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Maiden podium for Wilson

Following the startline accident, 17 drivers took to the track for the second round of the 2007 Formula Palmer Audi Championship at Silverstone, a race which was won by Luciano Bacheta after Jack Clarke spun while leading.

From pole position, Bacheta led away from Clarke with Alex Brundle storming from seventh up to third as the drivers reached Becketts for the first time. Jason Moore and Jolyon Palmer followed, while an off involving Dominik Jackson, Giacomo Petrobelli and Richard Kent caused Jackson and Petrobelli to retire, while after repairs Kent continued several laps down.

Clarke maintained the pressure on Bacheta, and used his boost to pass him into Brooklands on lap three. Jack then built up a useful advantage before spinning at Luffield on lap eight, dropping him to a sixth place he would hold to the chequered flag.

During the early stages, Stefan Wilson made good progress through the field, recovering from a poor start to take Palmer and Brundle for third, which would become second as Clarke spun. Jason Moore also made it past Jolyon and Alex, and although pressuring Stefan, could not make it through to second place, Moore finishing four-tenths of a second behind Wilson by race's end.

Palmer took fourth in only his second single-seater race, passing Brundle into Copse six laps from the end of the 22-lap encounter. Behind Brundle in fifth was the recovering Clarke, Chris Bell, Chris Chubb, Richard Plant and Nik Iruwan completing the top 10.

"I'm glad to get my first win of the year, but obviously it wasn't in the circumstances I would have liked," said Bacheta, who assumes the early points lead, eight ahead of Moore. "I was controlling the race and could see Jack was pushing hard, so I was going to try and get him late on, but his spin solved that problem."

Wilson was satisfied to score a podium in only his eighth car race, but found the pace at the front tough going: "I found it really hard to keep Jason behind me at the end, so to do it and get second was really satisfying."

Moore's second podium of the day puts him in second place in the championship, a position he could scarcely believe was possible prior to the meeting. "We came here hoping to get into the top 10 in both races, so a pair of thirds is a brilliant result."

Formula Palmer Audi - Round 2 Result

1. Luciano Bacheta 22 laps in 20m39.906s
2. Stefan Wilson +2.259s
3. Jason Moore +2.678s
4. Jolyon Palmer +8.018s
5. Alex Brundle +11.336s
6. Jack Clarke +12.353s
7. Chris Bell +20.195s
8. Chris Chubb +21.011s
9. Richard Plant +24.498s
10. Nik Iruwan +37.236s
11. Derrick Collin +48.103s
12. Jeremy Preddy +1m43.505s
13. Richard Kent +4 Laps

Not Classified

Max Snegirev 19 Laps
Doros Loucaides 4 Laps
Dominik Jackson 1 Lap
Giacomo Petrobelli 0 Laps

Did Not Start Restarted Race

Matt Hamilton
Andy Demetriou
Tom Bradshaw
Mark Powell
Tim Bridgman

Formula Palmer Audi - Leading Points Standings after 2 of 20 Races

1. Luciano Bacheta 44pts
2. Jason Moore 36
3. Stefan Wilson 33
4. Chris Bell 25
5. Matt Hamilton 24
6. Jolyon Palmer 24
7. Alex Brundle 22
8. Jack Clarke 20
9. Richard Plant 20
10. Dominik Jackson 16

Hamilton boosts to victory

Matt wins on FPA debut

Matt Hamilton made full use of the Formula Palmer Audi overboost system to take victory in an opening round of the 2007 Championship at Silverstone brimming with overtaking and drama.

Hamilton, 17, made a poor getaway from pole position with Luciano Bacheta assuming the lead, but managed to hold on to second as the field sped through Copse. Jack Clarke was in third as the field reached Maggotts, but was punted off by Andy Demetriou, with the resulting chaos of drivers taking evasive action causing Derrick Collin and Max Snegirev to come together, ending both their races early along with Demetriou's.

After a lengthy safety car period, the race resumed on lap seven with Bacheta holding off Hamilton, until missing a gear on the exit of Becketts. Hamilton took full advantage, using one of his 60bhp boosts down the National Straight to take a lead into Brooklands that he would hold for the remainder of the race.

Further back, Tim Bridgman made a great move on racing rookie Jason Moore for third on the restart, and while unable to pull away, Bridgman continued to robustly defend Moore in the battle for the final podium place.

As a result of the first-lap incidents, Dominik Jackson and Giacomo Petrobelli had made good progress from their lowly grid positions, running fifth and sixth by the end of lap 12. While Jackson proceeded to eat into the gap between himself and the fight for third, Petrobelli eventually lost his top-six placing to Richard Kent and Stefan Wilson.

As the race drew to its conclusion and the top two places settled, Jackson proceeded to make the battle for third a three-way affair, with Bridgman unable to withstand the pressure, suffering from heavy tyre wear. As he made a mistake at Becketts on the penultimate lap, Moore pounced to take a surprise podium, with Jackson getting past after a similar Bridgman error at Copse on the final tour. At the front, however, Hamilton kept a cool head after a lacklustre start to net his first 24 points of the season, as well as his first car racing victory.

"I didn't realise how important using the boost was - the extra 60bhp really made the difference," said Matt. "I still had to push hard for the rest of the race, but I feel good for Race 2."

Bacheta, meanwhile, remained upbeat after holding station in second, finishing just 2.5 seconds behind Hamilton. "It was just a little mistake, but it's so competitive so that's all it takes. It's a long year, so 20 points is a good way to start."

In third place, Moore could scarcely disguise his joy at taking a podium finish in his first ever car race. "Fourth place would have been a good finish for me, but third is absolutely fantastic!" said the reigning Super 1 TKM karting champion.

Meanwhile, Clarke managed to salvage six points after recovering to 14th place after the first-lap incident at Becketts. "It's a real shame that my first FPA race was ruined like this, but I still kept at it and six points is better than no points."

On his FPA debut, Jolyon Palmer took 12th spot after battling hard with the cars around him, just beating FPA returnee Alex Brundle who ws forced to settle for 13th position.

Formula Palmer Audi - Round 1 Result

1. Matt Hamilton 22 laps in 23m39.607s
2. Luciano Bacheta +2.429s
3. Jason Moore +12.872s
4. Dominik Jackson +14.221s
5. Tim Bridgman +14.576s
6. Richard Kent +15.217s
7. Stefan Wilson +18.967s
8. Chris Bell +20.690s
9. Giacomo Petrobelli +21.178s
10. Tom Bradshaw +21.370s