Australian racer Scott Pye topped the official timings during the first official Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain at Oulton Park in Cheshire – on his first visit to the circuit.
Pye, who tested with Champion outfit Jamun Racing in one of their Mygate Chassis lapped the Oulton Park track with a time that bettered the 2009 pole time by nearly a second. “I’m very pleased. I had a test with Jamun a month or so ago in Spain, so I knew what to expect from the team and the car, but it’s a tough job to come to a new circuit in a new country and be quickest.”
Pye, who finished third in the Australian Formula Ford series in 2009, topped two out of the three sessions at Oulton and beat another driver named Scott – Scott Malvern by 0.377s. Malvern was driving a Cliff Dempsey Racing prepared Ray Chassis.
The reigning Formula Ford scholarship winner, Daniel Cammish, was third quickest in his Kevin Mills Racing Spectrum, while Pye's team mate at Jamun Racing, Josh Hill, son of 1996 Formula One World Champion Damon, was sixth fastest, but would have ended the day higher if it hadn't have been for an collision in the final session, which cut his session short.
Over the day, 22 different drivers to the track in 20 cars, including Dutchman Jeroen Slaghekke and Portuguese driver Emil Bernstorff, who were present alongside Pye and Hill at Jamun, while the Fluid team were present with Jesse Anttila from Finland and British driver James Tucker, and JTR were represented by Cypriot driver Tio Elinas and new Formula Renault UK driver Chrissy Palmer as a test and development driver.
This year's Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain kicks off at Oulton Park alongside the Cooper Tyres British Formula 3 International Series/British GT Championship over the Easter weekend, the 3rd and 5th April. In total, the Championship will feature 25 races over 10 meetings, 5 alongside the British F3 Series, one supporting the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, one alongside the DTM at Brands Hatch and one alongside the blue riband F3 meeting at Zandvoort, the Netherlands. Each event will feature either a double or a triple header of Formula Ford races.
Top 10 times from the test:
1 Scott Pye AUS / Jamun Mygale 1m 40.002s
2 Scott Malvern GBR / Cliff Dempsey Ray 1m 40.379s
3 Daniel Cammish GBR / Kevin Mills Spectrum 1m 40.627s
4 Jesse Anttila FIN / Fluid Van Diemen 1m 41.015s
5 Jesper Egebart DEN / Brits/Egebart Ray 1m 41.066s
6 Josh Hill GBR / Jamun Mygale 1m 41.069s
7 Chrissy Palmer GBR / JTR Mygale 1m 41.138s
8 Jeroen Slaghekke NED / Jamun Mygale 1m 41.214s
9 Emil Bernstorff POR / Jamun Mygale 1m 41.670s
10 James Tucker GBR / Fluid Van Diemen 1m 42.151s
