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EBBESVIK &
TANDY ON TOP AT THRUXTON
1 October, 2006:
Wins for Christian Ebbesvik and Nick Tandy at Thruxton this
weekend were the highlights of the UK Formula Ford Championship's
penultimate meeting of the season.
Ebbesvik took a
hard-earned and long-awaited win on Saturday to become the
season's sixth different victor and Tandy won today's 18th round
of the Ford-backed championship in tricky damp conditions.
Ebbesvik's win
ended a 16-month victory drought for the once dominant Van Diemen
marque. The 22-year-old from Bergen in Norway assumed control at
half distance in his Team JLR-run RF06, having started from fourth
on the grid. It was Christian's first race win in five seasons of
trying.
Newly crowned UK
Formula Ford Champion Nathan Freke was the early pacesetter,
leading away from his 10th pole position of the season. But
Freke's Mygale - like most of the grid shod with wet-weather Avons
- was soon suffering handling problems which rendered him unable
to prevent Nick Tandy's Ray from lifting the lead on lap four.
Ebbesvik was on the
move too, claiming third from Steve Roberts' Van Diemen and then
second from the increasingly troubled Freke before latching on to
Tandy's tail for three laps. Christian's decisive manoeuvre for
the lead came on lap seven and he was quick to pull out a handy
advantage. Tandy held on well to the charging Norwegian to finish
1.1s behind at the chequered flag.
The meteoric Peter
Dempsey was an impressive third. The Irish Ray pilot was one of
only two on the grid to opt for slick tyres, a decision he was to
rue on the opening lap when he spun to last but one in the tricky
damp conditions. Peter made it back into the top 10 by
mid-distance and then picked off some notable names on his charge
back to the podium.
With Freke calling
it a day after nine laps, and joining Richard Tannahill and
Roberts in retirement with tyre problems, Jamun Racing honours
were upheld by South African Sean Petterson, who matched his
season-best result with fourth, two places ahead of the sister car
of Jay Bridger, with James Nash's Fluid-run Van Diemen sandwiching
them for fifth. Adriano Buzaid, Nathan Caratti, Johnny Baker and
John Martin rounded out the top 10, with Sarah Playfair 11th just
ahead of 16-year-old Robert Hall.
Callum McLeod was
next up to take the Clubmans Cup honours for Zetec-powered cars,
and Takashi Nagase was 14th and the leading Scholarship Cup
finisher, seven seconds ahead of David Brown.
The identity of the
victor of Sunday's race, the championship's 18th round, was in
doubt right up to the final lap. Three drivers held the lead and
the showery weather made for tricky driving conditions which
caught out more than a few.
Tandy seized the
lead from pole man Freke on the opening lap, up Woodham Hill, but
Freke fought back to the front next time around, with Steve
Roberts close behind for third.
Tandy posted the
fastest lap of the race - and broke Dempsey's lap record, set the
day before - on the fourth tour as he swept back into the lead,
only to come under attack from Roberts, who had pushed Freke back
to third.
Enjoying his best
race of the season to date in the Kevin Mills Racing Van Diemen,
Roberts snatched the lead from Tandy into the Club chicane on the
eighth lap. Alas Steve's tenure in front was to last only until
two laps from the end, when he got caught up in another's accident
- Neil Tofts spun his Ray at Club and collided with Roberts, who
was in the wrong place at precisely the wrong moment.
Tandy's hopes of
victory had looked remote thanks to a spin at the chicane two laps
earlier, but he recovered to repass Freke and was then gifted the
lead by Roberts' demise. Nick crossed the line 1.455s ahead of
Freke for his second win of the year and said: "What a
fantastic race… It was so slippery out there that it was
anybody's race for a time."
Ebbesvik followed
up his Saturday win with a close third behind Freke, with
Petterson just behind them both in fourth. A distant fifth was
James Nash, with Jonny Baker and Jay Bridger close behind. McLeod
was eighth to once again win the Clubmans Cup, and Nagase ninth
for Scholarship honours. Tannahill, Playfair and Jamie Jardine
rounded out the top 12.
Young Glaswegian
Brown drove a steady and conservative race once more to take 14th
and to secure enough points to make his Scholarship Cup
championship victory a virtual certainty. All David needs to do at
next Saturday's championship finale at Castle Combe is to turn up
for the meeting…
Provisional
results UKFF round 17, Thruxton, 30/09/2006. 14 laps / 32.98 miles
1, Christian Ebbesvik, NOR/Bergen, JLR, Van Diemen, 20m 12.437s
2, Nick Tandy, UK/Bedford, Tandy, Ray, +1.117s
3, Peter Dempsey, IRL/Ashbourne, Dempsey, Ray, +10.668s
4, Sean Petterson, ZA/Walton, Jamun, Mygale, +15.732s
5, James Nash, UK/Newport Pagnell, Fluid, Van Diemen, +25.155s
6, Jay Bridger, UK/Horsmonden, Jamun, Mygale, +26.351s
Clubmans Cup:
Callum McLeod (UK/Ray) / 13th overall +47.324s
Scholarship Cup: Takashi Nagase (JAP/Van Diemen) / 14th overall
+48.034s
Fastest lap: Dempsey 1m 23.043s / 102.13mph (est rec)
Round 18, Thruxton,
01/10/2006. 15 laps / 35.34 miles
1, Tandy, 21m 18.120s
2, Freke, +1.455s
3, Ebbesvik, +3.133s
4, Petterson, +3.396s
5, Nash, +24.244s
6, Jonny Baker, UK/Farnham Common, JLR, Van Diemen, +24.605s
Clubmans Cup:
McLeod / 8th overall +42.115s
Scholarship Cup: Nagase / 9th overall +50.313s
Fastest lap: Tandy 1m 18.967s / 107.40mph (rec) |
