24 March, 2008: Team-mates Wayne Boyd and Tim Blanchard gave reigning champion team Jamun Racing the best possible start to its British Formula Ford Championship season at Oulton Park today, Ulsterman Boyd winning two of the day's races and Australian Blanchard taking victory in the third to establish a slender points lead.

Although two of the three races were shortened by accidents and some foul Easter weather did its best to dampen proceedings, there was some thrilling action in the best Formula Ford fashion for the Cheshire spectators. In addition, several new drivers and teams gave clear indications of their pace, and the likelihood is that Jamun and its star Mygale drivers are unlikely to run away with things this season…

The first of the three Oulton Park openers provided a thrilling but all-too-brief duel for victory between Boyd and Blanchard, with the race curtailed after just six laps after a three-car crash.

The tricky damp conditions may have caught out some but there were no mistakes from 17-year-old Boyd, the reigning Ulster Formula Ford Champion, nor from '07 Australian Champion Blanchard, 20. Wayne's Mygale led away from the pole and was leading again - just - when it mattered, as the red flags flew. "Tim gave me a bit of a hard time, passing me on the second lap," said Wayne, "but I managed to repass him and once I'd made a bit of a break I knew I'd be OK."

Dane Marco Sorensen was in close attendance throughout, but the premature end to the race put paid to his chances of getting his Fluid Motorsport Van Diemen in among the Mygales. The top three were covered by just 1.6s at the end.

The accident which prompted the red flags involved the Mygales of Rogier de Wit and James Cole, and Chrissy Palmer's Ray; the latter came off worst, rolling and suffering major damage in the collision. Chrissy was shaken and the 17-year-old Sussex lad was hospitalised for checks.

Matt Hamilton's JTR Ray overhauled David Brown's Van Diemen for fourth on what turned out to be the last lap, with Westley Barber following Hamilton through for fifth to give the new Comtec an encouraging debut. Brown held on to sixth ahead of Chris Maliepaard's Mygale, the Spectrum of Aussie debutant Glen Wood, Linton Stuteley - whose Mygale was delayed in avoidance of another's spin - and runaway Scholarship Class victor Garry Findlay's Mygale, which placed an excellent 10th.

A full 18 minutes of racing in round two gave Boyd the opportunity really to underline his pace. Wayne simply blasted away from his second pole of the day and by the end of the opening lap had opened out a 1.5s advantage over Blanchard, whose pursuit was vigorous but ultimately futile.

Echoing the 2007 performances of his Jamun predecessor and reigning champion Callum MacLeod, Boyd banged in fastest lap after fastest lap, lowering the circuit record by half a second as he pulled clear; by the seventh of the 11 laps Wayne was a full 5s clear of Blanchard. "It went really well," said Boyd. "I got my head down early and made the break, and then I was able to slow the pace towards the end."

Blanchard was a gracious runner-up: "Wayne drove very well," he said, "and I need to find a little more pace in my car if I'm to stay with him."

It might well have been a Jamun 1-2-3, with young Brazilian Victor Correa (a spinner in race one) keeping well in touch with his team-mates and fending off Barber until a sixth-lap error at Knickerbrook handed third to Sorensen. Barber's hopes of a podium finish had meanwhile ended on the fourth lap with mechanical problems.

Correa made no further mistakes and was able to cling on to fourth ahead of Hamilton, with Stuteley avoiding the problems which beset him in race one to claim sixth ahead of his Getem team-mate Maliepaard. Brown, Wood and Adrian Campfield completed the top 10, the latter lucky even to make the race after his KMR Spectrum required extensive repairs following race-one damage. Findlay's hopes of another Scholarship win came to nought on the opening lap when he slithered off; Myerscough College entry Alex Jones took the class honours.

Boyd made another superb getaway in race three and pulled a useful early lead over Blanchard once again, only to see all his hard work negated by another safety car deployment, this time after the sleet-slicked track triggered a multi-car crash accounting for Hamilton, Wood and De Wit.

It all went wrong for Boyd after the restart, Wayne out-braking himself into Cascades and handing the lead on a plate to Blanchard. "He sort of chucked it up the road a bit," said a grateful Tim, "but in fairness to him the track conditions were awful and changing every lap. I've never raced on snow before!"

Blanchard came under severe pressure from Sorensen towards the end but failed to yield, crossing the line to take victory ahead of the Dane by three-tenths of a second. Brown was an excellent third, hauling his way up from eighth on the grid and revelling in the slippery conditions.

Campfield ended his tricky first day with Kevin Mills Racing on a high note, taking fourth despite late-race pressure from Barber, with Stuteley in the Comtec's wheeltracks for sixth once again.

Correa survived a spin under the safety car to recover to seventh, ahead of team-mate Cole, who had been forced to sit out race two. Boyd, who had dropped virtually to last, set fastest lap on the final tour on his way to ninth, just ahead of Maliepaard.

There were no errors from Findlay this time, and he claimed 11th as well as the Scholarship class win.

Provisional results
British Formula Ford round 1 (of 25)
Oulton Park 24/3/2008. 5 laps / 13.46 miles
1, Wayne Boyd, GB/Templepatrick, Jamun, Mygale, 8m 39.916s
2, Tim Blanchard, AUS/Victoria, Jamun, Mygale, +0.932s
3, Marco Sorensen, DK/Sudbury, Fluid, Van Diemen, +1.571s
4, Matt Hamilton, GB/Hemel H'stead, JTR, Mygale, +9.204s
5, Westley Barber, GB/Saffron Walden, Comtec, Comtec, +9.336s
6, David Brown, GB/Glasgow, Fluid, Van Diemen, +9.380s
10th & Scholarship class: Garry Findlay / GB/Eye / Mygale +14.418s
Fastest lap: Boyd 1m 41.351s / 95.62mph

Round 2 / Oulton Park 24/3/2008. 11 laps / 29.61 miles
1, Wayne Boyd, GB/Templepatrick, Jamun, Mygale, 18m 39.777s
2, Tim Blanchard, AUS/Victoria, Jamun, Mygale, +4.233s
3, Marco Sorensen, DK/Sudbury, Fluid, Van Diemen, +5.782s
4, Victor Correa, BRA/Sao Paulo, Jamun, Mygale, +5.978s
5, Matt Hamilton, GB/Hemel H'stead, JTR, Mygale, +9.492s
6, Linton Stuteley, GB/Hitchin, Getem, Mygale, +12.261s
13th & Scholarship class: Alex Jones / GB/Anglesey / Van Diemen +42.824s
Fastest lap: Boyd 1m 40.683s / 96.25mph Rec

Round 3 / Oulton Park 24/3/2008. 9 laps / 24.23 miles
1, Tim Blanchard, AUS/Victoria, Jamun, Mygale, 19m24.557s
2, Marco Sorensen, DK/Sudbury, Fluid, Van Diemen, +0.293s
3, David Brown, GB/Glasgow, Fluid, Van Diemen, +1.170s
4, Adrian Campfield, GB/Godalming, KMR, Spectrum, +4.439s
5, Westley Barber, GB/Saffron Walden, Comtec, Comtec, +4.949s
6, Linton Stuteley, GB/Hitchin, Getem, Mygale, +5.491s
11th & Scholarship class: Garry Findlay / GB/Eye / Mygale +17.830s
Fastest lap: Boyd 1m 43.760s / 93.40mph

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