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The drivers would like to thank the CAMS Rising Star Program and its program partners the Australian Sports Commission, Biante Model Cars, OAMPS Insurance Brokers, Robert Bosch Australia, King’s Fibreglass, Borland Racing Developments, the Australian Motor Sport Foundation, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, Stand 21 Australia, Just Magazine Group, Fleetwood Print Group, Mark Webber and McBadges                     

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LASKA WINS WITH SPECTRUM TOP SIX

Round six of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship was run at Phillip Island last weekend, with the locally manufactured Spectrum chassis claiming the top six positions. Leading the charge and building on his comfortable championship lead in the process was Synergy Motorsport driver Paul Laskazeski, who secured the round win with 3rd, 2nd and 1st across the three races. CAMS Rising Star Daniel Erickson had qualified in pole position and won both of the opening races, only to be crashed out of the lead on the final lap of race three by a competitor who earned a 20 point penalty from the stewards for his efforts. If not for this, Erickson looked comfortably set to take a maximum points haul from the weekend; as it was, he finished 2nd for the round despite his forced retirement from race three. Daniel improved to 6th in the championship and 2nd in the Rookie of the Year race. 

The Island circuit is a favourite of Rising Star Jake Chapman. After qualifying in 4th position, Jake raced to a pair of 4th places and backed this up with a 2nd in the final. Jake joined his team mate on the podium, finishing the round in 3rd place; this is Jake’s 2nd visit to the podium in his rookie year. Jake sits inside the top ten in the championship and is 4th Rookie. 

Tasmania’s Ben Walter had his strongest round of his rookie season, qualifying 7th aboard his Minda Motorsport prepared Spectrum 011c. Ben raced well across the weekend, recording 7th, 7th and 5th; his consistency earning him 4th for the round and moving him up to 13th in the championship. On the back of these results, Ben is looking forward to the next round, which will be held at his ‘home track’ of Symmons Plains. 

Just behind Ben was Brad Lowe, driving for the Synergy Motorsport team. After a challenging qualifying session, Brad drove superbly, posting results of 6th and 5th in the first two races. Brad was 10th in the final race, which netted him 5th for the round. Just one point behind in 6th was Rising Star Scott Pye. Scott had moved forward from his qualifying position to finish 5th in race one. He was in a strong position in the second race, before he received contact at turn one, sending him into a spin at 200 kph. Scott recovered the spin and rejoined the track to finish in 15th position. A great drive in the last race of the weekend resulted in a 6th place finish. 

The Spectrum chassis was further represented in the top ten. Martin Swindells ended the round in 8th place for the Minda Motorsport team. A stunning 3rd in the final race showed the potential he has to challenge for race wins. Sixteen year old Chaz Mostert was just one point behind Martin in 9th; the young Queenslander piloting his Synergy Motorsport ride to 9th in qualifying. Chaz then drove to 10th, 6th and 8th across the weekend. 

Borland Racing Developments congratulates all teams and drivers on their performances last weekend; to finish with the Spectrum chassis filling the top six positions and occupying eight of the top nine is an outstanding result. With just two rounds to run in 2008, Paul Laskazeski holds a 74 point championship lead for Factory Enterprises and Synergy Motorsport. A strong result in Tasmania could see him wrap up the title with a round to go; but true to his nature, Paul is not thinking about that. “We’ve had a really good year so far. I’m going to approach the next round as I have the others; just drive fast and smart. Factory Enterprises has supported me all year and Justin Cotter (Synergy Motorsport owner) has given me a great car. I want to repay them and my family for their faith in me and winning the championship is the best way to do that, so I’m not going to do anything silly,” said Laska.

Erickson Leads Star Performance 

After an eight week break since the last round at Queensland Raceway, the CAMS Rising Star squad was eager to get back into Formula Ford racing last weekend at Phillip Island. The flowing Island circuit is a nominated test track for the team, so there was a quiet confidence amongst the drivers and their Borland Racing Developments crew heading into the weekend. Recent test days had seen them try some development parts on their Spectrum 011b racers, finding the crucial tenths of a second which count in this ultra competitive category. 

