Isaac McNeill claims AU4 opening round after bumper third race at The Bend

TAILEM BEND–Isaac McNeill was the third driver to claim victory in the inaugural round of the AU4 Championship at The Bend, and his consistency over the weekend was rewarded with the overall round victory.

Race winners Harrison Duske and Noah Killion entered the final race separated by only a handful of points, with the finishing order in race three to decide the final standings.

Killion stormed away from pole position, but it was Isaac McNeill who repeated his overtake from race two, progressing from fourth second by turn one and chasing down the leader.

The move paid off five minutes later when Killion began to slow with an issue, and the Volante Rosso driver was in position to take the lead.

The Brisbane-based driver says the issue for his rival coincided with the moment his car came alive.

"As soon as I passed him, after about a lap of two, I was getting a bit of a gap. So, I just thought, keep pushing, get the gap bigger, and get the win."

Meanwhile, Duske was up from seventh to fourth after failing to set a time in the suspended qualifying session, now chasing down Imogen Radburn for a podium finish. The pair also made their way past the Killion's slowing AGI Sport, and now the top three was left separated by less than two seconds.

That didn't last long as McNeill was able to increase his lead and take victory by more than five seconds, marking three teams in three races on the top step of the podium.

"It was a pretty amazing weekend, considering first practice was the first time in this car and at this track, and we were thinking we're like five seconds off," said McNeill.

Radburn put immense pressure on Duske through the final five minutes of the race, making the decisive move into turn one on the final lap to take second place.

McNeill leaves The Bend in the lead of the new championship on 58 points. Duske is second on 53 points after victory in race one, with Radburn on 51 points with a podium in each race. (Drivers will only claim points from their best 12 of 15 races over the season.)

Jensen Marold was the class of the Gen1 field for the third race in a row, dominating the weekend and leaving The Bend on 77 points.

"I really didn't expect this as it's the first time I've hopped in a F4 car," said the 14-year-old.

"Really enjoyed the weekend. The team did a super job, fixing everything, making sure everything is ready-set-go to give me the best possible car for the weekend, can't thank them enough."

The South Australia also revealed he only has a deal to compete in the first two rounds of the young championship. "Hopefully with this performance we can get some more sponsors on board to help me finish off the rest of the season!"

It was a successful start for the new series, an Australian Formula 4 competition running under the AU4 name and managed independently by AGI Sport for the first time. With a different team taking victory in each race, the competition is level, and a high standard has been established by the front-runners.

"It's a pretty good competition, really close in race two and three. Good passing, and the drivers are all pretty clean," reflected round-winner McNeill.

"Looking forward to the rest of the rounds, we'll see if we can carry over what we did today."

The AU4 Championship returns to The Bend for round two from July 12-13.

AU4 Championship - The Bend Race 3 Result

1) Isaac McNeill
2) Imogen Radburn
3) Harrison Duske
4) Cohen Kokotovich
5) Brock Burton
6) Jensen Marold (Gen 1)
7) Koby Wilson (Gen 1)
8) Georgia Morgan
9) Andrew Fitzpatrick (Gen 1)
10) De'argo Stewart (Gen 1)
11) Noah Killion
12) Jesse James Samuels
13) Lawrence Katsidis (Gen 1)
14) Chloe Lane - DNF

AU4 Championship - The Bend Round 1 Standings

Gen 2
1) Isaac McNeill - 58 points
2) Harrison Duske - 53
3) Imogen Radburn - 51
4) Noah Killion - 44
5) Brock Burton - 30
6) Cohen Kokotovich - 20
7) Georgia Morgan - 16

Gen 1
1) Jensen Marold - 77 points
2) Koby Wilson - 54
3) Andrew Fitzpatrick - 45
4) De'argo Stewart - 34
5) Jesse James Samuels - 30
6) Lawrence Katsidis (M) - 18
7) Chloe Lane - 18
8) Nick Filipetto (M) - 6