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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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Provisional
final championship placings Scholarship Class: 1 Cammish 645; 2 Kieran Vernon 561; 3 Fabio Gamberini 510; 4 Zaamin Jaffer 410; 5 Benson 392; 6 Dan de Zille 385 etc |
mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk JAMES IS CROWNED FORMULA FORD'S YOUNG KING COLE
A fourth-place finish in the first of the day's races was sufficient for Southport-based Cole to lift the crown beyond the reach of his season-long rival Josef Newgarden. Even if the young American wins his appeal against exclusion on a technicality from last month's 22nd round of the championship, he cannot surpass Cole's points tally. James is the fifth successive Jamun Racing Mygale driver to win the Formula Ford national title and he hopes to follow 2008 Formula Ford Champion Wayne Boyd into the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series.
There were celebrations also at Castle Combe for Kevin Mills Racing,
Daniel Cammish, and for the makers of the Spectrum chassis after the
20-year-old Yorkshireman clinched the Scholarship Class title.
Race 1 Once he'd dealt with Cammish, who had nipped to the front as early as Folly corner, Palmer's superiority in the damp was such that he'd built a one-second lead by the end of the opening lap. By lap six it was up to six seconds, with Cole now his closest pursuer after the champion-elect had stolen second from Cammish. With several cars having spun off, notably the Van Diemens of Garry Findlay and Fabio Gamberini at Quarry, race directors brought the safety car into play for a lap to clear the debris. This was a gift for Josef Newgarden, who was running fifth, having fought back from 10th after a second-lap spin, and for Josh Hill, who had started from the back with a 10-second penalty because of a technical infringement in qualifying.
Newgarden nailed the restart to pass both Alex Jones and Cammish, then
slotted into second before the eighth lap had ended by passing a
cautious Cole.
That settled the top three, but there was still plenty of excitement to come. A spin by Cammish saw him slip to sixth behind Cole and Dan's KMR team-mate Jones. Then, as Cammish tried to repass Alex through Quarry on the penultimate lap, their Spectrums touched and both spun out. Felix Fisher was the grateful recipient of fifth place, the Somerset driver making up for a warming-up lap spin in the works Juno, with Ben Barker sixth and the sole Van Diemen finisher, ahead of Daniel Erickson, whose Spectrum was handed a contentious stop/go penalty for an alleged track infringement. Thanks to Cammish's demise, eighth-placed Josh Benson was the Scholarship Class victor by a 10-second margin from Kieran Vernon, who was at the wheel of an Enigma Motorsport Mygale for the day. Dan de Zille, Jordi Cunill and Zaamin Jaffer completed the finishing order.
Race 2 Josef was determined not to let Palmer get away with this one, the JTR driver closing the Jamun man down over the next four laps and then nipping past for the lead through the Esses on the fifth tour. But Chrissy was every bit as resolute and there followed one of the toughest and closest battles for victory that has been seen all season - a fitting end to a great championship year. By lap seven Newgarden had eased into a 1.2s lead. Palmer whittled away at the American's advantage lap by lap, posted the best lap of the race on lap 11, and then bettered his own mark next time around and repassed his rival out of Tower Corner into the bargain. Chrissy clung on to the lead for the final two laps, with Josef backing off only on the final lap to allow his rival a 1.1s victory. Third-placed Cole tried to join the fight but spun at the Esses mid-race. The new champion got going again but placed only ninth; ironically it was his worst finish of the season. Having failed to finish race one, Garry Findlay's championship third position was under threat from Palmer. Garry responded in style, making a great start in his Van Diemen and passing Cammish for fourth just after mid-distance. Cole's problem promoted Findlay to third in the race and secured Garry's overall championship third into the bargain. Erickson, Barker and Hill also found their way past Cammish to finish fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Cammish came home seventh overall and, for the 17th time this season, first in the Scholarship Class. Jones stayed ahead of Cole for eighth, with Rogier De Wit, Cunill and Patrick McKenna completing the top 12.
James Cole: a worthy fifth champion for Jamun "I am going to test with a few British F3 teams in the near future," said James, "and I'm planning a two-year F3 campaign. It will be great to race with Wayne again and, hopefully, against Josef Newgarden also. It would be great for Formula Ford if the championship one and two went into F3. Josef is a very, very good driver and a very fair driver - I hope he'd say the same about me." Reflecting on his season, which has brought him seven race wins and a further eight podium finishes, Cole adds: "It's been a long and tough year, but also enjoyable. I don't think many people at the start of the year would have expected me to win it. But we've been in front right from the first qualifying session of the first meeting. "There's been a lot of pressure on me to maintain that lead; I've had to push when I needed to and drive to maintain my lead when that was required, and that's how I won the championship. I'm very happy that the championship has been decided on the track and not off it. The last couple of weeks have been really tough: the view was that I won the championship at Brands Hatch, but I felt that I hadn't. We won the championship today, not two weeks ago on a technicality, and I hope that that's what people remember." He pays tribute to his team: "Jamun the last two years have been brilliant. The car has been awesome, my mechanic Sam brilliant, and I've learned a lot about how a team is run and a car is set up. Everything I have learned will help me in F3."
Daniel, who went on to net a total of 17 class wins from his 23 starts, is delighted by his achievement: "It's great to come into my first season of car racing and have something like this to show for it," he said. "Hopefully I will be able to carry that momentum into next year. As for the future, there are a number of places I could go, but winning the main British Formula Ford championship title would certainly look good on my CV. There's a good chance I'll be back."
Provisional results
Round 25 Castle Combe
3/10/2009. 14 laps / 18.90 miles pics Richard Pascal 11/56 Motorsport COLE & NEWGARDEN SHARE WINS AGAIN
Race 1 Not for the first time this season the pair started at the front, Cole having pipped Newgarden to the pole by just three-thousandths of a second. Cole's Jamun Mygale grabbed the initial advantage, but Newgarden got a good run out of Surtees and slipstreamed past to take the lead on the opening lap. A clash between Dan de Zille and Josh Hill briefly brought out the safety car and after the restart Newgarden and Cole pulled clear of the pack. Cole kept the pressure on initially, but Newgarden inched away and Cole was lucky to finish as he was struck with a fuel surge problem in the closing stages.
