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| Formula Ford Championship to go down to the wire |
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| Monday, 04 December 2006 | |
 With just one round remaining, the Australian Formula Ford Championship, like its V8 Supercar brother, has come down to two just drivers, Tim Slade and John Martin. Slade, in the Dexion Van Diemen RF04 holds a slender three point lead over season-long rival Martin, driving the CAMS Rising Star Spectrum 011. The two young stars will have to push themselves and their machines to new levels this weekend in their quest to claim one of the most prestigious motor racing titles in the country. As championship leader, Slade has amassed 261 points over the first seven rounds, including five race wins, two round wins and three pole positions while Martin, on 258 points has amassed six race wins and two round wins as well as that stunning victory on his international debut in the British Formula Ford Championship. With Slade and Martin sharing the front row after qualifying in each of the last three rounds recent form suggests the two will be pushing each other from the moment they hit the track at the fast and flowing 4.446km Phillip Island circuit. As series leader Slade heads into the final round knowing nothing short of his best performance will keep Martin at bay. 
"We've been so close to each other all year there's no doubt it will be
a pretty tight battle for the championship, but if I keep in front of
him this weekend we'll bring it home," Tim Slade said today."We both had a pretty good test there recently so again there'll be nothing in it and I think it will come down to who can keep themselves out of trouble and bring home the points, whoever finishes in front will win the title more than likely." Meanwhile, Martin plans to adopt a similar strategy and will look to keep the Team Sonic driver behind him at all times. "Tim has a small lead at the moment so I just need to make sure I finish in front of him but I'll be going out with the same approach I have had each round and that is to win the round, that's all you can do," John Martin said. "There's a little more pressure on us this round but that is a good thing because it means we are up there battling for a championship, we've been racing each other a fair bit now and it should be a great battle to the end." While the two have come together racing for the lead this year, Slade believes both drivers have too much on the line to throw it away so close to the end. "We've had some great battles this year and Phillip Island will be no different. we've raced each other enough now to know what each other will do and we are both in very similar situations so I think we'll just both be out there going as hard as we can and trying to keep in front of each other." While much of the attention will be on the leading pair, Ashley Walsh, 185 points, and Dale Wood 164 points, will also go head to head in their own battle for third in the 2006 championship. Wood has won two rounds this year since switching to the Mygale chassis mid season and has risen to fourth in the series, while Walsh has shown he can match it with anyone in the series with a number of race wins. A total of 61 points are on offer in the final round and with the top three championship positions on the line, the Phillip Island round shapes as one of the most tense and exciting rounds of the Australian Formula Ford Championship in recent memory. 2006 Australian Formula Ford Championship Schedule Round Eight, Phillip Island, VIC Friday 8 December 1025-1045 Practice 1140-1205 Qualifying Saturday 9 December 1255-1315 Race One Sunday 12 November 0930-0950 Race Two 1410-1430 Race Three Entry list No Driver Sponsor Vehicle Colour 3 Tim Slade Dexion Van Diemen RF04 Blue/White 4 Todd Fiore Russell Landscaping Van Diemen RF04 Blue/White 5 Tim Blanchard Jayair/Sanden Van Diemen RF04 Blue/White 8 Kristian Lindbom CAMS Rising Star Spectrum 011 Red/Wh/Blue 13 James Bergmuller JB Motorsport Van Diemen RF06 Red 15 Grant Doulman Doulman Industries Racing Spirit WL06 Blue 24 John Martin CAMS Rising Star Spectrum 011 Red/Wh/Blue 25 Daniel Cotton Team Showdown Spectrum 011 Black 32 Nathan Caratti Firepower/Fastlane Racing Van Diemen RF04 White/Blue 37 Tony LeMessurier Escalate Management Van Diemen RF06 Red 41 Brad Lowe Anglo Australian Motorsport Spirit WL06 Red/White 42 Samantha Reid Oakley/Chicane/Toshiba Mobile Computers Van Diemen RF03 Red/Black 45 Ashley Walsh VIP Petfoods/Infants Friend/GJ Walsh & Co Van Diemen RF06 Black/Orange 46 Dale Wood Preston Motors Mygale SJ06 Yellow 71 Paul Laskazeski CAMS Rising Star Spectrum 011 Red/Wh/Blue 89 Joshua Scott Kubota Australia Spectrum 011 Orange/White 2006 Drivers Championship points table - After 7 of 8 rounds Driver Name Team Name Chassis Points Tim Slade Dexion Van Diemen RF04 261 John Martin * CAMS Rising Star Spectrum 011 258 Ashley Walsh * VIP Petfoods Van Diemen RF06 185 Dale Wood * Sign Point Van Diemen RF05/Mygale SJ06 164 Tim Blanchard * Jayair Van Diemen RF04 160 Todd Fiore * Russell Landscaping Van Diemen RF04 158 Nathan Caratti Firepower Group Van Diemen RF04 146 Brad Lowe * Lowe Earthmoving Spirit WL06 124 Joshua Scott * Kubota Australia Spectrum 011 121 Paul Laskazeski * CAMS Rising Star Spectrum 011 95 Joel Spychala Mid Coast Ford Spirit WL06 86 Grant Doulman Doulman Industries Racing Spirit WL06 53 Ben Clucas * Team BRM Van Diemen RF06 30 John Mostyn * Interpak Spectrum 011 24 Sam Sewell * VIP Petfoods/Freestone and Kumnick Solicitors Van Diemen RF06 22 Taz Douglas * Caterpillar Used Equipment Van Diemen RF05 14 Samantha Reid * Toshiba Mobile Computers Van Diemen RF03 13 Mark McNally Nomad Consolidated Pty Ltd Van Diemen RF05 10 Kristian Lindbom * CAMS Rising Star Spectrum 011 10 Tristan Hughes JagMag Van Diemen RF04 10 Tony LeMessurier Escalate Management Van Diemen RF06 6 James Bergmuller JB Racing Van Diemen RF06 5 Daniel Cotton Team Showdown Spectrum 011 4 Luke Wood Anglo Australian Motorsport Spirit WL06 1 * denotes Rookie |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 04 December 2006 ) |
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