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Jacob Douglas makes gains at Teretonga in South Island F1600 Championship
Kartsport champion Jacob Douglas continues to make gains after competing in the fourth round of the 2020/21 South Island Formula Ford Championship at Teretonga Park in Invercargill over the weekend.
Three top-five finishes were ample reward for the rookie driver competing in his second single-seater competition along with some key experience only obtained from racing.
“It was pretty good,” commented Douglas. “Our main goal was to keep up and get onto the back of the top guys, James (Penrose), Jack (Noble-Adams), Zac (Christensen), and Ethan (Anderson).
“We did that and edged closer over the weekend. I’m learning heaps from them and particularly had a good battle with Ethan.”
It was the second time competing at Teretonga for the Jacob Douglas Motorsport team which tested the car last Thursday ahead of the event.
“Friday’s practice sessions were quite short, so it was hard to get into a rhythm,” said Douglas. “Unfortunately, I went off into a gravel trap, so we lost time.
“That didn’t help as we lost valuable track time and it shook my confidence. We qualified sixth (on Saturday) and looking back I should have pushed harder.”
Sunday saw three races spread over the day, with Douglas finishing in fifth and two fourth placings.
“We had three good races. I had some really good starts and felt better and more confident in the car. I was driving it rather than it was driving me.”
The final 12-lap Feature race came with a twist for all 20 cars on the grid. As the start lights went out, it began to rain on a field with a dry ‘set-up’.
“That was a surprise and meant that I had to adapt to the conditions with little grip, but it was the same for everyone. I’ve got lots of wet weather experience from kartsport, but that is completely different.
“Sitting in fourth I was able to make a pass for third, but the race was red-flagged (stopped) as a result of a crash. This put me back to fourth as results are taken from the preceding lap.”
“I feel good about the weekend. We came into it with some key goals and came out with more experience.”
The Jacob Motorsport team has a quick turnaround with the fifth round of the series at Timaru International Raceway over 30-31 January.
Jacob Douglas Motorsport
Rnd 3, 2020/21 South Island Formula 1600 Championship – Review
Rnd 3: 5-6 December 2020, Teretonga Park Raceway, Invercargill
7 December 2020
Strong and solid debut for Douglas in South Island Formula 1600 champs
Christchurch’s Jacob Douglas has made a solid start to his single seater career, debuting in the 2020/21 South Island Formula 1600 Championships at Teretonga over the weekend. A podium placing in his opening race, third overall in Class 2 and wining the Driver of the Weekend award was ample reward for both driver and team.
“Pretty good for my first race weekend,” commented Douglas. “I enjoyed it a lot. We ticked a lot of boxes - driving in the wet, safety cars, race starts and restarts, battling with other drivers.
Having recently returned from competing internationally in kartsport, Douglas has been testing a Formula Ford in preparation for the season and was comfortable with the reality of actual racing.
“It’s definitely different to practice. There is plenty of pressure from those around me, so it was important not to make mistakes, being as consistent as I can and qualifying with a good lap.
While the weekend’s three races were all in the dry, Saturday morning qualifying was the opposite.
“It was wet for qualifying in the rain but ended up all right considering.
“Overall we had good starts as this helps with momentum to build on in the race, getting confidence with the car and those around me and the racing itself.”
Having qualified fifth fastest, in the first race of the weekend Douglas positioned himself well to take advantage when the opportunity arose to move up to third place, which he did, taking a podium finish.
The second race on Sunday morning saw him finish in fifth after a solid race.
In the third 12-lap feature race, initially Douglas dropped back to seventh from fifth on the grid but quickly moved up one place to sixth. With a considerable gap to fifth placed Cameron Freeman, he then set about chasing the position down.
“Lucky it was a 12-lap race as it gave me more time to reel him in. I just had to do the best I could without any mistakes and eventually
I got there and got in front of him but kept having a battle in the last few laps.”
Key to both the car and driver performance, technician Andy Neale was more than happy with the weekend.
“I guess you would describe it as a solid debut,” Neale said. “He made a few small mistakes but as a learning process it was massive.
“A really good foundation now to come back in January and have another go. He has got a really good feel for where he is at. We have a good feel for what we can now work on relative to the front runners. A very good weekend for us all.”
Douglas and his crew now take a well-earned break from racing over the Christmas/New Year period before returning to Teretonga Park again for the series’ fourth round 16-17 January 2021.
“It’s been a great meeting and I’m looking forward to coming back here in January. Hopefully we can get some more testing at home before then.”
2020/21 South Island Formula 1600 Championship Calendar
Rnd 1: 31 Oct-1 Nov 2020, Mike Pero Motorsport Park, Ruapuna, Christchurch
Rnd 2: 7 November 2020, Timaru International Raceway, Timaru
Rnd 3: 5-6 December 2020, Teretonga Park Raceway, Invercargill
Rnd 4: 16-17 January 2021, Teretonga Park Raceway, Invercargill
Rnd 5: 30-31 January 2021, Timaru International Raceway, Timaru
Rnd 6 27-28 March 2021, Mike Pero Motorsport Park, Ruapuna, Christchurch