That allowed Newgarden's JTR team-mate Liroy Stuart to close up as he
scored his first podium of the season. The Dutchman started fourth and
made a good start to shoot by Jamun's Patrick McKenna. As McKenna got
embroiled in a fight for fourth with team-mate Chrissy Palmer, Daniel
Erickson (Kevin Mills Racing Spectrum), the Van Diemen of Garry Findlay,
and Getem's Rogier De Wit, Stuart was able to break away. Hill put in a great recovery drive to come back to seventh after his early delay, which had dropped him to the back of the pack, while the Scholarship Class went to GV Racing's Josh Benson. Fabio Gamberini's Van Diemen had led the class early on, but a mistake at Paddock delayed the Brazilian and allowed Benson by. Gamberini then narrowly held off Kieran Vernon's Spirit to take second. Newgarden's joy at his ninth victory of the season was shortlived. His JTR Mygale's alternator was found to be disconnected in post-race scrutineering, contravening regulations, and he was excluded from the results. JTR has appealed the decision.
Race 2 A cautious Cole was jumped by Erickson at the exit of Westfield on the opening lap and was demoted again by De Wit on lap two. The Getem machine then slipstreamed Erickson out of Surtees on the next tour and drove around the outside of the Spectrum driver into Hawthorn. Erickson would spend the rest of the race staring at the back of the Dutchman's Mygale, but could not find a way by. Their fantastic fight eventually resulted in an eight-car train battling over second. Cole lost a further place to team-mate Palmer at Surtees on lap three, only for Palmer to go off at Sheene shortly afterwards, and Cole was then overtaken by Stuart at Druids. Although McKenna then applied more pressure to Cole, the championship leader held on to follow De Wit, Erickson and Stuart across the line in fifth. Just behind McKenna came a recovering Palmer in seventh, just 67-thousandths ahead of Findlay, up from row six after an off in qualifying had limited his running. Hill completed the top nine and was just 2.013s behind the second-placed De Wit. Benson completed a fine weekend with his second Scholarship Class win and 13th overall. Gamberini again led in the early stages, but Benson's GV Mygale was able to pressure the Van Diemen into a small mistake on the Grand Prix loop to take the lead at around half distance. He then drove away, leaving Gamberini to again fend off a charging Vernon, which he did by just 0.239s. De Zille looked set to have a say in that fight, but a crash at Paddock on the final lap ended his chances of a podium. Up front, though, Newgarden had won by over five seconds, and had backed off on the final tour. "This was the best response to the exclusion," said the 18-year-old American. "This place has been good to me."
Provisional results Round 23 Brands Hatch 20/9/2009. 12 laps / 27.61 miles
TWO WINS FOR JOSEF, ONE FOR JAMES AT BRANDS
Race 1 A copybook performance from Newgarden and his JTR-prepared Mygale earned the American a well-deserved seventh win of the season at Brands Hatch on Saturday, and so frustrated his race-long pursuer, James Cole, that he nearly threw away his championship lead. Newgarden glided to the front from pole position, with Cole - who started alongside him in his Jamun Racing Mygale - slotting neatly into second, just ahead of the charging Rogier de Wit, whose Getem-run Mygale made a blinding getaway from fifth. With Garry Findlay's Van Diemen exiting on the opening lap into the Druids hairpin gravel trap, and Daniel Erickson's Spectrum slipping back, the scene was set for a three-way duel for the podium steps. Newgarden, Cole and de Wit circulated in that order for 21 laps, each waiting for an error from one of their rivals. It came on the penultimate tour as a frustrated Cole closed on to Newgarden's tail through Paddock Hill Bend and tried to drive around his outside through Druids. It was an optimistic manoeuvre at the very least, and one which could easily have resulted in Cole joining Findlay in the gravel as Newgarden held resolutely to his line. Luckily for James he averted a completed disaster and lost only a place, de Wit nipping past to slot into second to equal his best finish of the season. Newgarden crossed the line two-tenths ahead of his Dutch rival. "It was an up and down race," said Josef. "I started well, but I had to conserve my tyres; keeping a consistent pace was important. I had two really fast guys behind me the whole time, so it wasn't easy." "I completely messed that up," admitted Cole from the third step of the podium. "The racer in me decided to go for something which wasn't really on." Erickson recovered from his tardy opening lap to close down and overhaul Chrissy Palmer's Jamun Mygale for fourth on lap six, but the Australian battler could not narrow the gap to the leaders. Palmer finished fifth, a second behind Erickson. Patrick McKenna set an excellent early pace to recover from a relatively poor ninth on the grid, passing Alex Jones and Liroy Stuart, and gained a place when Josh Hill retired with a holed radiator. But it all went wrong for the Irish driver two laps from the end when he thought he spotted the chequered flag, backed off prematurely, and lost sixth to Stuart. Jones and Ben Barker nearly caught McKenna on the line but had to settle for eighth and ninth respectively, with Jordi Cunill rounding out the top 10. Dan de Zille finished next up, the Jerseyman taking over the Scholarship Class lead just before mid-distance after early leaders Jake Green and Josh Benson struck trouble. De Zille's Minister International-run Mygale had the Spectrum of Scholarship points leader Daniel Cammish on its tail all the way to the flag, but Dan never erred and collected a richly deserved maiden class victory. Race 2 As in Saturday's race it was the pole man who led the way in the first of Sunday afternoon's sprints, but this time it was Cole in the hot seat with Newgarden doing the chasing, and Erickson clinging on to third under pressure from Palmer and de Wit. For 11 laps Josef harried James, the JTR car never further than a few inches from the gearbox of the Jamun Racing machine. Cole was more than equal to the pressure but, on lap 12, he left a chink of daylight into Surtees corner which Newgarden was quick to spot and exploit. Josef dived up the inside and muscled his way into a slender lead. Cole was far from happy to find himself second again and attacked Newgarden lap after lap through Paddock Hill Bend and up the hill to Druids. Their cars touched at least once, but Newgarden held on take his second win of the weekend, aided by a series of 'no-passing' yellow flags at strategic points around the circuit caused by incidents involving several cars. One of these crashes accounted for the Mygales of Hill, McKenna and Stuart, which clashed at