Jayden Ojeda has wrapped up third position in the 2017 Australian Formula Ford Series by finishing second overall in the final round at Phillip Island on the weekend.
After qualifying fifth, some impressive race-craft from Ojeda enabled him to move through to second place at the chequered flag.
In Race 2, Ojeda was again running in the top three before a scary moment over Lukey Heights dropped him to ninth position; he recovered to fourth in Race 3 to secure the runner-up spot for the weekend.
Ojeda paid credit to the Borland team for his excellent series result.
“A big thanks to Mike and Tracey for all their support throughout the year, the Spectrum 015 was a very competitive package as we demonstrated at Sandown by winning two races on the car’s debut,” Ojeda said.
“In the middle part of the season, we lost some points but we finished the season strongly which was encouraging.
“Overall, it was a good season, I learned a lot and had some great battles.”
Team owner Mike Borland said Ojeda had done an impressive job considering his circumstances.
“Jayden was not able to do as much testing as some of his main rivals, so for him to be fighting for race wins and podium finishes in most races and finish in the top three in the points was a job very well done – he certainly has the talent,” Borland said.
A seventh and a pair of sixth-place finishes were enough for Liam McLellan to wrap up the Victorian Formula Ford Championship; he finished ahead of his primary rival Cooper Murray in all three races.
“One of the objectives this weekend was to wrap up the Victorian title which we achieved, and we secured a top-five finish in the national series as well,” McLellan said.
“There was plenty of drama over the weekend but fortunately we were able to steer clear of most of it.”
In his farewell Formula Ford race meeting, Ben Reichstein enjoyed his most competitive weekend at a national level, finishing fifth in Race 2.
“It’s a bit sad it’s all over, but great to go out on such a high note,” Reichstein said.
“I’ve really enjoyed this season, the Borland team has been a very comfortable environment which has brought out the best in my driving.”
Paul Zsidy finished 10th in Race 2 in what he described as his “best-ever Formula Ford race.”
“I was confident in the car, had a great battle with Conor Nicholson for 10th position and ultimately came out on top,” Zsidy said.
Cody Donald also ran inside the top 10 in his return to the category.
While the national Formula Ford series is complete, Borland Racing Developments still has a number of engagements for the remainder of 2017, including the non-championship Formula Ford races at the Island Magic race meeting in November.
