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FREKE GOES CLEAR AT BRANDS HATCH
24 July, 2006: Nick Tandy and Nathan Freke took a UK Formula
Ford Championship win apiece at Brands Hatch over the weekend,
Freke extending his championship lead over Peter Dempsey, who
claimed a second place on Saturday but failed to finish Sunday's
race two.
This was down to a first corner coming together with fellow Ray
driver Tandy, and led to an ugly incident at post race
prize-giving, at which Dempsey assaulted Tandy in front of shocked
spectators. The stewards of the meeting suspended Dempsey's
licence for 30 days at a subsequent enquiry.
Tandy became the Ford-backed championship's third different
race winner this year when he took Saturday's round, held in
tricky damp-but-drying conditions.
With one exception, the 21-car field elected to run treaded tyres.
That decision to take slicks, by Simon Kinsey, would net him a
very fine sixth overall in his Scholarship Class Van Diemen RF01.
Pole sitter and points leader Freke set the early pace but the
charging Tandy was up from row three to second spot inside a lap.
He soon had Freke in his sights and finally settled the issue at
Clearways on lap four.
The man really on the move, however, was Dempsey, who had
qualified a lowly ninth (albeit only 0.23s off pole) after a
too-low third gear left his Cliff Dempsey run Ray on the rev
limiter for much of the lap.
With a change of ratio he was simply flying and up to third spot
within three laps. He ousted Freke from second at Graham Hill Bend
on lap five, but trying to pass Tandy around the outside at
Paddock on lap seven was almost his undoing.
He went in deep but had to get off the throttle as he ran
perilously wide, allowing Freke to retake second. Peter redressed
that situation a lap later at Druids.
Christian Ebbesvik meanwhile made stealthy progress and wrested
third from Nash. Focus then switched to the run by Kinsey, who'd
started 20th on the grid, but with his slicks coming good as the
rest struggled for grip, was making rapid progress.
For two thirds of the race, Takashi Nagase led the Scholarship
class, but Kinsey was unstoppable and indeed by lap 22, he was all
over Freke for fifth. He got it soon after, although Freke
reclaimed the place on the last lap.
Steve Roberts, Jonny Baker, Linton Stuteley (who qualified
second fastest) and David Brown completed the top ten.
After taking his first UK Formula Ford race win, Tandy said:
"It was difficult to judge if it was slipperier at the start
or the finish. My tyres were absolutely shot."
Freke's margin of victory on Sunday (some 4.37s) wasn't a true
reflection of his superiority, as late on he was experiencing gear
selection problems. Indeed, he virtually coasted over the line,
but still clear of guest class driver Marc Murray.
Murray led for a lap until Freke dived past at Druids and then
progressively edged away. The first corner incident between
Dempsey and Tandy took away a potential source of interest in the
race as they resumed well out of contention.
Such was the front two's pace that the tussle for third was soon
being dropped, and not long after wresting the place from Nash,
Stuteley ended his race in the gravel at the top of Paddock.
This left Nash a distant third, but well clear of a wonderful
four-way scrap for fourth involving Adriano Buzaid, Sean Petterson,
Ebbesvik, Jay Bridger and Richard Tannahill. They circulated as
one giant 16 wheeler for lap after lap, yet without making
contact. The crowd loved it and a mere 0.8s covered them at the
flag.
Jonny Baker had been on the back of the group, but a spin at
Paddock left him to trail home 12th. Baker's bad luck was Steve
Roberts' good fortune and he came home ninth, a couple of seconds
clear of Nagase, who never saw a rival en route to a very easy win
in the Scholarship class.
The Clubmans class cars ran separately this weekend, merged
with a healthy field of Zetecs from the Dutch Benelux series. Neil
Tofts led home David Mayes by half a second on Saturday with third
place finisher Henk Vuik Jnr best of the Benelux runners.
Mayes spun while leading Sunday's race in which Michel Florie
restored Dutch pride as he came home clear of Tofts. Mayes resumed
in eighth only to further blot his copybook with a trip through
the Paddock Bend gravel trap. That left Craig Bell (seventh) as
next-best Brit, with Mayes coming home a chastened 12th.
Provisional results UKFF round 7, Brands Hatch, 22/07/2006. 28
laps / 34.3 miles
1, Nick Tandy, UK/Bedford, Ray, Ray, 25m 13.992s
2, Peter Dempsey, IRL/Ashbourne, Dempsey, Ray, +0.910s
3, Christian Ebbesvik, NOR/Bergen, JLR, Van Diemen, +3.604s
4, James Nash, UK/Newport Pagnell, Fluid, Van Diemen, +6.207s
5, Nathan Freke, UK/Kidderminster, Jamun, Mygale, +14.852s
6, Simon Kinsey, UK/Holmes Chapel, Myerscough, Van Diemen,
+15.294s
Scholarship Cup: Kinsey
Fastest lap: Dempsey 51.079s / 86.42mph est rec
Round 8, Brands Hatch, 23/07/2006. 31 laps / 38.0 miles
1, Freke, 25m 49.920s
2, Marc Murray, ZA/Pretoria, Jamun, Mygale, +4.368s
3, Nash, +16.900s
4, Adriano Buzaid, BRA/Bicester, Eau Rouge, Ray, +27.937s
5, Sean Petterson, ZA/Walton, Jamun, Mygale, +27.999s
6, Ebbesvik, +28.456s
Scholarship Cup: Takashi Nagase / 10th overall +39.581s
Fastest lap: Freke 49.161s / 89.79mph rec
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