Kyle finishes with podium place

Redcliffe racer Kyle Evans says he “loved every moment” of his debut season in the Australian Formula Open (AFO) series.

The 20-year-old took third place in the feature race of Sunday’s final round, of the seven-race series, at Phillip Island in Victoria.

Rain forced drivers onto wet-weather tyres – a first at Phillip Island for Evans, who spent half the session adjusting to the change.

However, he finished well, closing the gap on round winner Ryan MacMillan, who also clinched the 2024 AFO championship.

That left Evans tied on points with Miles Bromley - but Bromley was awarded second for the season on countback, with Evans in third.

“Top three was my goal at the start of the year, so I’m where I wanted to be,” said the Gilmour Racing/KCK Racing Australia driver.

“I don’t really look back, but in racing you give everything out there and I have gained a lot of experience this year.

“I have loved every moment of it .... the highlight was probably winning at Sandown in the first round.”

Evans said he may now take a year off to focus on work, which he has combined with the demands of AFO racing this year.

However, several groups are keen to offer him roles within their teams, so he may still be at meetings and circuits in 2025.

Evans made his debut in the Australian Formula Ford Championships in late 2023 finishing ninth with 20 points after the three-race round at Sydney Motorsport.

His racing career started at the age of nine in karts and at 14 Evans switched to cars in the Hyundai Excel X3 Series.

A year later he was in the Formula Ford Kent and after the disruptions of COVID, joined the national and southern Formula Ford Duratec competition.