Druids on lap 18, shortly after Hill had bagged the fastest lap of the race while attacking McKenna for eighth. Another collision ended the race for the cars of Cunill and Jones. Newgarden's victory margin this time was less than a tenth of a second. "It's really difficult to pass here and it took me a while to get past Cole," said Newgarden. "When I did get past he touched me in the rear and I think it broke something in the suspension. After that it was really hard to hold on to it because I was just fighting the car all the way." Erickson's grip on third was loosened by Findlay's Van Diemen on the 17th lap, Garry pulling away to secure the final podium spot with ease. Erickson had to settle for fifth, behind de Wit, after his strong early pace evaporated, and had Palmer right on his tail for sixth. Chrissy was in turn well ahead of seventh-placed Barker. Eighth overall, and the fifth different victor this season in the Scholarship Class, was Kieran Vernon in the Wrensport Spirit. Fabio Gamberini led the class for the opening nine laps until a spin, handing over to Josh Benson, who was beaten back to class second, and ninth overall, by a determined Vernon. Championship debutant Felix Fisher gave the new Juno an encouraging 10th-place finish, ahead of Cammish and de Zille. Race 3 His second-race fastest lap gave Hill his maiden pole position, and the World Champion's son made the most of the advantage to lead his Jamun team-mate Cole in the early laps. Findlay slotted into third ahead of de Wit and Erickson as Newgarden - his car apparently not handling too well after its earlier exertions - was pushed back to sixth. A tap and a spin at Graham Hill Bend left Jones's Spectrum stranded on the opening lap, while Barker and McKenna tangled at Clearways and prompted the launch of a two-lap safety car period. Hill held his nerve at the restart but locked up into Paddock next time around and found himself bumped back to fourth as Cole, Findlay and de Wit took advantage of his error. The race was further interrupted by the safety car when Vernon and de Zille spun into the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap, leaving Cole facing a 10-lap sprint to the chequered flag while battling to keep his pursuers behind. The four-car lead tussle became a five-way fight as Newgarden caught up and tagged on, but the only passing manoeuvre that any of the protagonists was able to make stick came from Hill, who stole third back from de Wit at Druids five laps from the end. Just 1.1s covered Cole, Findlay, Hill, de Wit and Newgarden at the line. It was James's sixth win of the year and the Liverpudlian was delighted: "That was a hard race. About half-way through it seemed I didn't have the pace to get away, and Gary got alongside me at one point. I'm not thinking about the championship at the moment, I am just interested in winning races. It would have been easy to let Gary go today and just take the points." "Nearly but not quite," lamented Findlay. "We are giving the Mygales a tough time at the moment and hopefully we can get some more wins before the end of the year." Hill was delighted with third and his maiden Formula Ford podium result: "You have to take things step by step in Formula Ford, and this is a great result for me." Stuart followed his JTR running mate Newgarden home for sixth, with Palmer seventh and Gamberini eighth for Fluid, Fabio holding off his Scholarship rival Benson to take an excellent class win. It was the Brazilian's second class victory of the season and one of the hardest-fought of the year. Benson was right behind for ninth overall, ahead of Erickson, Fisher and Cammish, the Spectrum driver who has now amassed enough points to make Scholarship Class title honours a racing certainty come October's final rounds at Castle Combe. Provisional results MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain round 19 (of 25) Brands Hatch 5/9/2009. 23 laps / 27.57 miles
Fastest lap: Cole 47.896s / 90.09mph (championship record) Round 20 Brands Hatch 6/9/2009. 23 laps / 27.57 miles
Fastest lap: Josh Hill GBR Jamun/Mygale 48.063s / 89.78mph Round 21 Brands Hatch 6/9/2009. 20 laps / 23.97 miles
Fastest lap: Hill 48.338s / 89.27mph
BIRTHDAY TREAT FOR COLE AT SILVERSTONE
James Cole enjoyed a 21st birthday weekend to remember at Silverstone,
the season-long MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain points
leader returning to the winner's circle after a three-month absence and
increasing his championship advantage. Cole's Jamun Racing team-mate
Chrissy Palmer (right) claimed a race win on Saturday, with Josef
Newgarden taking a victory also.
Race 1 A lengthy safety car period was required to clear the track of debris and, by the time the race restarted, only seven minutes of track time remained. The first of the incidents came at Abbey, where the Fluid Van Diemen of Barker tagged the rear of Newgarden's JTR Mygale. "I locked up under braking," said Ben, "and tapped the back of Josef's car. It was completely unintentional." Barker made it back to the pits with a puncture while Newgarden limped in to retire with rear suspension damage. Pole-sitter Erickson emerged unscathed but badly delayed. A little behind this, Barker's team-mate Gamberini tapped de Zille into a spin, and Dan's Minister Mygale and Mark Harper's Inter Motorsport Van Diemen then tangled and came to rest in dangerous positions. While the carnage was sorted out, another Van Diemen man, Garry Findlay, was revelling in his good fortune, for he found himself unexpectedly in the lead after starting from fifth on the grid. Also pleased was championship leader Cole, who started from a lowly 13th after braking issues in qualifying and found himself promoted to fifth on the dramatic opening lap. Findlay's hold on the lead lasted only the one lap after the restart, Chrissy Palmer's Jamun Mygale demoting Garry to second spot. Findlay fought back with gusto but within a further lap found himself under attack from Patrick McKenna. The Irish Jamun driver was enjoying his best outing of the season, snatching third from the Spectrum of Alex Jones soon after the restart and then popping past Findlay for second two laps from the end. Palmer held on for his third win of the season with McKenna just seven-tenths behind to record his best result. "It was a good race," said Palmer. "A shame about the long safety car period, but it helped me out a bit to be honest." Findlay was able to fend off Cole to retain the final podium slot while Erickson recovered well, from ninth after the first lap, to fifth, ahead of Jones. Josh Benson placed seventh in his Mygale to claim not only his best result of the year but also his maiden Scholarship Class victory. Benson's GV Racing team-mate Jordi Cunill was eighth, ahead of Daniel Cammish, Josh Hill, Kieran Vernon and Gamberini.
