track and I had to work hard to get a fast lap”, Zak said.
“I had to focus hard on braking and applying enough pressure and I’m still coming to terms with this, the braking point in the F4 is way later than any other race car I have driven”.
“I’m really excited about joining the team and I’m looking forward to learning this season.” Zak said.
AGI Sport team manager Adam Gotch said Best quickly came to terms with the wings and slicks.
“Young Zak was very impressive on his debut at the Goulburn circuit. We are very much looking forward to working with Zak in 2017”, Gotch said.
The Benalla-based driver has raced against many of the 2017 F4 alumni before having turned wheels with Harley Haber in ARC and lined up against teammate Sage Murdoch as well as Zane Morse, Tyler Everingham and Aaron Love in karts.
Zak’s hoping to make driving his career and has clear sights on his ambitions past the launch pad of Formula 4.
“My ambition in motorsport is to be a professional race driver and compete in the Super2 Series followed by the Supercars Championship’. Zak said.
“Although I’m open to competing overseas in endurance races such as Le Mans.”
The first race weekend of the 2017 CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship will be a double-header round at Victoria’s Sandown Raceway on April 7-9.
AGI Sport announces two drivers for the 2017 Formula 4 season
AGI Sport has signed its first two drivers for the 2017 CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship.
Harley Haber has spent the past two seasons in Aussie Racing Cars with a podium finish on the challenging Clipsal street circuit in Adelaide earlier this year.
The 17-year-old also spent two years in junior national light karting with an impressive 21 pole positions and 16 wins from 50 starts.
Harley’s ultimate goal is V8 Supercars, the Sydney-sider says Formula 4 provides him with the best opportunity to get there.
“Working with a team and being in a professional environment are so important. I’m looking forward to getting used to slicks and aero as well”, Haber said.
“I did the test day at Wodonga with CAMS and I love the mechanical grip the car provides along with the brakes. It really rewards smooth and precise driving and I love that.
“I don’t qualify as a rookie unfortunately but I’ve got my heart set on a Top 5 finish or at least one podium if I can”.
The promising youngster was also able to gain major backing for the season from long-term sponsor, CEJN (pronounced sane).
“I wouldn’t be in a position to make the jump to Formula 4 without the on-going support of my major sponsor CEJN which make hydraulic quick connect solutions so huge thanks to them”, Haber said.
Newcastle-based Sage Murdoch is looking forward to his first drive in the car on an upcoming test day in late November.
The 14-year-old is getting a strong jump on his driving career becoming eligible to race just one month before the start of the 2017 season.
The youngster spent 2 years in NSW Karting before graduating to Formula Vee in 2016. He says he has chosen Formula 4 because it gives him the best chance to further his career.
“It’s been my dream ever since I started karting to have a career in open wheeler racing, my ultimate goal is Formula 1’, Murdoch said.
“Having experienced most of a year in Formula Vee experiencing the excitement of open wheeler racing only reinforced my passion.
“When the opportunity came along to move into Formula 4 I decided to make a long-term commitment to make my dreams reality.
“My major sponsor for the season will be Earth Surveying so a big thanks to them and I’m looking forward to announcing more sponsors soon. I am really excited to part of the AGI team for 2017”, Sage said.
AGI Sport Team Principal Adam Gotch was pleased with the signings saying there had been many young drivers on the phone.
“There’s certainly been a huge increase in interest around Formula 4 this season particularly the last few months as we look to lock in drivers for 2017”, Gotch said.
“The 2015 F4 drivers that ventured overseas proved that they could mix it with the best in Europe and the USA which has been great to see.
“The new for 2017 Supercar license points system has also been a great initiative. It gives kids a clear pathway for a professional driving career and it really brings Australian motorsport in line with the rest of the world.
“Australian Formula 4 is really cementing itself as an outstanding opportunity to progress into a professional career as a driver while CAMS and the teams have continued their push to make the series more affordable.
“We look forward to working with some of the most promising young drivers in the country in 2017 and help them on the road to become the next Whincup or Ricciardo”, he continued.
2017 will be AGI Sports third season in Formula 4 having been a part of the series since its inception in 2015. AGI Sport won Rookie of the Year with Will Brown in 2015 and helped Nick Rowe to second place in the 2016 championship. The team plans on running a minimum of four drivers in the 2017 season and will be announcing further signings shortly.
DRIVER TIPS – How do you find sponsor prospects?
You will have greater success if you target your sponsorship appropriately. It is so much easier to sell an idea about racing to a person who already has an interest in motorsport. This will make your job so much easier and it will mean the person you are selling yourself already has some understanding of the benefits of motorsport and what you can offer.
You need to do your legwork and network, network, network. It’s vital to seek these people out, as they will rarely come to you. Everyone you meet is a potential opportunity and if you meet them at the track then chances are they are already a motorsport fan. If you meet them outside of a racetrack then you need to find out if they are a fan.
The old adage, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know applies. You might meet someone who is married to someone who is the brand manager of a company whose CEO has just been to the Bathurst 12 Hour and they are looking to launch a new product. This is a hot lead! This is someone you should get in front of and it is up to you to follow up and follow up and follow up until someone supplies you with an introduction that allows you to make contact.
Everyone you meet is or knows a potential sponsor, so develop the ability to start small talk and ask questions to get to know a person and the people they know and work with. Are any family members business owners and motorsport fans? And then don’t be afraid to ask for an introduction to that person.
Don’t give up on your contacts, follow up, follow up and follow up again. You may have a hot lead but it’s just the wrong timing. The marketing budget may be set yearly and it’s already been earmarked for something else this year. A change in management mean a new opportunity or the business owner is concerned about a huge project and can’t think of anything else until it’s done.
Develop a list of contacts and do exactly that, stay in contact. Research shows people are more inclined to spend money on things and people they know well, so let them get to know you. Send an email to your contact list every few months telling them your latest achievements and what has you excited. Keep them updated on your career. This is a great way to plant seeds for the future because a year or two down the track this person has been watching your journey and suddenly sees an opportunity that fits in with their particular goals.
So put the work into networking for contacts and then keeping those contacts informed. As your career grows you will have more people interested and they will enjoy your updates and following your progress. And one day, when the time is right, they will be able to help you.
