Photo: Team Dolan
The BRSCC National Formula Ford 1600 field shrank to nine cars for the annual trip up to Scotland, but the action at Knockhill delivered as expected.
Teams tested at the track during the week, and on Saturday morning competitive action got underway with a misty 20-minute qualifying session ahead of two races. The first would award the David Leslie Trophy, which has been handed out to winners of FF1600 races for many years.
Team Dolan’s Jordan Kelly claimed pole, his personal best laptime of 54.429s putting him just 0.08 seconds ahead of Ammonite Motorsport’s Elliott Budzinski in second place. His team-mate Nolan Allaer was 0.12s behind in third, and Kelly’s team-mate Morgan Quinn was only two tenths off pole in fourth.
Oldfield Motorsport’s points leader Lucas Romanek qualified fifth, and was only 0.003s slower than Quinn. The field was completed by B-M Racing’s returnee David McArthur, former British Touring Car Championship racer Derek Palmer and Drew Stewart, a regular of the now defunct Scottish FFord championship.
Race one was set to a length of 22 laps, and on the first of those Romanek moved up to third ahead of Aller and Quinn. Kelly led by a third of a second, and only on lap eight was he able to grow his advantage over Budzinski to two thirds of a second.
On lap 11 that gap was at a second, and it only took four more laps for Kelly to double it. By the end of the race he was 4.065s clear, and therefore winning the aforementioned trophy, with Romanek a further 7.628s behind.
Quinn took fourth from Allaer on lap three and stuck to Romanek’s rear through most of the race but could not find a way past. Not being able to move ahead and utilise his suprerior pace ultimately cost him more than just a shot at finishing third.
Allaer was relegated to sixth on lap 13 by Oldfield’s Brandon McCaughan, who then passed Quinn four laps later. Quinn regained the place on the final lap, finishing 0.384s behind Romanek and 0.223s ahead of McCaughan.
But both had five-second penalties for track limits abuse, meaning Aller was promoted past both to fourth place having met the chequered flag just 0.491s behind McCaughan.
McArthur finished a lonely seventh, while Stewart and Palmer could not be separated in their battle for eighth.
Race result (22 laps)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Kelly | Team Dolan | Van Diemen RF06 | 20m13.606s |
| 2 | Elliott Budzinski | Ammonite Motorsport | Ray GR18 | +4.065s |
| 3 | Lucas Romanek | Oldfield Motorsport | Van Diemen JL13 | +11.693s |
| 4 | Nolan Allaer | Ammonite Motorsport | Ray GR22 | +12.791s |
| 5 | Morgan Quinn | Team Dolan | Van Diemen RF99 | +17.077s |
| 6 | Brandon McCaughan | Oldfield Motorsport | Van Diemen JL13 | +17.300s |
| 7 | David McArthur | B-M Racing | Medina Sport BH19 | +27.599s |
| 8 | Drew Stewart | Van Diemen RF00 | +34.174s | |
| 9 | Derek Palmer Jr | Ray GR10 | +40.344s | |
| Pole: Kelly, 54.429s Fastest lap: Kelly, 54.839s
Championship standings |
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