Race 2 Josef clawed his way back into the top five on the second lap, then demoted Findlay from fourth next time around and McKenna from third on lap three. Fastest lap after fastest lap fell to the JTR man as he reeled in the leaders. On lap seven he dived down Erickson's inside for second into Becketts and then three laps later repeated the trick to wrest the lead from Palmer. "I really messed up my start," admitted Newgarden. "But Silverstone offers a lot of passing opportunities and I really enjoyed getting back to the front." Newgarden's victory margin was three seconds, but it was Erickson who claimed second after Palmer ground to a halt with engine problems three laps from the end. Cole, who started eighth, made steady progress through the pack to finish fifth behind McKenna and Findlay, with Dan Cammish sixth overall and back in winning ways in Scholarship Class terms. Dutch driver Rogier de Wit claimed seventh for the Getem team - his best finish for 11 races - ahead of Alex Jones, Ben Barker and Gamberini, who was Cammish's closest Scholarship rival.
Race 3 Cole this time started from fifth, and James drove a blinding opening couple of laps to latch on to his team-mate McKenna's tail. Palmer soon joined the train to make it a Jamun 1-2-3. On lap five Cole underlined his team's lack of driver orders with a bold move to pass Patrick for the lead; McKenna fought back but soon had to start defending second from the attentions of Palmer. Cole eased away to win by three seconds. It was the championship leader's fifth victory of the season but his first since Rockingham back in May, a more than suitable 21st birthday present for the Southport lad. "Yesterday I didn't think there was a chance of this happening," he said. "It's amazing how things can turn around in a weekend."
McKenna was disappointed to again miss out on his maiden win but pleased
with second and a third straight podium finish. "I didn't really have
the pace to beat James today," said the Irishman.
Provisional results
Round 17
Round 18
WINS FOR CUNILL & NEWGARDEN AT SNETTERTON
MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain leader James Cole managed to double his points advantage at Snetterton at the weekend, collecting a brace of podium finishes from the three Norfolk rounds. The race victories belonged however to 16-year-old Jordi Cunill, who claimed his maiden win, and to Josef Newgarden (pictured), who twice triumphed for the JTR team. Saturday's 10th round of the championship saw points leader James Cole overhaul pole-sitter Josef Newgarden on the opening lap to take up an early lead. Alas for Cole, any hopes the Jamun driver might have had of pulling clear of the American were destroyed when the safety car was brought into play while the stricken Mygale of Josh Hill was retrieved from a dangerous spot. Hill's Jamun Mygale had suffered suspension failure after contact with another car. Cole judged the restart to perfection, repulsing Newgarden's inevitable attack through Riches and hanging on to the lead. Josef was in no mood to play second fiddle, however, and blasted past his rival two laps later to assume command. Cole clung to the back of the JTR car for as long as he could. in fact until Daniel Cammish loomed so large in his mirrors that James had to concentrate on defending second place rather than attacking for the lead. The relatively inexperienced Spectrum pilot Cammish tried everything he knew to find a way around Cole, James keeping him at bay for several tense laps. On the final tour Cammish tried to dive down Cole's inside into Riches but succeeded only in spinning away his podium hopes. Newgarden was two-and-a-half seconds clear of Cole at the flag, with Cammish's KMR team-mate Daniel Erickson gratefully collecting third on the final lap, finishing a whisker ahead of Garry Findlay's Van Diemen. Cammish recovered to sixth, just behind Chrissy Palmer. "That was a lot of fun," said the victorious Newgarden. "The safety car mixed everything up and maybe even made it a better show. Our races are so close, the crowd have got to love them. Everyone gets a kick out of watching them." Patrick McKenna battled with Palmer for much of the race, eventually coming home seventh, ahead of Spain's Jordi Cunill, Dutchman Liroy Stuart and Brazilian Fabio Gamberini to make it seven different nationalities in the top 10. On Sunday morning Newgarden showed his rivals a clean set of heels with a lights-to-flag victory in the 11th round. Once again, his nearest challenger was the Jamun Racing Mygale of James Cole. JTR driver Newgarden confidently translated pole position into a race lead as the pack headed off from the green light, holding firm against the challenge from the Kevin Mills Racing Spectrum of Cammish. Further back, Findlay found an early advantage in his Fluid Motorsport Van Diemen, powering from ninth on the grid to hold sixth at the end of lap one. Newgarden was one second clear of the chasing pack on lap two, while on the next tour the Cole was able to claw back second spot from Cammish and set about attacking for the lead. Behind Cammish, Patrick McKenna and Daniel Erickson were locked in a similarly tight fight for fourth, the Irishman's Jamun Racing Mygale besting the Australian on lap four. Up front, Newgarden was holding a steady advantage, while Cammish, struggling with understeer, was facing a multi-car challenge for his third place, McKenna nailing the move through Riches at the start of lap six, with Erickson also moving through to take fourth on the same tour. The status quo at the front held firm through lap seven, with a revived Cammish hauling a place back from Erickson on lap eight. Chrissy Palmer's GV Racing Mygale joined the leading pack to challenge Findlay for sixth place, only to be overhauled by team-mate Jordi Cunill on lap nine. Cole succeeded in cutting Newgarden's lead by half by lap 10, with Cammish managing to open a breathing space ahead of Erickson and his pursuers. Cole posted fastest lap of the race on lap 11, but this was still not enough to put him on terms with the leader, who remained half a second clear. Findlay's determination paid off on lap 12, with a successful move on Erickson to take fifth. The Australian was destined to fall further back, overhauled by both Palmer and Cunill on lap 14. On the penultimate lap, the leading duo were closer than ever, but Cole could find no answer to Newgarden's pre-eminence. Rather it was Cammish who launched a late braking attack on McKenna through Riches and Sear, but was ultimately unable to better his fourth position. At the flag Newgarden came home less than half a second ahead of Cole, with McKenna third and Cammish fourth and top Scholarship finisher. Findlay held fifth