8 October, 2006: Nathan Freke crowned his UK Formula Ford Championship-winning season with another race victory - his 10th - yesterday (Sat) at Castle Combe, with Nick Tandy pipping Freke to the line to win race two and secure championship runner-up position.

Both races held the sizeable Formula Ford Carnival crowd captivated throughout and provided a fitting end to what has proved a remarkably successful and exciting year for the rejuvenated Ford-backed series. Combe also saw 18-year-old David Brown confirmed as Scholarship Cup Champion and Neil Tofts securing the Clubmans Cup title.

Freke was on superb form in qualifying once again, his Jamun Racing Services-prepared Mygale claiming pole position for both races to take his seasonal tally of poles to 13.

And Kidderminster-based Nathan led all the way in race one, despite intense pressure from a succession of drivers. His team-mate Jay Bridger held second on the opening lap before slipping back, and then Ireland's Peter Dempsey led Freke's pursuers, until a heart-stopping spin down the main straight at the start of the eighth lap. Peter had hooked a wheel on the dirt as his Ray exited Camp Corner and spun through 360 degrees in the middle of the track, miraculously avoiding contact.

Steve Roberts thus took over in second in his Kevin Mills Racing Van Diemen, closing the gap on Freke to 0.8s, before Tandy popped past to take runner-up spot on the penultimate lap. Freke crossed the line 2.8s ahead of Tandy, with Roberts a tenth further behind to take third; he was pleased to be back on the podium after a three-month absence.

Said Freke: "It's brilliant to have ended my championship-winning year with a win, particularly one that was far from easy. Peter gave me a hard time at the start and then so did Steve and Nick. This one is for all the many people who have supported me this season."

Less than 10 seconds covered the top seven at the line, South African Sean Petterson claiming fourth ahead of Australian John Martin and Ulster's Richard Tannahill. Dempsey recovered from his spin and fought back from 10th to seventh at the flag.

Christian Ebbesvik took eighth, Linton Stuteley ninth and David Mayes 10th, just ahead of the Mygale of Tofts, who beat Callum McLeod to 11th and the Clubman's Cup class win, securing the club championship title in the process.

Freke and Tandy gave a fantastic show from lights to chequered flag in race two, Freke leading his rival for the first 11 laps - but only by whisker - before Tandy and his family-run Ray swept through to take top spot. Freke then smashed the lap record, set earlier in the day by Tandy, in response and swept back into the lead with four laps to go.

With a third race win and second in the championship in his sights, Nick was not to be denied, however. Tandy regained the lead next time around and held on in front to pip Freke to the line by a tenth. "That was thrilling," said Nick. "Nathan and I were side by side and on the limit of adhesion for most of the race. It's a great end to the year for me."

Dempsey started from 12th on the grid after dramas in qualifying and his charge through the field was another highlight of the race. Peter lifted third from Martin with three laps to go, the final podium placing just enough to secure for him third place in the championship.

Martin placed a comfortable fourth ahead of Tannahill and Roberts, with James Nash - who was eliminated from race one in a first-lap clash with Jonny Baker - seventh in his repaired Van Diemen. Bridger, Petterson, Ebbesvik, Stuteley and Australia's Nathan Caratti rounded out the top 12.

Freed from the constraint of having to finish at all costs, Glasgow's David Brown turned in champion performances to win the Scholarship class in both races, overhauling rapid Japanese pilot Takashi Nagase along the way. Brown's prize includes the loan of a Van Diemen chassis and Scholar-tuned Duratec engine for an assault on the 2007 UK Formula Ford Championship.

Spain's Marcello Conchado was 20th and a surprised Clubman's Cup victor after Tofts failed to make the grid and McLeod fell by the wayside.

Provisional results UKFF round 19, Castle Combe, 7/10/2006. 15 laps / 27.75 miles
1, Nathan Freke, UK/Kidderminster, Jamun, Mygale, 20m 37.124s
2, Nick Tandy, UK/Bedford, Tandy, Ray, +2.804s
3, Steve Roberts, UK/Whitchurch, Mills, Van Diemen, +2.931s
4, Sean Petterson, ZA/Walton, Jamun, Mygale, +4.670s
5, John Martin, AUS/Blackwater, Borland, Spectrum, +5.873s
6, Richard Tannahill, UK/Coleraine, Mills, Van Diemen, +6.056s
Clubmans Cup: Neil Tofts (UK/Mygale) / 11th overall +23.922s
Scholarship Cup: David Brown (UK/Van Diemen) / 16th overall +29.513s
Fastest lap: Tandy 1m 07.863s / 98.13mph (est rec)

Round 20, Castle Combe, 7/10/2006. 18 laps / 33.3 miles
1, Tandy, 20m 38.011s
2, Freke, +0.103s
3, Peter Dempsey, IRL/Ashbourne, Dempsey, Ray, +3.309s
4, Martin, +3.848s
5, Tannahill, +6.603s
6, Roberts, +11.312s
Scholarship Cup: Brown / 15th overall +41.087s
Clubmans Cup: Marcelo Conchado (ESP/Mygale) / 20th overall, 17 laps
Fastest lap: Freke 1m 07.552s / 98.59mph (rec)

Provisional final championship placings
Overall 1 Freke 526 points; 2 Tandy 365; 3 Dempsey 363; 4 Christian Ebbesvik (NOR/Van Diemen) 357; 5 James Nash (UK/Van Diemen) 355; 6 Tannahill 299 etc.
Scholarship 1 Brown 532; 2 Jamie Jardine (UK/Van Diemen) 424; 3 Simon Kinsey (UK/Van Diemen) 422; 4 Takashi Nagase (JAP/Van Diemen) 417 etc.
Clubmans Cup 1 Tofts 355; 2 Craig Bell (UK/Van Diemen) 295; 3 David Mayes (UK/Ray) 291 etc.

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