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Blanchard Back On Top Of Formula Ford Standings |
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Saturday, 19 May 2007 |
Qualifying
A tight opening qualifying session at Winton Raceway this morning paved the way for some close racing today, with Tim Blanchard taking pole position just seven one thousandths of a second faster than CAMS Rising Star Ashley Walsh.
Walsh was quickest out of the blocks; however Blanchard posted a 1:26.5587 in his Mygale SJ07 with Walsh hot on his tail at 1:26.5657 and Victorian Taz Douglas third quickest in his Hitachi Mygale, his fastest time a 1:26.7793.
Douglas was on pace to put his Mygale on pole for the opening race,
until the session was red flagged for the second time when Mark Samson
momentarily left the Winton circuit.
"I was off the pace yesterday because we had set the car up for a wet
second session after the very wet opening practice, but things went the
other way and the track dried out," explained Douglas.
"It's pleasing to know that we are on the pace for the first race, the
car has shown glimpses of speed on all parts of the track and I was
finally able to put a good lap together."
Blanchard picked up the first points for the weekend, earning himself a
point for his pole position and bringing him closer to series leader
and team mate James Moffat who struggled after a qualifying incident
left the underneath of his Mygale damaged when he left the track at the
sweeper.
"The track was quite dirty this morning so putting together a fast lap
was quite difficult but I was able to come through with the goods,"
said Blanchard.
Race 1
Tim Blanchard continued on with his perfect start to the weekend
grabbing back the Championship lead in the process, leading from start
to finish and taking line honours in the opening race in his Jaylec
Mygale.
Blanchard was challenged by CAMS Rising Star Ashley Walsh for a good
portion of the race, until Walsh decided to make his move to pass at
turn one with two laps to go, the pair came together and the resulting
accident ended the race for Walsh and third placed Victorian Taz
Douglas.
Walsh had his steering damaged when coming together with Blanchard and
was unable to round the next corner, leaving Douglas no where to go but
to cannon into Walsh and spinning off into the wall.
"It's great to be able to be back in the lead of the championship, I
was under pressure with Walsh and Douglas hot on my tail so I'm glad I
held on for first," said Blanchard.
James Moffat had a good result after a qualifying mishap had him
starting from fifteenth position; he managed to make up ten positions
and take advantage of the carnage at the front of the field to finish
fifth.
Nick Percat and Glen Wood were also beneficiaries of the Walsh and
Douglas misfortune, putting them second and third respectively, their
best results of the year to date.
Race one was full of incidents with John Magro and Brad Lowe coming
together on the first corner of the opening lap, eventually resulting
in their retirements from the race while Yudi Doyle and CAMS Rising
Star Josh Scott also both failed to finish.
Race 2
Tim Blanchard was jumped on the line by Nick Percat only to regain the
lead and never look back as rain wreaked havoc on teams that had
clearly set up for a dry race as rain began to fall during the second
lap.
Blanchard consolidated his championship lead to take line honours for a
two from two record this weekend after qualifying fastest this morning
and winning the opening race.
With the rain steadily falling, drivers clearly struggled for grip as
Nick Percat came together with Daniel Cotton and Glen Wood at turn one,
with all three leaving the track but able to rejoin as they encountered
the slippery off track conditions.
James Moffat drove his Mygale SJ07 to second place, and now only ten
championship points separate Moffat and team mate Tim Blanchard heading
into race three tomorrow afternoon.
Taz Douglas started from nineteenth on the grid, and as the rain came
down he quickly moved through the field to finish fourth, a fantastic
effort in trying conditions that seemed to suit Douglas.
"As the rain started I still felt very quick and I knew there was a
fair bit of grip on the track left over from the V8's so I kept on
pushing as hard as I could for the first few laps and it paid off,"
explained Douglas.
"I'm glad we stuck around, I was seriously considering packing it in
after the damage caused in the first race so I'm glad we hung in their
and repaired the car for a good result."
CAMS Rising Star Ashley Walsh also impressed, finishing tenth from
eighteenth on the grid while many drivers broke through for their best
results of the year.
Tobia Kipper pushed his Makotrac Spectrum to sixth position, Trent
Ulmer picked up his second set of points for the weekend finishing
eighth after a sixth place in race one, and Luke Wood finished ninth in
the Maritimo Spirit.
Race Three gets underway at 12:30pm tomorrow afternoon at Winton raceway.
Championship Points Standing after two races:
1. Tim Blanchard 136 points
2. James Moffat 126
3. Kristian Lindbom 98
4. Ashley Walsh 68
5. Glen Wood 66
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