Jayde Kruger has become the latest driver to put his name into the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain history books with his maiden victory in a thrilling Round 26 at Silverstone.
Following the blueprint from the opening race of the weekend, the Formula Ford drivers once again produced an entertaining encounter, with positions changing almost every lap as half a dozen drivers challenged for the race win.
Max Marshall, the driver faced with the unenviable task of driving champion Dan Cammish’s car, started the encounter from pole position, however a great start from fellow front-row starter Sam Brabham saw him dive past his JTR team-mate into the lead.
Kruger followed Brabham through at Copse, with Marshall losing further ground at Becketts to Harrison Scott and Juan Rosso. The positions changed early on though, with Jamun’s Kruger and Rosso losing places to Scott and Marshall respectively in the first three laps.
They both fought back at the race progressed though, with Kruger regaining second at Brooklands on lap nine. Rosso meanwhile was penned up behind Marshall, but when the JTR driver slowed coming out of Luffield on lap thirteen and eventually retired, Rosso was let loose to chase down the pack ahead.
Ahead, Kruger started harassing the leader and on lap nineteen he mounted a challenge at Brooklands. Diving down the inside, Kruger initially got ahead, before Brabham fought back at Luffield. The South African got the last laugh though, getting the better run out of the bend to regain the advantage.
Their battling allowed Rosso to close, the Argentinian having passed Scott for third a lap earlier, leading to a grandstand finish on the final two laps.
Rosso challenged for second around the outside of Brooklands, but couldn’t make the move stick. Two corners later the place was his, making a move stick into Copse at the start of the final lap. With Brabham defending from a resurgent Scott for the remainder of the lap, Rosso was able to follow Kruger across the line for a Jamun Racing one-two.
The battle for third went down, literally, to the line, with a move by Scott at the final corner leading to a drag to the line, with Brabham just holding on around the outside to take the final podium place by just 0.076s, and with it the Scholarship Class win. Fourth was still enough for Scott to be crowned the 2013 Scholarship Class champion though.
Round 25 winner Camren Kaminsky fought back after slipping back to eighth on the opening lap to grab fifth ahead of Chang Wing Chung and James Abbott, those two enjoying a fierce duel throughout the race.
Luke Reade was the last of the finishers on the lead lap, the Falcon Motorsport driver having collected a five second penalty for exceeding the track limits, while Andrew Richardson completed the classified finishers in ninth, having spent the early part of the race in the pits with a problem.
Full race results can be found here: http://tsl-timing.com/toca/2013/133903foz.pdf