and Palmer's late dash for the flag saw him wrest sixth from Cunill by a whisker. Erickson, Liroy Stuart and Alex Jones completed the top 10. "This was not such a comfortable win as yesterday," said Newgarden. "I had some loose bodywork that was lifting along the straight and adding to the drag. It could have hindered us but I had enough pace to keep ahead. I'm really pleased with the result, we need to keep the ball rolling now." Added Cole: "We are fast enough to win but Josef consistently put in very good laps and I just had to keep with him as best I could." The third race of the weekend saw Spain's Jordi Cunill celebrate the first single-seater victory of his racing career, the 16-year-old seizing a hard-fought win on the last lap. Jordi clinched a passing move on his GV Racing team-mate Chrissy Palmer to take first place by less than a tenth of a second. His success was the culmination of a thrilling race-long battle between four drivers. At the start Cole converted his pole position into an early lead, with Newgarden, winner of the weekend's two previous rounds, unable to fend off Palmer's charge from third on the grid into second. Newgarden was not to be bested for long, however, and he regained the advantage into the Esses to lead the field at the end of the second lap. As Newgarden threatened to build a clear lead on lap three, behind him there was a close battle for second place, held by Cole from Palmer and Cunill. A little further back, Cammish led the chasing group. By the end of lap four, Cole had clawed back Newgarden's lead to 0.8 seconds; next time around the gap was closer, but Cole himself had Palmer and Cunill in close attention. With Newgarden unable to break free, these four were all in contention for the lead on lap six, with Cole initiating the first in a series of slipstreaming manoeuvres that would take each man to the front before the chequered flag. Newgarden was back in front on lap eight, only to cede to Cole again on the next tour, the Jamun Racing pilot holding on to the lead for the next two laps, albeit by less than two tenths of a second. Behind the quartet out front, Cammish was a 3.5 seconds further back and facing a growing challenge from Garry Findlay in the Fluid Motorsport Van Diemen. On lap 13 it was change again, as Cole faced payback time from Newgarden along the Revett Straight and into the chicane. Next time around the pack was shuffled once more, Palmer making it to the front for the first time, from Newgarden, Cunill and Cole. He made the move stick for a further lap, with Cunill moving ahead of Cole to second. On the last lap Cunill timed his move perfectly to relegate Palmer to second, while Newgarden also benefited from a bold manoeuvre on the outside of Riches to seize third place from Cole. Findlay had made it past Cammish on the penultimate lap and held fifth by 0.266 seconds, Cammish took sixth by just the same margin from Patrick McKenna. Liroy Stuart, Ben Barker and Alex Jones completed the top 10 finishers. Edged off the podium, Cole's consolation was fastest lap of the race. "This win means a lot to me," said Cunill. "It's my first in a single-seater. It's very exciting for me, especially as I have achieved it with my new team. We've worked very hard for this and now it has all worked out right. It gives me a lot of confidence going forward to Donington." Provisional results MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain round 10 (of 25) Snetterton 4/7/2009. 14 laps / 27.33 miles
Fastest lap: Newgarden 1m 10.541s / 99.61mph Round 11 - Snetterton 5/7/2009. 16 laps / 31.23 miles
Fastest lap: Cole 1m 10.503s / 99.67mph Round 12 Snetterton 5/7/2009. 15 laps / 29.28 miles
SCOTLAND WELCOMES THREE NEW FORMULA FORD VICTORS
Barker and Findlay took the first wins of the season for Van Diemen, while Palmer and his Mygale brought a first victory for the GV Racing team, the squad formed by former champion Michael Vergers. It wasn't a great weekend for championship leader James Cole, nor for his Jamun Racing team. They made the podium only once and Cole's series lead was reduced from 29 points to 16. Barker's pole-to-chequered flag victory in Saturday's Knockhill race was as impressive as it was unexpected, the Fluid Motorsport driver's previous best race result having been a sixth. The Suffolk 17-year-old beat Jamun Racing's Irish driver Patrick McKenna to the pole by just three-thousandths of a second in what was the season's closest-yet qualifying session: less than a second covered the top 18 cars. Barker led the field away at the lights like he had been taking control of Formula Ford races all his life; by one-third distance he was 4.4s clear and with two-thirds of the race completed Ben was 7.0s up the road and well on the way to a notable maiden victory. Barker's getaway was aided by a furious scrap for second place which resulted in several incidents. Alex Jones held second early on, his Spectrum in good form after a rebuild necessitated by a heavy qualifying off, until he was passed by McKenna at the hairpin on the fourth lap. The Jones/McKenna duel continued for two laps until there was contact between them, which delayed the Irishman and led after a couple of laps to Jones's retirement. That promoted championship leader Cole to second, pursued by the Spectrums of Daniels Erickson and Cammish, until there was a coming-together between the three of them, again at the hairpin. Cammish emerged largely unscathed to slot into second ahead of his team-mate, while Cole slipped well back after a grassy moment. Barker crossed the line 8.2s clear of Cammish to record Van Diemen's first win of the season, with Erickson close behind for third and his maiden podium. "I just put my head down and went," said Barker. "It wasn't until half way through the race that I looked in my mirrors and found there was no-one to be seen. I was so chuffed. The car handled perfectly from start to finish." For the first time in more races than anyone can remember, there was no Mygale driver on the podium. Spanish 16-year-old Jordi Cunill was the leading Mygale finisher, an excellent fourth in only his seventh race for GV Racing. Cunill's new team-mate Palmer was right behind him for fifth, with Cole recovering to sixth after passing team-mate McKenna four laps from the end. Garry Findlay's Van Diemen was seventh after a spin, with McKenna, Rogier de Wit and Josh Hill completing the top 10. Josef Newgarden, a race winner last month for JTR, finished 15th after fuel pressure problems in qualifying and a drive-through penalty in the race for a warning flag infringement. Local hero Joe Tanner gave the new Danish-built Aquila an encouraging championship debut, taking 17th in a straight-from-the-box and