Whangarei's Caine Lobb is competing on familiar ground this weekend at Ruapuna International Raceway, where he is hungry for a victory at the annual Formula Ford Festival. Lobb has spent more than a year working as an assistant instructor for the Canterbury Motor Racing School based at the circuit and hascome to know the circuit's layout and secrets extremely well, under tutorage of owner/chief instructor Andrew Neale. Testament to his knowledge gained and skills at the circuit, Lobb managed pole position last year at the festival in his first outing in a Formula Ford and then in November, took first place at the Ruapuna round of the MTA Formula Ford National Championship in his first entry into the series. More recently Lobb came out on top over the off-season and claimed the title for the 2007 Formula Ford Winter Series which was held over four rounds at Feilding's Manfeild Circuit. The series also gave opportunity for Lobb to become more accustomed to the newly built Hydraulink Ford and after showing his strengths there, he has been rewarded with a new engine for the car. The team who run the car are Motorsport Solutions who apparently see Lobb as their top hope for the summer season. This weekend at Ruapuna will attract Formula Ford drivers from around the country as drivers prepare for the MTA Formula Ford National Championship which kicks off next month at Pukekohe. Up for grabs at Ruapuna is a fully paid season in the national championships. Today was spent with drivers and adjusting to the technical circuit with timed practices. There are four sprint races tomorrow.
