PYE CLAIMS
VICTORY NUMBER 3 AS RIVALS FALTER
9 May 2010:
After the disappointment of failing to complete a single lap in
round four, Aussie battler Scott Pye needed a good result in this
morning's fifth round of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship
of Great Britain to keep alive his title hopes. And that's exactly
what Scott got - a victory by a huge margin with his chief rivals
Josh Hill and Scott Malvern suffering all sorts of problems.
But Jamun driver
Pye's route to his third win of the season was very far from
straightforward: he was the third leader of the race and was
embroiled for much of it in a major dice with Malvern and Hill.
There was a big shunt, too, involving Antti Buri's Enigma Mygale
and Dan Cammish in the KMR Spectrum, and plenty more excitement
besides.
Pole-sitter and
championship leader Malvern led the way initially in his Cliff
Dempsey Racing Ray, chased by Pye, Hill, Buri, Cammish and Tio
Ellinas in the JTR Mygale. Hill was out to prove his Saturday race
victory was no fluke, and popped past his team-mate Pye for second
at the chicane on lap five. Two laps later, Josh seized the lead
from Malvern at Leslie's, with Pye following him through a couple
of corners later to bump Malvern back to third.
Hill's tenure in
the lead lasted six laps, Pye lining things up perfectly into the
hairpin to enable him to get best traction out of the slow final
corner. Scott outdragged Josh up the hill across the start/finish
line and quickly pulled a useful lead to settle the victory
battle.
Hill's second was
soon under pressure from Buri, until the Finn and Cammish's car
came into contact at Carlube on the 15th lap and both flew off the
track and into the tyre wall. Malvern, who had slipped to fifth,
found himself back in third before a mystery drop-off in power saw
him fall back down the order once again. Three laps from the end
Josh ran wide at Scotsman and picked up a puncture which led a lap
later to him joining Cammish and Buri in the weeds at Carlube.
Ellinas thus
inherited second spot, the Cypriot delighted with his best finish
of the season, with Dan de Zille equally happy with third and his
maiden podium for the Minister International team.
"It was one of
the hardest races I've ever done," said victor Pye. "It
was so close from the start until I managed to get the lead and
pull a bit of a gap. From then on I was able to get my head down
and conserve the car. Race one here was a bit of a disappointment
but so far this year every race I've finished I have won…"
Jesse Anttila
collected fourth for Fluid ahead of the super-consistent Jake
Cook's Getem Mygale, with James Tucker sixth from Philippe Layac
and Emil Bernstorff; Emil was on for fifth but collected a
late-race drive-through penalty for not observing the track
limits. Tristan Mingay was 11th overall, just ahead of Malvern,
and was the sole Scholarship class finisher; his class rivals all
fell by the wayside within three laps of the start.
|
