WIN NUMBER 10 FOR PYE AT BRANDS HATCH

Title protagonist Scott Pye led home a Jamun Racing 1-2-3 at the team's home circuit of Brands Hatch today in an incident strewn 18th round of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain. The Australian led from pole position to chequered flag to rack up his 10th win of the season ahead of Danish driver Emil Bernstorff and Josh Hill.

Pye was inch-perfect throughout, heading off race-long challenges from Bernstorff and surviving a lengthy safety car period caused by a spin into the Druids Hill Bend gravel trap by Zaamin Jaffer. Alas the sizeable Brands Hatch crowd - drawn not only by Formula Ford but also by the German touring car and Euro F3 races - was denied a race to the chequered flag by a further safety car period after a nasty 15th-lap crash involving the cars of Scholarship class leader Tristan Mingay and Dutch guest driver Pieter Schothorst.

The crash came moments after Guest driver Tom Bradshaw's Juno was tapped into a spin on the approach to Paddock Hill Bend. Behind, there was heavy contact between Mingay's Ray and the pursuing Geva Racing Mygale of Schothorst, Mingay's car spinning into the pit wall as a consequence. Tristan suffered a slight knee injury in the impact and the delay in retrieving the wreckage meant the final four laps were completed under controlled conditions. Schothorst was later excluded from the meeting by race officials.

Pye was thrilled with his win, if not the manner in which it came: "It's never great to win a race under the safety car, but it's motor racing and it happens… Whatever, it was my 10th win and a Jamun 1-2-3 and it doesn't get much better than that. My plan is to keep banging in the wins just like that."

Finnish driver Antti Buri started third on the grid and slotted into third behind Pye and Bernstorff at the start, with Hill crawling all over the rear of his car in a bid to lift the final podium slot. Josh got his chance at the restart on lap 11, getting a better exit from Clark Curve to overhaul the Finn across the start/finish line. As well as his podium, Hill also broke the three-year-old Brands Indy lap record.

Buri held off championship leader Scott Malvern to secure fourth, Dempsey Racing Ray driver Malvern blaming a lack of grip for his under-par performance. JTR Mygale drivers Dan Cammish and Tio Ellinas took sixth and seventh, Cypriot Ellinas battling through from 11th on the grid. Dan de Zille's Minister Mygale claimed eighth after James Tucker was penalised by half a second for overtaking under yellow flags. Jake Cook's Getem-prepared Mygale completed the top 10.

With Mingay's enforced absence from the finishing order, the sole Scholarship class finisher was Luke Williams.

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