Hedge to Contest Full Aussie FF1600 Championship with Sonic

Hedge to Contest Full Aussie FF1600 Championship with Sonic

Fifteen year old Callum Hedge - new Overall and Rookie champion in the New Zealand Toyota 86 Championship and the youngest ever New Zealand Formula Ford Champion in the 2017-2018 season - has been confirmed for a full season of Australian Formula Ford with iconic team Sonic.

Hedge, who secured his latest title at Hampton Downs over last weekend, will join Angelo Mouzouris, Jay Hansen and Courtney Prince in a four car effort from the category's most successful ever team.

Sonic Motor Racing Services was founded by Michael Ritter in 1998 with a list of champions that reads like a Who's Who of Australian motor racing. Will Davison was champion for the team in Formula Ford in 2001, Jamie Whincup in 2002, David Reynolds in 2005, Tim Blanchard in 2007, Nick Percat in 2009, Cameron Waters in 2011 and Anton De Pasquale in 2013. It's also run in V8 Supercars, in Australian GT and in the Carrera Cup.

Ritter is excited about the prospect of fielding one of New Zealand's hottest young racing prospects, especially given his championship winning record in New Zealand Formula Ford.

"There's no question he's an outstanding talent and people are becoming more and more aware of him over here in Australia," he explained. "He's dipped his toes in the water here in Formula Ford in the past but this of course will be a full championship effort. He's got some tough team mates and it will be very competitive in a field which is likely to exceed 20 cars, but we're all very excited to have Callum in the team and looking forward to seeing him put his prodigious speed and skill set to work over here."

Hedge - who will be backed by Contract Flooring, Racer Products and CHR - will race the Mygale SJ11 chassis that was used to secure the Australian title by Leanne Tander in 2016 and more recently last season by Hunter McElrea. It has undergone some development in the off-season by Sonic and will be tested by Hedge at Winton next Friday and at the same venue the following week.

Callum himself is looking forward to a fresh challenge and is aiming to continue an impressive winning run that has seen him successful in Formula Ford, Ssangyongs and Toyota 86s so far.

"I'm pretty excited right now having won the Toyota title and being less than a month away from racing again," he said. "I love Formula Ford and I am enjoying every lap of my racing at the moment so it can't come along soon enough. Sonic are just one of the all-time greats in the Formula Ford category and in the sport in Australia and I really couldn’t be going to a better place for the campaign. I'll be giving it my best from the word go."

The 2019 Championship begins at the Sydney Motorsport Park over the weekend of April 6th and 7th.

2019 Australian Formula Ford Championship

Round 1: 6-7 April at Sydney Motorsport Park
Round 2: 4-5 May at Queensland Raceway
Round 3: 25-26 May at Winton (Supercars)
Round 4: 22-23 June at The Bend
Round 5: 20-21 July at Sandown
Round 6: 7-8 September at Wakefield
Round 7: 28-29 September at Phillip Island

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