Van der Ende dominates at Thruxton
Ricardo van der Ende took a dominant victory at Thruxton to get his Formula Ford title hopes firmly back on track
The Dutchman led from lights to flag, winning by 6 seconds from his Van Diemen team-mate James Courtney.
Championship leader Nic Kiesa was only fourth.
He was passed by the impressive Courtney for 2nd early in the race and could not fight back on a circuit well suited to the revolutionary Van Diemen RF99's of his rivals.
The criminally under-rated Jesper Carlsen was flying in the works Vector, winning a thrilling battle with Tom Sisley before chasing after and passing Kiesa for third.
Sisley towed along with him but stayed behind his Haywood team-mate.
Craig Murray won a close fight for sixth with Robert Dahlgren but Marcos Ambrose and Ricardo Megre were unable to get involved in the battle after colliding on the first lap.
Danny Hazlewood clinched the First Division title despite a big spin when challenging Ryan Sharp for the class lead.
He recovered to finish just 1.1 seconds behind Sharp and take the crown four rounds early.
|
1. |
Ricardo van der Ende |
Duckhams/Van Diemen |
Van Diemen RF99 |
16m02.490s |
|
2. |
James Courtney |
Van Diemen Racing |
Van Diemen RF99 |
+ 6.840s |
|
3. |
Jesper Carlsen |
Vector Racing |
Vector MG99 |
+ 9.689s |
|
4. |
Nic Kiesa |
Haywood Racing |
Mygale SJ99 |
+ 9.939s |
|
5. |
Tom Sisley |
Haywood Racing |
Mygale SJ99 |
+ 10.261s |
|
6. |
Craig Murray |
Haywood Racing |
Mygale SJ99 |
+ 23.805s |
|
7. |
Robert Dahlgren |
Menu Motorsport |
Van Diemen RF99 |
+ 24.125s |
|
8. |
Gary Catt |
Aztec |
Van Diemen RF99 |
+ 29.122s |
|
9. |
Jeffrey Jones |
Haywood Racing |
Mygale SJ99 |
+ 29.397s |
|
10. |
Mark Taylor |
Mackie Motorsport |
Mygale SJ99 |
+ 29.684s |
|
11. |
Oliver Smith |
Revilo Racing |
Van Diemen RF99 |
+ 38.424s |
|
12. |
Tom Herridge |
ADR |
Ray 99Z |
+ 39.914s |
|
13. |
Tom Potter |
Mick Gardner Racing |
Van Diemen RF99 |
+ 39.949s |
|
14. |
Ewen Merrett |
Aztec |
Van Diemen RF99 |
+ 40.349s |
|
15. |
Marius Erlandsen |
Menu Motorsport |
Van Diemen RF99 |
+ 40.825s |
|
16. |
Mike Harfield |
Andy Welch Racing |
Van Diemen RF99 |
+ 42.653s |
|
17. |
Ryan Sharp |
Mygale SJ99 |
+ 43.241s |
|
|
18. |
Danny Hazlewood |
West-Tec |
Swift SC97Z |
+ 44.359s |
|
19. |
Mark Fullalove |
Mick Gardner Racing |
Van Diemen RF99 |
+ 48.745s |
|
20. |
Judd Coupland |
Hawkins Racing |
Ray 98Z |
+ 58.301s |
|
21. |
Joanna Clarke |
Aztec |
Van Diemen RF98 |
+ 58.599s |
|
22. |
Barry Pomfret |
Van Diemen RF95 |
+ 1m01.888s |
|
|
Retirements: |
||||
|
Matt Gilmore |
Menu Motorsport |
Van Diemen RF99 |
||
|
Peter Gray |
Page Motorsport |
Van Diemen RF99 |
||
|
James Winslow |
Aztec |
Van Diemen RF98 |
||
|
Alan van der Merwe |
Fred Goddard Racing |
Mygale SJ99 |
||
|
Marcos Ambrose |
ADR |
Ray 99Z |
||
|
Ricardo Megre |
Allied Motorsport |
Swift SC99Z |
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