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McDougall returns to Formula Ford

Wes McDougall Spectrum Formula Ford

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: March 14, 2024

Former Supercars race-winning engineer Wes McDougall will make a comeback to Formula Ford Australia at the Bathurst opener.

More than two decades after first being part of the category, McDougall returns to his roots by rejoining the Borland Racing Developments (BRD) Spectrum team.

After helping Mark Winterbottom in the 2002 Formula Ford season with BRD, McDougall spent a long time at Stone Brothers Racing working with the likes of Marcos Ambrose, Russell Ingall, James Courtney and Shane van Gisbergen.

He remained at the team as it moved into the Erebus Motorsport era before moving to Matt Stone Racing.

McDougall then spent some time at Triple Eight Race Engineering, partnering Jamie Whincup in his final full-time Supercars season, while he also worked on the Craig Lowndes wildcard.

But in 2024 he will be back at BRD and hopes to use his decades worth of experience to good use at Mount Panorama.

“It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than 20-years since I worked in Formula Ford and with Mike,” McDougall said. 

“Formula Ford and Mike were pivotal in helping me learn motorsport and practical engineering in my formative years, and I cannot wait to help the drivers and team out once again.

“I hope that my experience over the subsequent years can aid the BRD drivers at Bathurst, as well as in their future endeavours.”

Team member Michael Borland believes McDougall will be a great asset at the season opener.

“It’s a great fit having Wes returning to work with us,” said Borland.

“The last time Wes and I teamed up at Bathurst was running Mark Winterbottom in a Spectrum in 2002, qualifying on Pole, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what Wes can bring to our team now with his vast Bathurst experience.

“Added to that synergy is that a number of our drivers now utilise Wes’ The Complete Race Driver online course, so it’s a great chance to reinforce the lessons on track.”

The 2024 Formula Ford Australia season begins at the Bathurst 6 Hour on March 29-31.

There’s lots more loaded into a bumper edition of AUTO ACTION magazine, on sale at newsagents and available digitally here.

For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.

On the latest RevLimiter podcast … F1 was another snoozefest, but everywhere else the action was hot. 

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