Romanek’s National FF1600 lead cut by another Kelly win

Photo: Ida Wood

Jordan Kelly reduced Lucas Romanek’s BRSCC National Formula Ford 1600 points lead with victory in race two at Knockhill.

The Team Dolan driver had already taken pole and won the David Leslie Trophy-awarding race one, and he followed it up with a dominant victory by 10.641 seconds over Romanek.

With the race one classification setting the grid for race two, it meant Kelly started on pole ahead of Ammonite Motorsport’s Elliott Budzinski and Romanek. The move for second was made by Romanek on lap one, while Budzinski held third place until lap 10 when he was passed by Morgan Quinn.

Budzinski lost another place to team-mate Nolan Allaer at the finish courtesy of a five-second penalty for track limits abuse, while Quinn chased Romanek and finished just 0.156s behind him.

Allaer started fourth but ran as low as sixth early on, having been passed by Quinn and Oldfield Motorsport’s Brandon McCaughan. But on lap five McCaughan dropped to eighth, and he had to pass Drew Stewart and then former British Touring Car Championship racer Derek Palmer Jr to get into sixth.

Thereon it was a tight battle for seventh, with Stewart beating B-M Racing’s David McArthur to the position by 0.221s and Palmer by 0.238s in a photo finish. But track limits penalties for Stewart and McArthur meant Palmer was classified ahead of both.

Two rounds remain of the National FF1600 season, meaning dropped scores will start to apply. Drivers who contest the whole season have to drop four races from their final points tally.

Race result (22 laps)