Smith battles Murray and Cooper to win FFord Festival semi-final two

Photo: BRSCC

B-M Racing’s Rory Smith put himelf on the front row of the Formula Ford Festival final by winning the second semi-final.

Swift Cooper’s Luke Cooper started on pole for the semi-final, ahead of Smith, Team Dolan’s Niall Murray and Motorsport Car Preparations’ Jordan Dempsey. Joining the race from the back of the field was Montoye Baker, who missed the entirety of Saturday’s action due to gearbox issues.

Smith took the lead from Cooper on the opening lap, finding more grip on the outside line heading to Paddock Hill Bend and making the move with Murray also picking the outside line to demote Cooper to third before Druids.

Murray attracked Smith into Clearways and was basically nosing him down the pit straight as they began lap two, then he almost went into the gravel as he tried passing Smith after the first corner. Sigbjorn Maehlum went off at Graham Hill Bend, and Andy Charsley spun out at Druids, meaning the safety car came out on lap three.

The top two were just 0.194 seconds apart when the race was neutralised, and green flag action did not resume until lap eight of 14.

Smith made a strong restart to be 0.744s clear going into lap nine, and he set the fastest lap next time around. Murray had previously held it, and he took it back on lap 10. The next lap he was all over Smith again, and finished it just 0.073s behind.

He tucked out of Smith’s tow and went for the outside line at Paddock Hill Bend but a move was not possible, and then Cooper tried going around the outside of Murray at Druids.

He got ahead and almost went side-by-side with Smith after the corner, but had to back out of side-by-side action and that actually helped Murray use the outside line at Graham Hill Bend to draw back alongside Cooper.

Murray reclaimed second place by going around the outside of Cooper at Surtees, and quickly closed in on Smith who made a mistake at Graham Hill Bend that reduced his lead.

The top three finished the 14-lap race nose-to-tail, with Smith victorious by 0.241s and Cooper only a further 0.179s behind.

Dempsey finished fourth after a late battle with PWR1 Racing’s Jeremy Fairbairn who attacked him at Druids on the penultimate lap. He could not get ahead, and on the last lap went for the outside at Paddock Hill Bend then switched back to the inside and ended up on the grass as Dempsey covered the inside line on the run to Druids.

The Joey Foster-run Samuel Harrison looked set for sixth after passing Team Canaa scholars Logan Pacza and Alex Berg miid-race, but he then had a car issue that dropped him to 12th. That was crucially still enough to automatically qualify for the final. Pacza pipped Berg to sixth place.

Race result (14 laps)