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Samantha Reid Heads To Sandown With Confidence Boosted |
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Thursday, 31 August 2006 |
| Attachment 16957 |
| Samantha Reid heads into Turn 2 at Oran Park driving her BMS Motorsport VanDiemen Formula Ford. (BMS Motorsport / Klynsmith Pic) |
A variety of factors have combined to give Adelaide Formula Ford driver Samantha Reid added confidence ahead of this weekend’s fifth round of the 2006 Australian Formula Ford Championship at Sandown Raceway, in Melbourne.
A strong run at Oran Park three weeks ago – that saw the 19-year-old score her first top ten since the
season-opening Clipsal 500 – coupled with a test day at Mallala Raceway
earlier this week and prior knowledge of the tricky Sandown park layout
mean that Reid is more confident than ever ahead of this weekend’s
round.
A lack of circuit knowledge – coupled with limited testing budget and
opportunities – has meant that Reid has been forced to learn circuits
from scratch early in the race weekend’s so far this season,
potentially limiting time that could be spent on improving the car.
After making two starts at Sandown in Victorian State Series rounds
previously, the home of the Betta Electrical 500 is the first track on
this year’s schedule since Clipsal that Reid has had prior experience.
“It’s given me a lot more confidence going to a circuit that I have been to before,” Samantha said today.
“It means two things: one is that I will be able to work from the first
lap on Friday to make the car better, the other is that I will have the
added confidence to push harder and race harder.
“You have to be quite aggressive with these cars when you are racing in
a pack. Not having total confidence in the car setup or the circuit can
hurt that so this weekend will be a good chance to really have a go at
the top ten.
“I think a top ten position in qualifying and in the races can definitely be a realistic aim for us,” Reid said.
Reid and her BMS Motorsport team tested at Mallala on Monday this week,
completing a solid day’s running that Reid said would benefit not only
this weekend’s round, but the upcoming sixth championship round at her
home circuit in just three weeks time.
“We had quite a good test day. We were running on old rubber that was
pretty tired at the end of the day but we set some good times and
again, it was a good confidence boost ahead of the Sandown round.”
With a traditionally big crowd expected at Sandown this Father’s day
weekend, Reid added that she was keen to add to her results base for
her sponsors.
“Auto Focus Marketing joined us this year to promote their range of
Chicane driving suits, Oakley and the new Leatt Brace head and neck
restraint,” she explained.
“They have been a big help to our campaign this year and I hope that we
can put together a strong weekend in Melbourne to repay them for their
support.”
This weekend’s fifth round of the Australian Formula Ford Championship
will be contested over three races, two held Saturday and one Sunday as
the lead up event to the Betta Electrical Sandown 500.
Practice and Qualifying will be held this Friday.
For more information about Samantha Reid and BMS Motorsport please visit www.bmsmotorsport.com.au
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 January 2007 )
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