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Moffat Takes Round Two Honours At Barbagallo |
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Sunday, 25 March 2007 |
Sonic Motor Racing's James Moffat steered his Mygale SJ07 to an emphatic round two victory at the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Barbagallo raceway this afternoon, with team mate Tim Blanchard placing second for the round overall.
CAMS Rising Star Josh Scott topped off a consistent weekend with a third overall for round two at Barbagallo.
However the weekend belonged to Moffat, as he won the opening two races
in style, and grabbed the championship lead in the process with team
mate Tim Blanchard relegated to second in the championship race after
Moffat's impressive showing this weekend.
Race 2
James Moffat won his second race of the weekend and of the 2007 season
in an awesome display of hard nosed racing in this morning's race at
Barbagallo Raceway.
Sporting new car sponsorship for his Mygale SJ07 from Sports
Performance Vehicles and local company Biante Model Cars following a
solid opening round performance, Moffat took line honours in what was
easily some of the best racing seen this weekend.
Moffat was able to fend off a host of challengers to record his second
win in a race that saw him lose the lead to CAMS Rising Star Joshua
Scott, only to regain front position with a terrific passing move on
the final corner with four laps to go.
Moffat opened up a comfortable gap on CAMS Rising Stars Joshua Scott
and Ashley Walsh, and team mate Tim Blanchard for the final four laps
leaving the challengers to battle it out for the remaining podium
positions.
"I made a small mistake under pressure which allowed Josh Scott to
pass, but once I regained the lead I opened up a decent gap and have
put myself in a great position to win the round," explained Moffat.
"I'm not entirely happy with the speed of the car, we are a little bit
off the pace but I have two wins under the belt and that's the main
thing."
CAMS Rising Star Ashley Walsh again found himself at the rear of the
grid as a result of a race one incident with Sonic Motor Racings Tim
Blanchard, but in typical fashion he spectacularly moved his Spectrum
through the field with ease to lock down second position.
When quizzed on his tactics, Walsh admitted he needed to be a little smarter to ensure he stayed in championship contention.
"I'm making a bad habit of needing to come from the back of the grid so
I need to start consolidating championship points when I am in good
race positions, and be a bit smarter about things," said the CAMS
Rising Star.
Joshua Scott started from third on the grid and quickly found himself
in second position when CAMS Rising Star team mate Kristian Lindbom had
trouble with his gear box off the line and resumed at the rear of the
field.
"I encountered a few problems with shifting top gear and the car had a
little bit of understeer, but I set the fastest lap of the race with a
0:59.8340 so I'm happy with that," said Scott.
Race 3
CAMS Rising Star Ashley Walsh took out line honours in the final race
of round two, locked in a tight battle with Sonic pairing James Moffat
and Tim Blanchard and CAMS Rising Star team mate Joshua Scott at the
front of the field.
Walsh started from second on the grid, but that soon changed when he
took Moffat on the final turn of the opening lap for front position,
where he stayed for the remainder of the race.
"Very happy to recover and get a race win to keep me in the
championship hunt, the car has great speed so I am confident of
bridging the gap to the leader in the coming round," said CAMS Rising
Star Walsh.
Moffat was happy to concede and come away with third place,
guaranteeing him of a round two overall victory and the lead of the
championship points table, all the while still managing to post the
races fastest lap with a 0:59.8764, gaining the speed he lacked in the
second race.
"It's fantastic to come away with a round win and the championship
lead, I was happy to consolidate my good start to the round and
guarantee the round win with a place in the top three of the final
race," explained Moffat.
"The team has worked very hard over the past two months, and to have
two cars at the lead of the championship is a credit to Sonic."
Series leader entering the round, Tim Blanchard passed CAMS Rising Star
Joshua Scott on the opening lap, and then passed Moffat at turn one of
the sixth lap to clinch second position.
Blanchard loses his series strangle hold giving up his championship points lead to Moffat, his Sonic Motor Racing team mate.
While the racing was fierce at the head of the field, there was some
fantastic action in the second pack, with CAMS Rising Star Kristian
Lindbom in a Spectrum, Jonathan Grant in his Van Diemen and Glen Wood's
Mygale SJ07 all pushing each other to the limit in a tense battle for
fifth.
Lindbom won out to finish fifth and earn 10 points, while Jonathan
Grant was the first Van Diemen home, showing he is quickly adjusting to
the national series and shows promise for the remainder of the year.
"It's a great result for me and I'm learning every race, hopefully I can keep it up and keep on improving," said Grant.
TOP TEN CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS TABLE
1 James Moffat 100 points
2 Tim Blanchard 95
3 Kristian Lindbom 72
4 Ash Walsh 67
5 Josh Scott 52
6 Glen Wood 46
7 Jonathan Grant 21
8 Grant Doulman 20
9 Luke Wood 19
10 Nick Percat 18
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