3 minute read
TOYO TIRES F1600 SERIES
Jake Cowden Wins Closely Fought Battle
ThePrey-versus-Predator scenario has moved from the natural world into the realm of motorsports as demonstrated by the 2022 title chase in the Toyo Tires Formula 1600 Series.
Aboard his No. 2 Brian Graham Racing Piper-Honda was the prey, soft-spoken Californian William Ferguson, while the Britain West Motorsports pack, fronted by series sophomore Jake Cowden, were his pursuers. Ferguson raised eyebrows in the season-opening tripleheader at Shannonville Motorsports Park by taking a pair of checkered flags with Cowden’s No. 66 Mygale-Honda crossing the stripe in a close second place in both instances.
When the Britain West team opted to race in Montreal at the Canadian Grand Prix instead of the second round of the Toyo Tires championship, Ferguson took full advantage, sweeping all three events on the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park circuit to open up a substantial points gap over his nearest rivals.
Recognizing the disadvantage that they now found themselves in, the BWM team refocused with team drivers Cowden, Connor Clubine (No. 6) and guest racer Megan Gilkes (No. 67) taking turns standings atop the podium at Round 3 at CTMP.
The next event saw the tour head to Calabogie Motorsport Park where Ferguson reclaimed his winning form capturing checkered flags in the first two races, while Cowden rebounded with a victory in the weekend finale.
That victory began a streak for Cowden as he then rolled off five race victories over the final six races on the calendar.
On a full-wet track at the season finale at CTMP, the championship was effectively decided in the penultimate contest when Ferguson aquaplaned off of the track and into the turn one tire wall.
“This is the first time I crashed on my own, I simply threw it all away,” admitted a dejected Ferguson, post-race. “To have led the points all season and to end it this way is frustrating. But each race I ran was hard, but fair, and I have learned a lot from my racing in Canada that I can take back home.”
For Cowden, his Toyo Tires season record shows eight race victories coupled with five runner-up appearances, the No 66 Mygale never finishing out of the top five. In the final score, the 18-year-old Aurora, ON driver claimed the 2022 Toyo Tires F1600-A class title by racking up 398 points, with Ferguson concluding the hunt a mere seven points in arrears.
“Throughout this year I tried to put in consistent finishes, trying for the podium every time but not wasting positions on sketchy passes,” explained Cowden. “It helped being a part of a team. We all shared information on track conditions and set up, and at places like CTMP, where the draft is so essential, we all worked together really well.
“The pieces really started to fall in place over the last two weekends. I was working on my physical fitness and really focusing on my concentration, making sure I hit my marks at every corner on every lap. I’m sure that the confidence that I’d built up with the experience I’ve gained this year had a lot to do with this success.”
If the F1600-A title chase was a scenario of the hunters versus the hunted, in the F1600-B division for older model cars was more like a high-speed game of automotive tag.
Over the 18-race campaign, an amazing nine different driver recorded B-Class victories with former champion Craig Willis (No. 99) notching five in just six appearances this year. Veteran Bill Tebbutt was next on the win list riding a record of three wins and seven further podium finishes to emerge on the top the scoring charts when the final points were tallied.
In what turned out to be a four-car battle for F1600-B supremacy, challengers Andrew Mason (No. 32), and Mike Lee (No. 25), both past champions, plus Steve Bodrug (No. 41) all took their turns leading the points, but second and third place finishes in the final two races of the year allowed Tebbutt to put his mark on the season’s scoring charts.
“I have been racing F1600s since 1992, I just took a long time to build up to this moment. I think the secret to this year was anger management,” joked the newly crowned champion. “And a lot of help from the other guys in the paddock.”
A heavy crash in the 2021 season opener sidelined Tebbutt for the year but it allowed the Mississauga, ON driver the opportunity to completely strip down his No. 82 RF90 Van Diemen-Ford for a rebuild.
“I went though the car thoroughly, finding little things that might just have helped this year. This car has never had a ‘ground-up’ before. And I think she liked it.
The talent pool in the ‘B’ class has gotten better and better over the years, I think you can see that by the number of different winners we had this year. The championship was never really on my mind until Labour Day when I won two of the three races and finished second in the other. I began thinking, ‘this might just really happen.”
