The Star: June 15, 2017

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi
Thursday June 15 2017 41
Sport
Armstrong takes out first win
In Brief
• By Gordon Findlater
MARCUS Armstrong’s drive
towards his formula one dream
picked up pace with his first
win in the ADAC Formula 4
Championship at the weekend.
The 16-year-old adapted well
to his first outing at the Red
Bull Ring
in Austria,
dominating
in qualifying
with the
fastest lap
time of 1min
29.954sec.
He then
drove from
Marcus
Armstrong
pole to win
the opening
race of the
weekend – his first victory of
the championship.
“It’s a great feeling to be
celebrating this victory with my
team. I’m obviously dreaming
of the title, but at the moment,
only winning counts for me.
Our car was so fast, I couldn’t
even see what was going on
behind me,” said Armstrong.
He backed up the win with
two solid performances in
the final two races on Sunday,
finishing third in both. The
results mean that he now moves
DEBUT WIN: Marcus Armstrong powers his Prema Powerteam F4 to victory in Austria.
up to third in the championship
standings after three rounds
and is 29 points behind
championship leader and Prema
Powerteam teammate Juri Vips
from Estonia.
The next event in the sevenround
championship will be
held at Oschersleben, Germany,
from July 7-9.
Last year, Armstrong was
picked up by the Ferrari Driver
Academy.
He was in New Zealand over
the summer and competed in
the Toyota Racing Series, which
he finished fourth in.
Armstrong is also currently
competing in the Italian
Formula 4 Championship
with Prema Powerteam and
is currently fourth in the
championship standings after
two rounds.
SCHOOL CROSS-COUNTRY
Ascot Golf Course will host the
National Secondary Schools
Cross-Country Championships
this weekend. Saturday sees the
running of the individual and
school team championship events.
On Sunday, competitors will
race in the regional relay, which
Canterbury dominated last year,
winning four of the six titles and
getting medals in the other two.
St Bede’s College student Nick
Moulai, who broke a nine-year-old
under-17 3000m national track
and field record in December, will
be among the favourites.
SHARPE TAKES OVER AS
COUNTRY CRICKET COACH
Michael Sharpe will return
to the Canterbury Country
Cricket fold next season with
his appointment as coach of
the senior representative team.
Sharpe played most of his cricket
for Sefton, including 50 matches
for the senior team. Following a
playing career that involved 31
first class and 33 one-day games
for Canterbury, he turned to
coaching, which has also involved
time with the Canterbury side
and New Zealand under-19s. He
replaces Shanan Stewart, who as a
player-coach in 30 games, won and
defended the Hawke Cup.