| SILVERSTONE
SCORELINE TANDY 2, MACLEOD 1
12 August, 2007:
Callum MacLeod saw his British Formula Ford Championship points
lead reduced slightly at Silverstone after what was by his
standards a relatively lean weekend.
The 19-year-old
Northampton driver collected just the one race win, plus a
second-place finish, for the Jamun Racing team, but also notched
up his first non-finish of the season. MacLeod's arch-rival, Nick
Tandy, netted two race wins to keep alive his hopes in the
Ford-backed series.
After Tandy's
somewhat fortunate Saturday win in round 13 - which was gifted to
him when race-long leader MacLeod tangled with a backmarker on the
final lap - Nick was clearly out to earn his place on the top step
of the podium in Sunday morning's round 14.
Tandy made a
deliberately cautious start in the tricky damp conditions,
allowing the pole-sitting Mygale of MacLeod to establish an early
lead. Having fended off a first-lap challenge from James Nash,
Nick then set about clawing his way back on to terms with MacLeod.
A succession of
fastest race laps brought Tandy's JTR Ray to within a second of
the leader by the lap four. Next time around Nick had reduced the
gap to next to nothing and then, on lap six, he made his move at
Priory, liberating top spot from the championship leader. Tandy
romped on to a 2.9-second victory, his second of the weekend and
his third of the season.
MacLeod said he was
happy enough to settle for second: "In these conditions and
with my championship lead I decided that trying to fight Nick for
the win wasn't worth the risk."
Said Tandy:
"My first lap was a bit cautious but I thought going into the
race that we would have better pace in the conditions. The JTR Ray
is awesome in the damp."
Nash held off a
determined Jay Bridger for the duration to collect third and his
eighth podium finish of the season, but Jay's last-lap lunge to
displace his rival earned him nothing more tangible than a spin.
In fact it lost him fourth place also, Linton Stuteley nipping
past Bridger as he recovered from his faux pas.
David Brown
followed Bridger home for sixth, with Adrian Campfield getting the
better of an entertaining duel with Marcus Weller to claim
seventh. Weller lost out to his Fluid team-mate Takashi Nagase on
the final lap, slipping to ninth, with Sarah Playfair poaching
10th from Marc Murray on the final lap also.
Matt Dobson
recovered from early dramas to overcome Spain's Marcello Conchado
to take his customary Scholarship Class victory.
Tandy's hopes of a
hat-trick of Silverstone wins took an early bashing in the second
Sunday race when Nick, who had started well from the pole to take
an early lead, ran off the circuit on the exit to Maggotts.
Virtually the whole field streamed past him as he regained the
circuit and he completed the opening lap languishing 18th.
All of which played
very nicely into MacLeod's hands, Callum finding a way past Nash
for the lead on the third lap and easing away to the win that had
thus far eluded him all weekend. Callum had nearly seven seconds
in hand over Nash at the line and was delighted with win eight:
"I knew going into the race that I had a good chance to win -
my tyres were in much better shape than Nick's because I looked
after them in race two. It's nice to get the win and it's all good
for the championship."
Bridger ousted
Stuteley from third early in the race but found Nash a more tricky
prospect, James clinging on to second at the flag. Tandy rebounded
from his first-lap mishap to pass 14 cars and snatch fourth, while
the canny Brown waited until the final lap to find his way past
Stuteley for fifth.
Marc Murray
followed Linton home for seventh ahead of Campfield, Lee Mumford
and Weller. Dobson collected his ninth consecutive Scholarship
Class victory after the early demise of his only class rival,
Conchado.
Provisional
results
British Formula Ford round 14 (of 25)
Silverstone 12/8/2007. 13 laps / 29.24 miles
1, Nick Tandy, UK/Bedford, JTR/Ray, 19m14.208s
2, Callum MacLeod, UK/Northampton, Jamun/Mygale, +2.865s
3, James Nash, UK/Newport Pagnell, Mills/Van Diemen, +6.818s
4, Linton Stuteley, UK/Stevenage, Getem/Mygale, +11.295s
5, Jay Bridger, UK/Tonbridge, Fluid/Mygale, +12.010s
6, David Brown, UK/Glasgow, Mills/Van Diemen, +16.511s
Scholarship class: Matt Dobson, UK/Colchester/Van Diemen, 20th /
12 laps
Fastest lap: Tandy 1m25.867s / 94.28mph
Round 15 /
Silverstone 12/8/2007. 13 laps / 29.24 miles
1, Callum MacLeod, UK/Northampton, Jamun/Mygale, 18m54.236s
2, James Nash, UK/Newport Pagnell, Mills/Van Diemen, +6.830s
3, Jay Bridger, UK/Tonbridge, Fluid/Mygale, +7.170s
4, Nick Tandy, UK/Bedford, JTR/Ray, +11.747s
5, David Brown, UK/Glasgow, Mills/Van Diemen, +13.544s
6, Linton Stuteley, UK/Stevenage, Getem/Mygale, +13.892s
Scholarship class: Dobson, 19th +58.629s
Fastest lap: MacLeod 1m25.488s / 94.70mph |
