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James Moffat secured a race victory and set a new lap record of 1:38.7257 at Phillip Island
this afternoon, his first win since round two at Barbagallo earlier in
the season as Sonic Motorsport teammate Tim Blanchard sealed the 2008
Australian Formula Ford Championship.
CAMS
Rising Star Ashley Walsh smoked the field in morning qualifying posting
a lap time of 1:37.5722, half a second quicker than Sonic Motorsport
driver Glen Wood who posted a 1:38.0844 to line up next to Walsh on the
front row of the grid for the opening race at Phillip Island.
Walsh
and Moffat exchanged the lead four times with some classic slip
streaming moves that have become mandatory occurrences for Formula Ford
at the Phillip Island circuit before trouble struck Walsh's Spectrum,
leaving him without a fourth gear as rivals easily passed the pole
sitter destroying his Championship hopes.
"It's
satisfying to get another win on the board, it's been far too long and
to get back that third position in the championship means a lot because
I have been in the top three all year," said Moffat.
"The
car was brilliant today, I felt very comfortable and I think the lap
record shows just how quick it was and there is still some room for
improvement."
Tim
Blanchard crossed in third position, bagging fourteen points, enough
for the young Victorian to secure the Championship with two races
remaining tomorrow.
A
jubilant Blanchard explained just what the Championship win meant to
him in a season he has worked hard to push his career on to bigger and
better things.
"It's
a feeling of relief in a way, it's been playing on my mind a bit in the
last couple of rounds even though I was trying to block it out," he
said.
"To
have my name on the trophy is an awesome feeling, some of the previous
winners of the Formula Ford Championship have gone on to do some pretty
impressive things so I look forward to what the future holds and it's a
great feeling to win the Championship."
It
was a one two three finish for Sonic Motorsport with Glen Wood
finishing in second place, Victorian Taz Douglas finished fourth and
CAMS Rising Star Kristian Lindbom crossing in fifth.
Walsh,
Moffat and Lindbom will fight it out for final two Championship podium
positions; with two races remaining tomorrow only six points separates
Walsh and Moffat, with Lindbom a further 19 points adrift.
Race One Top Five
- James Moffat
- Glen Wood
- Tim Blanchard
- Taz Douglas
- Kristian Lindbom
Championship Points
1. Tim Blanchard 306 points
2. Ash Walsh 265
3. James Moffat 249
4. Kristian Lindbom 240
5. Glen Wood 199
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