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A Devastating Local Round For Reid At Mallala |
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Sunday, 17 September 2006 |
| Attachment 17109 |
| Samantha Reid was fast yet unlucky at Mallala this weekend. (Race Torque Media Pic) |
Samantha ‘Samy’ Reid remains utterly confident of future success in the Australian Formula Ford Championship despite a devastating weekend at Mallala that saw her fail to finish each of the three races in this weekend’s sixth round of the championship.
The 19-year-old Adelaide driver was looking forward to a strong run at her home circuit but was cruelly ousted from two of the three races and failing to start the other after an unbelievable sequence of events ended an overall tough weekend.
After a tough round at Sandown that saw the BMS Motorsport Van Diemen loose an engine after overheating problems, Reid had a replacement power plant rushed to the team’s Adelaide base in preparation for this weekend’s sixth round of the championship.
However, Practice and Qualifying quickly proved that the engine was not up to the performance levels expected – the team reverting to a backup engine for today’s races.
Despite the technical difficulties, Reid posted one of her strongest efforts of the season in qualifying – Posting the 11th quickest time on Saturday just six-tenths of a second outside of the top three in one of the closest Formula Ford fields of the season.
Reid made a solid start to the first race, starting the 12-lap journey in 11th and quickly consolidating her position in the first few laps before attacking Josh Scott and slipping by on lap six – moving into a top ten position.
Reid settled ninth position for the next five laps, despite having to hold off concerted challenges for the position from a number of drivers.
Unfortunately, the race ended prematurely when the Mygale of Dale Wood – who was following Reid - had a brake drama, causing the pursuing car to slam into the left-rear corner of the BMS Motorsport entry on the final lap of the race.
| Attachment 17110 |
| Samantha Reid was fast yet unlucky at Mallala this weekend. (Race Torque Media Pic) |
xThe damage was severe enough to rule a disappointed driver out of the race and some more valuable championship points.
It was also enough to rule the team out from the second race, the short two hour turnaround between events not quite enough time to repair the damage to the rear of the car – A Herculean effort from the Reid team and aiding crew from fellow local outfit Team BRM falling just five minutes short of making the grid for race two.
The final race at least saw Reid take to the circuit – only to have the car fail on the formation lap leaving Sam stranded at the northern hairpin for the duration of the event.
“After all the work we put in this weekend; changing the engine, getting the car back together after Sandown and sorting this weekend out, it’s really disappointing to not even be able to finish a race here,” Reid said.
“It was all just really bad luck. We tried very hard and had I been out on track I know I was going to be able to run well inside the top ten, if not higher.
“But that’s the way it goes in Motorsport, so we will have to regroup from this one and take some time to make sure everything is perfect for the next round in a few months.” She said.
The next round of the championship set to be held at Symmons Plains, Tasmania, on 10 - 12 November.
Samantha Reid would like to thank the continued support of sponsors Chicane, Auto Focus Marketing, Inet Pics, Oakley, Leatt Brace, BMS Motorsport and Race Torque Media.
For more information about Samantha Reid, please visit www.samanthareid.com.au
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 14 December 2006 )
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