Photo: Ida Wood
Team Dolan’s Jason Smyth won the Jim Walsh Trophy in United Formula Ford’s opening round on Silverstone’s Grand Prix layout.
A huge 32-car field was in attendance, and in qualifying a thrilled Tom Nippers took pole after sorting out his car’s bottom-end power issues. The privateer edged Smyth by 0.135 seconds, with Mann Motorsport’s Charlie Mann 0.883s behind.
Dolan’s Chris Middlehurst qualified fifth on dint of recording a 2m19.023s lap before team-mate Adrien Laissac did the same, and two other drivers were within two seconds of pole.
Silverstone specialist Joey Foster was 13th, 3.564s back and behind Pirate M-Sports team-mate Rob Hall, and Dolan’s reigning champion Morgan Quinn only managed one lap that put him 24th before striking trouble.
The National pits hosted the paddock, and Nippers held off Smyth’s attacks through Maggotts and Becketts when race one began. Down the Hangar Straight they swapped places, and pressure then came from Middlehurst and Mann.
Middlehurst went around the outside at Brooklands for second, and ended lap one 0.53s behind Smyth. Nippers tried coming back at Middlehurst on the Wellington Straight next time by but was squeezed off, and rejoined behind Smyth as the leader’s gap actually shrank.
Nippers reclaimed second approaching Stowe on lap four, but Middlehurst got back past down the Wellington Straight.
Smyth’s lead returned to 0.53s on lap five, then to 0.82s. Middlehurst was defensive against Nippers on lap seven yet got closer to Smyth again, helped by him encountering cars to lap.
On the final tour, Nippers overtook at Copse but Middlehurst wriggled back past before Chapel. Nippers went for another move on the inside at Abbey, but Middlehurst squeezed ahead again into Aintree to finish 2.6s behind Smyth in second.
Quinn jumped to 18th on lap one, was 13th by lap three and later joined a seven-car fight for sixth. Laissac and Oldfield Motorsport’s Spencer Shinner initially disputed the place, before Foster went past both exiting Club on lap six. A slipstreaming train formed behind him, and on the last lap Laissac made a double pass for sixth and Quinn overtook two cars for ninth.
The results set the grid for the trophy-awarding race two, and Smyth made a great launch. Nippers overtook Middlehurst at Maggotts, he returned the favour at Becketts, and Nippers passed again at Stowe. Mann tried to get involved, helping Smyth pull away.
Middlehurst went to the inside of Nippers at Copse on lap two, and a few corners later Jordan Harrison crashed out after double contact. Smyth covered attacks from Middlehurst at the end of laps four and five, his pursuer having better exit speed from Woodcote, then the battle was ended by red flags on lap eight after Andrew Noble thoroughly buried his car in the gravel at Club. Smyth was glad the race was shortened as he suspected he had a slow puncture.
Mann was a lonely fourth, and the results going back a lap meant Shinner beat Foster and Ammonite Motorsport’s Anthony Amato in a lengthy battle for fifth which Quinn had led before being one of several drivers to retire in the pits on lap seven.
Results round-up
Race 1 (9 laps)
1 Jason Smyth Team Dolan [Van Diemen JL12] 20m49.275s
2 Chris Middlehurst Team Dolan [Van Diemen LA10] +2.623s
3 Tom Nippers [Van Diemen RF01] +2.878s
4 Charlie Mann Mann Motorsport [Ray GR20] +13.613s
5 Felix Fisher TM Racing [Ray GR14] +22.514s
6 Adrien Laissac Team Dolan [Van Diemen BD19] +29.608s
7 Joey Foster Pirate M-Sports [Firman RFR21] +30.232s
8 Anthony Amato Ammonite Motorsport [Ray GR22] +30.292s
9 Morgan Quinn Team Dolan [Van Diemen RF99] +30.598s
10 Spencer Shinner Oldfield Motorsport [Van Diemen JL13] +31.081s
Pole: Nippers, 2m17.825s
Fastest lap: Smyth, 2m17.723s
Jim Walsh Trophy (6 laps)
1 Smyth 13m59.056s
2 Middlehurst +0.164s
3 Nippers +0.864s
4 Mann +6.720s
5 Shinner +14.631s
6 Foster +14.727s
7 Amato +14.846s
8 Laissac +17.361s
9 Ben Cochran (Oldfield-supported privateer) [Van Diemen LA09] +26.257s
10 Maris Schulte Oldfield Motorsport [Van Diemen JL13] +26.398s
FL: Middlehurst, 2m18.736s
Championship standings
1 Smyth 70 2 Middlehurst 58 3 Nippers 48 4 Mann 42 5 Foster 32 6 Shinner 30 7 Laissac 30 8 Amato 28 9 Fisher 19 10 Schulte 19