largely untested chassis. There was to be no fairy-tale repeat win for Barker on Sunday morning, nor any further joy for the luckless Jones. Barker was out even before he took up his grid slot, a broken driveshaft halting his Van Diemen, while pole-sitter Jones jumped the start and was penalised with a pit lane drive-through. Thus it was Findlay, who started third on the grid, who took up the running for the Fluid team early on. Garry twice built a handy lead over his pursuers only for the Safety Car to come into play and wipe out his advantage. Erickson was a close pursuer after the final safety car period, but fate dealt Findlay a useful card when Josh Hill spun at Scotsman Corner, dislodging some tyres. "The tyres got moved out in front of me and I clipped them," said Erickson. "My front wheel was out for the rest of the race, so there wasn't much I could do." Findlay took the win - his first - by just under a second. Cammish might have taken third but he got caught up with Erickson's tyre trouble. "I had the speed to win that race, but Daniel unfortunately clipped the tyres, bounced back and clipped my car, which knocked the steering out of line." Cammish slipped to sixth but was, for the eighth straight time, the Scholarship Class victor. Thus it was championship leader James Cole who quietly progressed from sixth on the grid to third, just ahead of his team-mate McKenna, who scored his best result of the year despite having to nurse a bruised thumb. Newgarden took fifth, with Cammish followed home by Kieran Vernon, Hill, Palmer and Tanner. Championship newcomer Josh Benson was 11th in his DW Racing Ray. And still the drama kept on coming... For race three it was Newgarden's turn to start from the pole thanks to his second-race fastest lap, with Findlay and Palmer behind him on the grid. Findlay made the better start but his efforts to relieve the American of the lead into Duffus Dip resulted in his Van Diemen's front wheel tagging the Mygale's rear, with Newgarden launched into a violent spin from which he was fortunate to recover. Findlay was delayed by the incident also, so it was Palmer who profited, the GV Racing Mygale pilot completing the opening lap a useful 2.5s ahead of Daniel Erickson's Spectrum. Findlay and Newgarden got going again fifth and sixth, and Findlay was quick to dispose of Cammish and Cunill to slot into third. Erickson dedicated himself to nibbling away at Palmer's lead, reducing it to nothing by the 12th lap and then, six laps later, stealing past Chrissy for the lead into the hairpin. Erickson led for a lap and a bit until Palmer responded in great style to regain top spot through Carlube corner. Enough drama for one race? Not quite... At the last corner of the final lap, fourth-placed Cammish launched an impossibly optimistic move to try to pass not only Findlay but also Erickson, and the Australian got punted off the track within sight of a podium finish. Palmer, the 2008 Scholarship champion, crossed the line 1.4s clear of Findlay to claim his and the GV Racing team's maiden victory, with his team-mate, 16-year-old Cunill, snatching third from the last-corner scrum. Cammish emerged a sheepish fourth ahead of Newgarden, Cole, Hill and Jones. Barker was ninth after battling through from last on the grid, and Rogier de Wit 10th ahead of his countryman Liroy Stuart. The results from Knockhill remain provisional pending the stewards' inspection of video evidence.
Provisional
results
Round 8
Round 9
ROCKINGHAM SCORELINE: COLE 2, NEWGARDEN 1
Newgarden's victory was the first for JTR team since the death of its young founder, Joe Tandy. Josef said on the victory podium: "It was really tough out there. Memories of Joe kept popping into my mind. That one was for him. He was the heart of the team, and he's the one who drove us. I hope he's looking down and that he's proud of us now. We are going to keep the rhythm going." An exciting qualifying session saw the top 15 drivers separated by just seven-tenths of a second, and the Kevin Mills Racing Spectrum of Scholarship Class leader Daniel Cammish claiming its maiden pole position. As the start, Cole's Jamun Racing Mygale was slow away, which hampered his chances for the remainder of the race. Dutch driver Rogier De Wit meanwhile stormed through from fourth on the grid, initially to take the lead before a fired-up Newgarden stole it from his grasp. Cammish, still coming to terms with circuit racing, had dropped to third, afterwards commenting: "I was really happy about my first pole position, but I'm really struggling to get off the line; it's only my fifth standing start." Despite losing out in the early stages, De Wit was not about to ease up and hand control of the race to rival Newgarden. As the field came around for the second time De Wit moved up the inside of the American into the Deene hairpin and managed to find a way past for the lead. A brief safety car period gave Newgarden the chance he needed: at the restart he took advantage of De Wit into the Deene hairpin to take the lead once more. Cammish swept past Rogier also for second, before the thundering Fluid Motorsport Van Diemen of Garry Findlay, which started fifth, muscled its way past the Leeds driver. Behind the lead battle, Daniel Erickson, De Wit, Chrissy Palmer, Alex Jones and Liroy Stuart were enjoying an intense tussle for fifth, gradually pulling away from the chasing train. Fired up after his early success, De Wit was determined to make up lost ground and soon made a move on Erickson for fifth. Seeing this ignited the fire for Palmer, Jones and Stuart as they too began to hassle Erickson for position. Back up at the front Cole, recovering from his tardy start, managed to find a way past Findlay for second. Twelve laps completed and it was Newgarden who exited the final turn to the welcome sight of the chequered flag. Championship leader Cole was second, with Findlay managing to hold third ahead of Scholarship Class victor Cammish. Cammish made yet another slow start in the first of Sunday's two races, dropping him down the order as Cole, Newgarden and De Wit made the early running. Dan soon recovered to seize fourth place from Findlay. A spin by Ben Barker at the Deene hairpin brought out the Safety Car during the clear-up operation, and at the restart Cole effectively settled the outcome of the race by getting a jump on his rivals and leaving them to fight amongst themselves. De Wit, still determined to find a way past race one winner Newgarden, was hassling the American at every opportunity, an opening eventually appearing as the pair entered Tarzan. Unfortunately for Josef, he was passed also by Cammish and Findlay, demoting him to fifth. Cole crossed the line 1.9s ahead of De Wit. Pleased with