Dan Cammish continued his incredible 2013 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain campaign by making it 21 wins in 21 races with a hat-trick at Knockhill, though Nico Maranzana ensured he didn’t have it all his own way over the weekend.
Qualifying:
Despite only nine cars making the trip to Scotland, those in attendance were able to produce the closest qualifying session of the season so far, namely Cammish and Maranzana.
The championship leader secured poles for races one and three of the weekend both by 0.03s from Maranzana, with the Argentinian snatching race two pole, his first in the championship, away by 0.003s, Cammish losing out on a race pole for only the second time all season.
Only around a tenth of a second behind the pole-sitter each time was Harrison Scott, the Falcon Motorsport ace taking a trio of third place starts. Jayde Kruger and Sam Brabham shared the remaining top five places between them, with Juan Rosso sixth for each encounter.
Round 19:
A strong start from Cammish at the start of the opener saw the JTR man lead into the Seat Curves for the first time, with Maranzana right on his tail. The Jamun Racing driver’s hopes of making an early challenge for the lead were halted when the safety car came out after a turn one clash that ended Camren Kaminsky and Andrew Richardson’s races.
A perfect restart for Cammish saw him outfox Maranzana and build a comfortable gap that he maintained until the end of the race, his nineteenth consecutive victory setting a new modern-era record for the most wins in a Formula Ford season. Maranzana maintained second to match his best finish of the season so far, taking the Scholarship class win in the process.
Kruger grabbed third at the start of the race, however an unfortunate spin at the restart dropped him to the back. Scott regained third as a result, however overheating problems in the latter stages allowed Brabham to seize the place.
Scott just managed to cling on to fourth ahead of Rosso, while Kruger recovered from dead last to take sixth ahead of James Abbott.
Round 20:
A textbook start for Maranzana saw him maintain his advantage around the first lap, with the Jamun racer beginning to edge away, holding a two second lead by the end of the fourth tour.
Cammish would begin to fight back thereafter, closing to within half a second by lap thirteen. The championship leader lunged for the lead around the outside into the hairpin on lap fourteen, holding the lead for half a lap before Maranzana re-passed him.
The Argentinian’s lead didn’t last long though, a huge hit on one of the Knockhill kerbs launching him into the air, all the opportunity Cammish needed to seize the lead. The JTR driver would go on to take his ‘hardest win of the season’ by 1.7s at the flag, with Maranzana taking the Scholarship class win once again in second.
Scott ran third for the duration in his Falcon Motorsport Mygale, while Brabham beat off several challenges from Kruger to secure fourth. Rosso fought back from a stall on the green flag lap and opening lap contact with Abbott to take sixth ahead of Richardson, with Kaminsky eighth after suffering from gearbox issues and Abbott a lap down in ninth after the incident with Rosso.
Round 21:
The final race of the weekend provided Cammish with a much more comfortable race victory, the champion-elect holding his lead at the start and breaking away from Maranzana behind.
Building his lead up to over three seconds by the end of lap eight, Cammish eased off and maintained that advantage to the flag. His 21st successive win extended his championship lead to 199 points, meaning he can wrap up the title next time out at Rockingham.
Maranzana ran second throughout, completing his Scholarship class hat-trick for the weekend. Scott ran third early on, however Kruger grabbed the place on lap four and held it for the remainder. Scott was left to defend from Brabham and Rosso, with Brabham putting him under immense pressure before a spin at the chicane on lap 15.
Rosso continued the challenge, going on to take the place heading into the Seat Curves at the start of lap 18 and holding it to the finish. Scott found himself fending off Brabham again in the latter stages, the JTR racer having fought back after his spin, with Scott just holding him off at a dead heat at the flag. Kaminsky, Richardson and Abbott rounded out the finishers.
Provisional Formula Ford GB Championship Standings (After Rd. 21 of 30):
- Dan Cammish – 647pts
- Nico Maranzana – 448pts
- Harrison Scott – 447pts
- Juan Rosso – 354pts
- Sam Brabham – 301pts
- James Abbott – 300pts
- Camren Kaminsky – 265pts
- Andrew Richardson – 259pts
