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Martin Wins While Doulman Claims First Pole In Formula Ford |
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Sunday, 13 August 2006 |
John Martin returned to the winners list today and reclaimed the championship lead in the process, while Grant Doulman took his and the Spirit chassis' first pole position in round four of the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Oran Park.
In unusual circumstances, Grant Doulman delivered the Spirit chassis their first pole position in the Australian Formula Ford Championship today, despite posting only one flying lap before spending the rest of the session in the sand trap.
Delighted with his first series pole, Doulman, with a pole time of 1:11.0076, could afford to laugh about spending much off the session out of action.
"I was trying to save my tyres," Grant Doulman joked.
"It is really great for the team and to give the Spirit chassis their first pole is fantastic.Joel (Spychala and Spirit driver) also had a great qualifying time, particularly given they only just repaired the car from that roll at the last round a few days ago."
John Martin qualified second with a 1:11.2040 ahead of Joshua Scott, with Spychala fourth.
Dale Wood in Mygale's first outing in the category this year set the fifth fastest time, well higher than their expectations.
Yesterday's fastest Tim Slade was sixth ahead of Nathan Caratti and Ashley Walsh.
Luke Wood in his first meeting for the year qualified ninth while Brad Lowe rounded out the ten.
Championship leader Todd Fiore continued to find the Oran Park circuit a handful and could only manage 14th position.
The first race saw Doulman and Martin match each other off the start with Doulman taking the lead into the first turn.
The top five drivers, Doulman, Martin, Scott, Spychala and Dale Wood staged a strong battle and raced the first four laps bumper to bumper before Martin found his way around Doulman heading onto the main straight.
Martin pulled a gap on his rivals while Scott and Doulman continued the battle.
Heading under the bridge, the two drivers came together, resulting in damage to both cars, forcing their retirement and prematurely ending what was a great battle between the drivers.
A spin from Sam Sewell saw him caught on a ripple strip and left him stranded in his car until the race finished.
Dale Wood in the Mygale and Joel Spychala in his rebuilt Spirit took second and third when the dust had settled and both made it cleanly through to the finish for well deserved podium finishes.
Martin, who heads to England on Monday, took victory by almost four seconds to give him back the championship lead he lost to Todd Fiore in the last round.
"It's good to get back on the winners list, we had a bit of trouble with rear grip, which I think a lot of drivers are struggling with but the car as a whole was great and were back in the lead for the championship which was our goal," John Martin said.
Dale Wood gave the Mygale team a brilliant second spot on their return to the national category and admits the round has exceeded their expectations.
"It is fair to say we didn't expect to have this good a weekend but it shows that we have a great car that can compete with anyone out there.we'll keep fine tuning things that we are picking up on all the time but I'm thrilled to be on the podium already," Dale Wood said.
Joel Spychala also had a welcome return after managing to repair his Spirit Formula Ford from a roll at Queensland Raceway.
"I'm really thrilled with a top three, especially given how hard we have had to work between rounds, it was an uphill battle but this makes it all worthwhile," Joel Spychala said.
Tim Slade was next in fourth position followed by Ashley Walsh, who was suffering from a loosening left rear wheel, and Nathan Caratti.
Brad Lowe, Todd Fiore, Tim Blanchard and James Bergmuller rounded out the top ten.
Round four of the Australian Formula Ford Championship concludes tomorrow with races two and three before the team have a quick turnaround for round five at Sandown Raceway, Victoria on 1-3 September.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 January 2007 )
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