Ross Martin narrowly beat BRSCC National Formula Ford 1600 title rival Spike Kohlbecker to victory in race one at Anglesey, in a frenetic race.
Kohlbecker and Martin filled the front row of the grid, but it was Kevin Mills Racing’s Neil Maclennan who managed the best getaway, squeezing between the pair to edge into the lead at the first turn.
B-M Racing?s Rory Smith was also on the move and passed Cliff Dempsey Racing driver Kohlbecker in the opening exchanges.
Smith then took second from Martin exiting Rocket and immediately started pressuring Maclennan for the lead. A?move down the inside at the Corkscrew went awry, with Smith colliding with Maclennan and putting both off onto the grass.
That turned a four-way battle for victory into a duel between Team Dolan’s Martin and Kohlbecker, with the Scotsman spending the rest of his race defending.
Kohlbecker attempted to squeeze down the inside into the first corner more than once in the final laps but couldn?t find a way into the lead.
James Clarke completed a stunning comeback drive to finish third for CDR, despite starting down in 10th place.
Despite his collision, Smith was able to continue with a slight delay and went on to finish fourth, setting several fastest laps in a row to end up only 2.252 seconds off Martin.
The midfield battle was a chaotic one, helped by an early safety car when Formula 1 Esports champion Brendon Leigh attempted a move on Tom McArthur similar to that of Smith and Maclennan.
The two collided, with B-M Racing’s McArthur forced wide through traffic cones while Team Dolan’s Jamie Sharp was left with nowhere to go and collided with KMR driver Leigh.
While McArthur was forced to pit with two cones stuck under his car, Sharp and Leigh?s stricken cars blocked the racing line, which dramatically shook up the order just before the safety car was deployed.
The main beneficiary was Jamie Thorburn, who had dropped outside of the top 10 at the start but had recovered to fifth.
Though the Border Reivers driver could not keep David McArthur (B-M Racing) behind, he successfully defended from Michael Macpherson (KMR) to claim sixth.
Clubman class winner Adam Quartermaine finished 10th for Team Dolan.
Race results (10 laps)
| Pos | Name | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ross Martin | Team Dolan | 20m24.570s |
| 2 | Spike Kohlbecker | Cliff Dempsey Racing | +0.737s |
| 3 | James Clarke | Cliff Dempsey Racing | +1.203s |
| 4 | Rory Smith | B-M Racing | +2.252s |
| 5 | David McArthur | B-M Racing | +8.234s |
| 6 | Jamie Thorburn | Border Reivers | +11.053s |
| 7 | Michael Macpherson | Kevin Mills Racing | +11.585s |
| 8 | Aaron Jeansonne | Oldfield Motorsport | +17.103s |
| 9 | Morgan Quinn | Team Dolan | +18.790s |
| 10 | Adam Quartermaine | Team Dolan | +19.250s |
| 11 | Neil Maclennan | Kevin Mills Racing | +21.200s |
| 12 | Scott Huntley | Oldfield Motorsport | +32.903s |
| 13 | John Svensson | John’s Racing Team | +33.157s |
| 14 | Pascal Monbaron | John’s Racing Team | +36.096s |
| 15 | Nicole Woods | B-M Racing | +51.330s |
| Ret | Tom McArthur | B-M Racing | |
| Ret | Brendon Leigh | Kevin Mills Racing | |
| Ret | Jamie Sharp | Team Dolan | |
| Fastest lap: Smith, 1m42.992s
Championship Standings Clubman? ?1?Max Marzorati 162? ?2?Svensson 113? ?3?Quartermaine 106???4?Monbaron 92? ?5?Nigel Dolan 61? ?6?Sam Street 40? ?7?Klaus-Dieter Haeckel 40? ?8?Henry Chart 6 |
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