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Bridgman bites back with Round 7 win |
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Monday, 14 May 2007 |
Tim closes gap as Bacheta crashes out
Tim Bridgman made one giant leap for his Formula Palmer Audi title ambitions in Round 7 at Snetterton, winning the second race of the triple-header to take maximum benefit of Luciano Bacheta's collision with Jack Clarke on the opening lap.
After a sudden change in the weather, the FPA field made a late switch to slick tyres. As the lights went out, Bridgman took the lead from polesitter Clarke, with Bacheta following close behind. As Bacheta attempted to take Clarke for second at the Esses, the pair collided, eliminating both from the race and seriously denting the former's championship lead.
"I used the boost to pass, but I couldn't see he was still on the
inside," said Bacheta, who will start the final race of the weekend
well down the order. Both drivers refused to apportion blame on the
incident: "It was a 50/50 move, it's just a shame it didn't come off
very well," said Clarke.
Meanwhile, at the front, it was a textbook display from Bridgman, who
rattled off the 18 laps to take his second victory of the season. "I'm
still angry from what happened in the first race, but at least this
goes some way to make up for it." said Bridgman.
Tom Bradshaw finished second for the second race in a row, plus earned
himself pole position for Round 8 with fastest lap. "I realised I
couldn't catch Tim, so I focused on getting pole for the third race and
I'm happy to get it!"
Wilson came home third, taking his second podium of the season after a
superb scrap with friend and rival Richard Plant, who took his best FPA
finish to date with fourth. "I couldn't stay with Richard early on, but
the car came back to me and I've made up some good ground in the title
race," said Stefan.
Jason Moore put in a sterling drive to take fifth place from 15th on
the grid, overtaking several cars including a stunning move on the
outside of Riches on Ivan Lukashevich. Richard Kent took sixth,
followed by Chris Chubb, Alex Brundle, and Jolyon Palmer, who fell back
from a potential top-five finish after losing fourth gear.
The results mean just 11 points separate the top three in the
championship, with Bacheta on 130 followed by Wilson on 120 and
Bridgman on 119.
Formula Palmer Audi - Round 7 Result
1. Tim Bridgman 18 Laps in 20m05.160s
2. Tom Bradshaw +3.488s
3. Stefan Wilson +8.404s
4. Richard Plant +10.192s
5. Jason Moore +18.362s
6. Richard Kent +19.273s
7. Ivan Lukashevich +19.580s
8. Chris Chubb +23.482s
9. Alex Brundle +24.256s
10. Jolyon Palmer +36.661s
11. Russell Small +39.973s
12. Mark Powell +52.846s
13. Nik Iruwan +54.423s
14. Derrick Collin +55.130s
15. Jeremy Preddy +1 Lap
16. Alan Kempson +1 Lap
17. Max Snegirev +1 Lap
Did Not Finish
Doros Loucaides 16 Laps Completed
Jack Clarke 2 Laps Completed
Luciano Bacheta 1 Lap Completed
Dominik Jackson 0 Laps Completed
Chris Bell 0 Laps Completed
Fastest Lap - Tom Bradshaw, Lap 12 - 1m05.459s
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