his triumph, the 20-year-old said: "It was a very good race, a really hard race; Josef was catching me up all the time." Cammish transformed his difficult start into third place and a second Scholarship Class win. Reigning Scholarship Champion Chrissy Palmer, enjoying his first outings for the Jamun team, followed up his Saturday sixth-place finish with another sixth, behind Findlay and Newgarden. Determined to repeat his race one performance, Newgarden was out for a win in the third and final race of the weekend; starting from pole position was a clear advantage but nonetheless he dropped back to fifth during the opening stages until the JTR man pulled off an outstanding move on Palmer around the outside at Tarzan, allowing him to advance back up the order. Starting from third on the grid, Cole wasn't expecting too much from race three. "I'm aiming for the podium," he said. "I'd love to get the win but it's going to be difficult." It wasn't as difficult as he thought, as three laps from the end he fought his way past the leading Getem Racing Mygale of De Wit, demoting the Dutchman to second. Commenting on his second win of the day, an ecstatic Cole said: "It went very, very well. I was just trying to stay with Rogier, and when I got the opportunity to take it I did. Two wins and a second, identical to Oulton Park, so I'm really happy with that. It's brilliant." Newgarden seized third away from Findlay almost within sight of the chequered flag, and despite late challenges mounted by Findlay, Josef held on to his position. Palmer, completing a rewarding weekend, progressed from his sixth place grid slot to finish fifth, ahead of Cammish, who completed his weekend with a sixth successive Scholarship Class win. Josh Hill, who retired with a gear linkage problem during race one, put in his best result of the weekend with seventh, just ahead of Erickson, Jordi Cunill and Barker, who scored his first Rockingham finish. Jones, having started seventh, fought back from a drive-through penalty to cross the line a respectable 12th. Tribute to Joe Tandy The Rockingham pit lane fell silent yesterday as the cast and crew of the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series, the MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain and associated series observed a one-minute tribute to Joe Tandy, the JTR team chief who was killed in a road accident two weeks ago. More than 100 people surrounded the JTR pit garages to show their support and respect for the Tandy family, Joe's friends and JTR team members. Joe's family said: "Joe, Marilyn and Nick would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming kindness and support we have received. It is comforting to know that Joe was so highly thought of." Provisional results MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain round 4 (of 25) Rockingham 30/5/2009. 12 laps / 23.28 miles
Scholarship class: Cammish Fastest lap: Cole 1m 21.953s / 85.21mph Round 5 Rockingham 31/5/2009. 13 laps / 25.22 miles
Scholarship class: Cammish Fastest lap: Newgarden 1m 22.359s / 84.79mph Round 6 Rockingham 31/5/2009. 13 laps / 25.22 miles
NEWGARDEN JOINS COLE IN THE WINNERS' CIRCLE
Cole led Saturday's opening round of the Ford-backed series from pole position to chequered flag, and he did so again in round two, once again under intense pressure from Van Diemen pilot Garry Findlay. Unlike Saturday's race the grid made a clean getaway. Instead it was a few yards down the road, at Old Hall Corner, that catastrophe struck. A spinner in the pack led to a collision which resulted in Alex Jones, Patrick McKenna and Jordi Cunill retiring from the race. The top four - Cole, Findlay, Daniel Cammish and Newgarden - quickly broke from the chasing pack, using each other's tow to increase the gap between them and fifth-placed Peter Barrable and his immediate pursuer, Juno Racing's Chrissy Palmer, who had made another lightning getaway. Heading into Hislop's Chicane on lap three, Palmer launched himself up the inside of Barrable's Fluid Motorsport Van Diemen, stealing fifth. Barrable fought back to begin a battle that would last to the chequered flag. After pushing Cole throughout Saturday's season opener, Findlay was eager to take the top step of the podium second time around, trying his utmost to find a way past the Jamun Racing Mygale. Inches behind, Cammish and Newgarden were echoing this behaviour, with Newgarden piling on the pressure. Cole started to make his push for victory on the fourth of the 11 laps, building a one-second gap which he was able to extend to nearly three seconds in the closing stages as Findlay fell back into the clutches of Cammish's KMR Spectrum and Newgarden's JTR Mygale and all three started to scrabble for the same piece of tarmac. Behind, Liroy Stuart and Josh Hill were battling for sixth, with Hill enjoying his first proper Formula Ford race after crashing out in Saturday's startline shunt. Despite Hill's best defensive efforts, Dutch driver Stuart managed to find a way past and began gradually to pull away. After eleven laps Cole exited Deer Leap to see the chequered flag. "The start was really good," said James. "Nearer the end I could see Garry catching me so I had to push a little bit and made sure I finished." Newgarden finished third, with Cammish fourth, again top of the Scholarship Class. Rogier De Wit in his Getem Racing Mygale stormed through from eleventh on the grid to fifth, ahead of Stuart and Hill, while Australian Daniel Erickson powered from 22nd to ninth, finishing less than a second behind Palmer. The final lap saw Kieran Vernon overtake Zaamin Jaffer for 10th. With Findlay starting race three from the pole, Garry was hoping to make it to the top step of the podium for the first time, but with the determined Newgarden alongside it was always going to be difficult. Newgarden launched into Old Hall ahead while Cole, starting from the second row, followed him through. Stuart took up third, progressing from sixth on the grid to temporarily jump ahead of Cammish. An unlucky Findlay lost out at the lights, losing several places while the fast-starting De Wit exploded off the line to join the leading quartet for track position. After a brief safety car period, caused by the Ray of Luke Williams becoming beached on the kerbs, Newgarden made the best of the restart, pulling a useful gap over Cole and more or less ensuring that the rounds one and two victor would not be able to get close enough to attempt a pass. Hill made a good restart also and joined in the battle for seventh with Palmer and Barrable. A recovering Findlay, now right on the tail of third-place man Cammish, was eager to find a way past and to get up with the leaders. Cammish had other ideas, however, defending well until an error a lap from home through Old Hall allowed Findlay up his inside and into third. Newgarden crossed the line three-tenths clear of championship frontrunner Cole and was pleased to take the top step of the podium: "It was a tough race, one of the toughest races I've dealt with," he said. "But I'm happy we've finally got a win under our belts." Findlay held off Cammish for third, while the early pace of De Wit secured him fifth. Stuart crossed the line sixth, ahead of the Barrable-Hill battle. Erickson managed to jump Palmer for ninth, with the latter rounding out the top ten. Alex Jones, having had three good starts in as many races, again suffered bad luck. "In the third race I managed to get up to 12th after starting 21st," he said. "I was going really well, really flying until a mechanical problem coming out of Shell put paid to my race," said the Welsh driver. Provisional results Round 3 JAMES COLE DOMINATES AT OULTON PARK
