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Slade Sets The Standard With Pole In Formula Ford |
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Saturday, 16 September 2006 |
South Australia's Tim Slade has continued to set the pace at Mallala after claiming pole position today by almost half a second and almost two-seconds faster than last years qualifying time.
The Sonic driver has been the standout at his home circuit this race meeting and will start on the front row of the grid with championship leader John Martin alongside in second place.
Third in qualifying was Ashley Walsh, who, along with Slade, opted to save their tyres in the hot conditions for tomorrow's three races, completing only seven and six laps respectively.
"The Van Diemen is perfect, I can't fault it.we put down some good times early and with the hot track conditions the tyres were going off quickly so we thought it was best to pull in early and save the car; we weren't going to set a quicker time so it made sense," Tim Slade said after qualifying today.
Martin again put himself on the front row but felt there was more speed in the car than his time of 1:11.2883 indicated.
"With the track temperature increasing all the time, it was always going to be the third or fourth lap that saw the best times but I got held up on what turned out to be my fastest lap which cost me a few tenths.although I'm not sure if it would have been quick enough to get pole," John Martin said.
After showing strong race pace for much of the year, Walsh was relieved to be starting up the front of the grid and felt confident heading into Sunday's three races after setting a 1:11.4845 for third position.
"I'm really happy with third, we've been down a bit on qualifying although our speed in the races has been really good," Ashley Walsh said.
| Attachment 17100 |
| Ashley Walsh turned his race pace into qualifying pace for third |
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow and hope we can continue our strong weekend with a win."
After some bad luck this season, Nathan Caratti qualified fourth with a 1:11.5031 and is determined to turn it into a round victory after conceding the championship is beyond reach.
"It's all about winning races and rounds now.realistically I don't think we can win the championship from here so I'll be pushing hard for a win tomorrow, there's nothing to lose," Nathan Caratti said, who heads to the UK next week to compete in the Formula Ford Festival.
Less than 0.1 seconds behind Walsh and Caratti was Tim Blanchard in fifth with a 1:11.5753, while Brad Lowe was one of only four drivers to set their fastest lap after their sixth lap to qualify six with a 1:11.6140 on his tenth lap.
Two other drivers to set times at the end of the session were the Magro brothers, John and Kain, with Team BRM who on their last lap qualified in 12th and 15th respectively in their first national Formula Ford race meeting.
After struggling with car troubles since the halfway through the first practice session, local girl Samantha Reid still managed 11th position, despite being down on horsepower.
Joel Spychala, celebrating his 24th birthday, qualified seventh ahead of Todd Fiore, Paul Laskazeski and Dale Wood who qualified tenth.
With less than a second separating the top ten drivers, the racing in tomorrow's three 12-lap races is set to be tight and action-packed on a circuit ideally suited for Formula Ford racing.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 14 December 2006 )
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