Saturday's qualifying session was held in mixed conditions, Sands qualifying in eighth position and later explaining he did not maximise the car's potential when the track was at its fastest.

"Qualifying started with some damp patches on the track, but it was drying as the session progressed," Sands said.

"That meant the fastest times came right at the end of the session and unfortunately I didn't quite nail my final flying lap."

Worse was to come for Sands, who stalled on the start line and fell to last. Not to be deterred, he set about making up positions and gallantly fought his way through the field, climbing all the way up to third.

Alas, Sands' charge came to a grinding halt when the second-placed car spun and into his path, leaving him an innocent victim in a hefty crash and causing significant damage to his Formula Ford.

"I had nowhere to go unfortunately - it was such a shame as the race was going really well up to that point," he said.

The CHE Racing crew worked into Saturday night to repair the damage to Sands' race car and he returned to the track for race two on Sunday morning.

Starting at the rear of the field, he once again staged a fighting drive through the pack before his car ground to a halt with an electrical problem, causing his second DNF in two races.

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A fired-up Sands was eager to salvage a result from his tough weekend in race three and he once again set about making up places, climbing to second place by the finish behind his team mate Tom Sargent.

"The weekend was far from ideal, but it finished on a high note and we were certainly able to demonstrate our speed and overtaking abilities," Sands said.

"A massive thank you to the CHE Racing Team - after Saturday's crash, they worked really hard to repair the damage and the car was just as fast as it had been before the accident.

"There were a lot of positives to take from the weekend, both in terms of our speed and our ability to overtake cars when we needed to."

The final round of the Australian Formula Ford Championship will be held at Phillip Island in a fortnight.

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