 Twenty
year old Victorian Tim Blanchard was today officially crowned the
Australian Formula Ford 2007 Champion racking up two more race wins as
Victorian teammate James Moffat won Rookie of the Year honours at the
final round at Phillip Island.
"I
just want to thank the team and my team mates for a great year, it's
been a team effort and I am over the moon to win a championship- it
still hasn't sunk in," said Blanchard.
James
Moffat took out second place for the final round and was third overall
for the Championship, with CAMS Rising Star the Championship runner up.
Fellow Victorian Taz Douglas was awarded the best presented car for the 2007 season.
Race 2
Drama
filled the opening laps of the rounds second race this afternoon when
Sonic Motorsport driver and race leader at the time, Glen Wood left the
Phillip Island circuit at turn one.
On
re-entering the track at turn two Wood left himself open to a pack of
drivers fast approaching and with no where to go James Moffat, Kristian
Lindbom and Taz Douglas had no choice but to take evasive action,
leaving the circuit resulting in Lindbom and Douglas retiring from the
race due to damage.
Moffat
recovered to drive home to second position behind winner and 2007
champion Tim Blanchard but was later deemed to have passed Ashley Walsh
on a yellow flag putting him back to fourth, enough to secure third in
the Championship and Rookie of the year.
Lindbom
and Douglas however were not so fortunate; CAMS Rising Star Lindbom
eventually retiring after stones quickly filled his radiator upon
leaving the circuit and battling rough terrain
to avoid a re-entering Wood, and Douglas suffering from the same fate
with bent push rods prematurely ending his race.
Wood was consequently shown the black flag for unsportsmanlike driving.
Championship
leader Tim Blanchard was able to avoid the drama and quickly opened up
a lead on Moffat and CAMS Rising Stars Joshua Scott and Ashley Walsh.
Walsh
and Nick Percat were most impressive in driving through the field after
race one mechanical failure left Walsh in position 19 on the grid and
Percat alongside him after a DNF in the opening race.
The
two quickly worked through the field, eventually finishing second and
fifth respectively, Walsh revealing a change in gears giving him a
little extra power once he was up and going.
"We ran with two third gears so I was slower off the line but it helped a great deal in reeling in the field," he explained.
Race 3
It
was fitting that the top three placed drivers in the championship
fought it out for a race win in the final race of the year with some
good clean racing at Phillip Island.
The
lead changed hands six times between Tim Blanchard, Ashley Walsh and
James Moffat, all holding the lead at some stage before Blanchard made
a terrific outside passing move in the final stages to sneak home for a
final victory in front of Ashley Walsh and James Moffat.
Racing
was red flagged half way through the final race of the season when Sam
Sewell spun at turn four, Tobia Kipper cannoning into him and Luke Wood
spectacularly ending up atop Kippers Spectrum, all drivers walked away
from the incident.
CAMS
Rising star Kristian Lindbom drove brilliantly to come from the rear of
the grid to record a fifth place in his final outing and Victorian taz
Douglas was on track to do the same, setting the fastest lap of the
race until a racing incident on the final lap forced another DNF ending
his horror weekend.
Ford Australia
President Tom Gorman was on hand to present Tim Blanchard with his 2007
Championship Trophy in a fitting end to a fantastic year for Formula
Ford.
2007 Australian Formula Ford Championship Top Five
1. Tim Blanchard Sonic Motor Racing 346 Points
2. Ashley Walsh CAMS Rising Star 297
3. James Moffat Sonic Motor Racing 275
4. Kristian Lindbom CAMS Rising Star 252
5. Glen Wood Sonic Motor Racing 211
Phillip Island Round Results Top Five
1. Tim Blanchard
2. James Moffat
3. Ash Walsh
4. Kristian Lindbom
5. Nick Percat
2007 Rookie of the Year: James Moffat
2007 Best presented car: Taz Douglas
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