Twenty-year-old Southport-based Cole made a strong start to head the field into the first corner and remained in front to the end. "This weekend's gone very well," said James. "We got pole and won the race, with fastest lap as well, so very good." Cole is hoping that tomorrow's second and third rounds will prove just as successful for him: "In the next two races really anything apart from a win is going to be disappointing after today." A chaotic start to the race saw the JTR Mygale of Josef Newgarden unable to get away from the grid and a subsequent collision which left the American championship debutant, Josh Hill and Fabio Gamberini out of the running as Cole, Daniel Cammish in the Kevin Mills Spectrum and Garry Findlay's works Van Diemen romped away at the front. After a brief Safety Car period, introduced during clearing-up of the startline smash, Dutch driver Liroy Stuart continued his strong progress in the surviving JTR Mygale. Promoted to fifth (from ninth on the grid) on the opening lap by the crash, Stuart snatched fourth from his countryman Rogier De Wit when the Getem Mygale driver ran wide at Old Hall. The race soon began to take form, with the leading trio running nose to tail and working together to pull away from the remainder of the pack. Gradually Cole was able to break away from Cammish and Findlay, extending his lead to a second by the seventh of the 10 laps. Behind him, Findlay managed to make a move: a brave dive up the inside of Cammish's Spectrum at Old Hall elevated him to second place. The battle for fifth was another hot one, with De Wit reeled in and passed by Chrissy Palmer, who was giving the all-new Juno an impressive race debut. Reigning Scholarship Champion Palmer started 12th and battled hard with De Wit, securing fifth only on the final lap. Cole's victory margin over Findlay was 1.3s. Garry was pleased with his result: "It's good: good points straight away and I think that we're in a strong position. On Monday we'll be going for the wins, but we've just got to get through the first corner." Cammish took third and was top finisher in the Scholarship Class - a superb Formula Ford debut. "It's been a great weekend so far," he said. "Friday was difficult being a novice, but I've surprised myself." Stuart held on to fourth, ahead of Palmer, Ben Barker - another excellent first-timer - De Wit, Peter Barrable, Kieran Vernon and Australian driver Daniel Erickson, who battled to 10th from 22nd on the grid after having his best qualifying lap time disallowed. Hinting at competitive times ahead this season, drivers from five different teams, using four different types of chassis, occupied the top five finishing positions. Provisional
results
Pics Jakob Ebrey Photography
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Having led the MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain all
season, 21-year-old James Cole secured the championship title today at
the final meeting of the season at Castle Combe.
Palmer's 24th-round win was a masterclass in wet-track driving, the
18-year-old gaining the lead on the opening lap - after losing pole
advantage to the impressively fast-starting Dan Cammish - and holding on
to it all the way to the chequered flag despite seeing his hard-won lead
diminished by a brief interruption from the safety car.
Driving like a man possessed, Hill meanwhile leapt from
eighth to fourth, and then dived down the inside of Cammish at Camp
Corner next time around to slot into third and claim his second podium
finish of the season.
Palmer made a better getaway from the pole this time to lead Cole and
Newgarden into turn one, with Josef lifting second place from Cole with
a brave move around the outside at Camp at the end of the opening lap.
More to come from Scholarship Champ Cammish?
Josef
Newgarden's MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain title hopes
took a dent yesterday, for although the young American won both races at
Brands Hatch he was excluded from one of them for a technical
infringement, handing the victory to the favourite for the championship
crown, James Cole. Newgarden's JTR team is appealing the decision, and
thus the title will likely be decided by the rule makers rather than on
the track.
Despite
two race wins this weekend at Brands Hatch, Josef Newgarden failed to
make any impression on James Cole's points lead in the MSA Formula Ford
Championship of Great Britain. Cole took a third, a second and won the
last of the Brands races to extend slightly his title race advantage to
61 points. With just four races remaining, James has a real opportunity
to wrap up his campaign when the championship returns to Brands in a
fortnight's time. 
Three
new faces were welcomed to the MSA British Formula Ford Championship
winners' circle this weekend at Knockhill, Ben Barker, Garry Findlay and
Chrissy Palmer claiming the victory spoils in a hectic trio of Scottish
races.
Josef
Newgarden and James Cole underlined their winning form in the MSA
Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain this weekend at Rockingham,
with the former claiming an emotional victory for the JTR team in race
one and the latter emerging triumphant in races two and three to extend
his championship lead. 
First-round
dominator James Cole and American hot shot Josef Newgarden were the men
to beat in the second and third rounds of the MSA Formula Ford
Championship of Great Britain yesterday (Mon), taking a win apiece in
their Mygales for the Jamun Racing and JTR teams.
Home-circuit
hero James Cole was the dominant force in the first race of the new MSA
Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain season at Oulton Park
yesterday (Saturday), seizing pole position at the wheel of his Jamun
Racing Mygale and a race one win.