When the chequered flag was waved to end the practice session on Friday morning, it was Daniel Erickson sitting atop the times; his Rising Star teammates Scott Pye in 3rd and Jake Chapman in 6th. With only a brief 90 minutes between practice and qualifying, the BRD crew set about preparing the cars while the drivers and engineers worked through the MoTeC data to see where potential gains could be achieved. 

Qualifying on the Phillip Island circuit is a game of strategy. The aerodynamic advantage of slip streaming another car is crucial if you are going to post a fast time; but to optimise your time, you need to do this in the first few laps when you are in the performance window of the new tyres. Daniel and Jake had the track position to do this, with both setting their best times on lap two; Daniel on pole (his and the Rising Star program’s best qualifying performance for the season) and Jake 4th. Scott did not have anyone around him to provide a draft, but still managed to put in a lap good enough for 6th! 

Race one on Saturday produced some of the closest and most exciting racing seen for some time. The battle for positions one to four was intense, with Daniel achieving his maiden championship win, resetting the lap record on the way. Just half a second behind him at the finish, Jake was in 4th place! Scott was meanwhile involved in another four car battle, this time for positions five to eight. With only 0.7 seconds covering these four cars, it was Scott who held on to take 5th place. 

Sunday morning saw Daniel back up his race one win with another first place and fastest lap performance. Jake held on to 4th place again in another close battle. Scott was a casualty of the close racing, receiving contact from behind as he entered to 200 kph first turn which result in a spectacular spin. Scott was able to recover from the spin and regain the track, finishing in 15th position. Fortunately his Spectrum racing car was unscathed, as there was a minimal 60 minute timeframe to be ready for the final race of the weekend. 

The last race produced more of the same; the lead swapping as many as three times per lap. On the final tour, it was Daniel leading into turn three when he was hit from behind, forcing him to retire and denying him what looked like a clean sweep. Jake raced to 2nd, with Scott recovering from 15th to an impressive 6th. Daniel’s performances were strong enough for him to hold onto 2nd for the round, joined on the podium by Jake in 3rd. 

Spectrum Storms Castle 

Just one week after Adrian Campfield drove his Kevin Mills Racing Spectrum to victory in the UKFFC at Brands Hatch, Ben Norton has delivered a superb pole position and lights to flag victory aboard the Wiltshire College Motorsport Spectrum in the FF1600 (Kent engine) class.

Wiltshire College runs a specialised motorsport training program, offering the equivalent of the Australian TAFE certificate plus further studies to tertiary degree qualifications. Foundation degree student Greg Marshall, who heads up the College’s Formula Ford team travelled to Australia early in 2008 to gain valuable experience at the Borland Racing Developments’ factory where the Spectrum cars are designed and built. The knowledge he and fellow student James Pitt gained whilst in Australia has been put to very good use, with driver Ben Norton consistently on the pace at the Castle Combe race meetings this season.

Haydn Earl is in charge of the motorsport program at the college and was delighted with the success of the weekend. ‘The students put so much effort into their studies and to have the ability to apply that in a practical sense is of great benefit to their learning,’ said Haydn. ‘There is a real enthusiasm for the Formula Ford program and it was wonderful to see Ben qualify on pole and then drive away to a well deserved victory. He drove faultlessly!’

The driver was full of praise for his young team and the car they prepare for him. ‘The Spectrum was fantastic today. The team did an outstanding job; we’ve been very close to these results all season, so it is just fantastic to get the job done,’ said Ben.

Team engineer Greg Marshall was also enjoying the sweet taste of victory. ‘This is what we all work for. Ben did a great job out there today and he deserves the win. It has been a fantastic year; to start out by spending a few weeks in Australia at the Spectrum factory and to be able to take what I learned there and share it with the team is great,’ he said.

Good news travels very fast indeed; within minutes of the win, UK Spectrum agent Mark Bailey was on the telephone to Paul Zsidy telling him of the result. ‘That is truly wonderful news,’ said BRD sales manager Paul Zsidy. ‘We have always enjoyed working with the technical colleges to help them train their students. Haydn has a fantastic program going at Wiltshire and it was a pleasure to have Greg and James down here early this year. Ben is a great guy, so we could not be happier for the whole team; two wins in two weekends in the UK! I hope that keeps going!’ he added.