Kobi Williams excited for debut Queensland Raceway appearance

Kobi Williams may lead the Formula Ford Stars Series by a considerable margin heading to Queensland Raceway, but enters Round 3 preparing to make his maiden appearance at the circuit.

Williams arrives at Queensland Raceway having just clean-swept the previous round under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park after four spectacular battles with Lachlan Evennett, who is on home turf in the Sunshine State.

The duo raced close yet clean in a superb demonstration of Formula Ford racing and Williams predicts more of the same in Queensland.

“Queensland Raceway I wouldn’t call an easy circuit as it’s quite fast and offers some great overtaking opportunities especially with the slipstreaming effect in Formula Ford, the racing will be super tight just like Sydney,” said Williams

“I’ve never actually driven around Queensland Raceway, so it’s going to be my first time in a week or so.

“I’ll be certainly cutting some laps on the simulator and watching some footage of Formula Ford from there to make sure I hit the ground running without having been to the track.”

Williams has been the class of the field after two rounds having scored seven of the eight victories so far as he holds a 157-point lead from Joe Fawcett in the standings.

The motto Williams has followed this season has been ‘to put it all together’ and this has put him in good stead for his racing so far this year.

“The plan for my fourth year in Formula Ford was just to put it all together, and we’ve got off to a pretty good start,” said Williams.

“I think it’s just a lot of my previous experience in Formula Ford as the racing is very different to many other categories in terms of the drafting and what not playing such a big role. It’s been about putting it all together in the race with no mistakes or crashes and with a level head.”

Sydney was a major tick in following this motto due to emerging from his intense battles with Evennett undamaged and on top of the podium.

“The racing in Sydney was ridiculously close and really enjoyable,” Williams reflected. “I just had to be in the right spots and pick the right places to pass Lachlan to ensure we won all four races, which wasn’t easy to do, so I was stoked to be able to do it.”

There’s pride in the success as well due to Williams’ effort being a family orientated outfit through the involvement of his father in what is a two-car operation featuring Hunter Salvatore as teammate.

“We run a family-based team with myself and dad working on the race cars,” Williams explained. 

“We run not only my entry, but also Hunter Salvatore’s car both out of our home workshop and at the track as well. For any car knowledge or set-up advice we speak to Mike Borland and he is very, very helpful in running the cars in addition to disclosing any information we’re after.”

Where does Williams want to go next? GT racing is an option, but the top prize for winning the Formula Ford Stars Series is a TA2 test, which provides Williams the opportunity he is searching for.

“We’re giving it a red hot crack to win the Formula Ford Stars Series by the end of the year and hopefully we can find some money to go racing something else next year,” said Williams. 

“I’d love to head down the GT route, but we have looked down the TA2/Trans Am and Super2 path, though the budget required is very high.”