Dan de Zille moved up to fifth position in the 2011 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain standings after a positive weekend at Brands Hatch, the JTR driver taking three top ten finishes including a stunning second place.
Friday qualifying saw the top fourteen drivers within a second of each other in an incredibly close session, with de Zille ending up in eighth place, just 0.5 off pole. The opening race saw him quickly up to sixth place, however gearbox selector problems meant he slipped back a couple of places to eighth.
A change of set up for the second race gave de Zille real confidence, and it showed as he flew off the line from seventh, diving into fourth before the first corner. After being promoted to third when a rival received a drive through penalty, de Zille went on the offensive and moved into second on the penultimate for a well deserved podium.
He backed this up with another strong run in race three, climbing from seventh to fifth early on and enjoying a strong battle, however handling problems meant he struggled to keep rivals behind, slipping back to an eighth place finish.
Dan commented: “The final race was a frustrating result after this morning's podium finish. We made yet more changes to the set-up, but it didn't make the car any better as I was battling with understeer. We have some work to do in testing before Donington!”