|
 |
| August 06, 2012 |
| British FF: Lictenstein Perfect at Snetterton |
 | Eric Lichtenstein went three-for-three during the British FF tripleheader at Snetterton
(Photo: Jakob Ebrey Motorsports Photography) |
Eric Lichtenstein underlined his recent run of form with another two Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain victories on Sunday (August 5) at Snetterton, giving the Argentinian a hat-trick of wins at the Norfolk venue and promoting him to championship third.
Heavy weather in the second of the day’s races spoiled proceedings and led to a multi-car accident from which all the drivers emerged unscathed.
Lichtenstein, having pipped Antti Buri in Saturday’s safety car-affected damp opening race, had to fight all the way to secure victory this time around.
The Jamun Racing EcoBoost Mygale driver was beaten away from pole by championship leader Buri (JTR Mygale) and the duo then fought for the lead once again, shadowed early on by the impressive Cavan Corcoran, who started third.
At the start of lap two Lichtenstein drew alongside Buri on the pit straight. The JTR man defended the inside line into Riches and held on, but his lead only lasted as far as Agostini, where Lichtenstein dived by to snatch the advantage.
Buri stayed close for a while but a string of fast laps from Lichtenstein - and increasing tyre wear for Buri - eventually opened up a margin for the Argentinian. He duly brought the car home to win by 2.5 seconds.
“Since the Nurburgring we’ve been good,” said Lichtenstein. “I’ve been working hard and now I can push for the whole race.”
With closest title rival Jake Cook taking only fifth place, Buri was nevertheless happy with the runner-up spot.
“I started to save the tyres because they’re easy to damage here,” he said. “The oversteer was getting worse and worse, so I backed off because we need the points.”
Behind the leading duo, Corcoran started to fade in the closing stages. That allowed JTR teammate Julio Moreno to close and Moreno had enjoyed a great dice with Cook - another Jamun versus JTR encounter - during the first few laps.
Once ahead, Moreno pulled clear and started closing on the final podium place. He was almost on the tail of the black EcoBoost machine of Corcoran going on to the final lap, but couldn’t quite get close enough to make a pass.
“The tyres were starting to go off so I just focused ahead and on not making any mistakes,” said Corcoran.
With Jamun’s Luke Williams electing not to start the event in the EcoBoost Mygale borrowed from Geva Racing, Ryan Cullen was left to complete the top six, some way clear of the leading Duratec-engined front-runners.
The Fluid Motorsport Van Diemen of Matt Rao headed a four-car battle for the Duratec class lead early on. He couldn’t hold off the Rendez-Vous Racing Mygale of Fabian Welter, however, who forged ahead on lap three.
In his attempts to fight back, Rao had a moment on lap seven that dropped him behind the Enigma Motorsport Mygale of George Blundell. The Briton had already overtaken the Don Hardman Ray of Abdul Ahmed and looked set for second in class.
But Rao gathered himself together and closed on the Mygale. The Van Diemen overtook Blundell on the final lap, but there was no catching Welter, who took the class victory by nearly four seconds.
Ahmed was not far behind Blundell in fourth, with James Hammond (Race Car Consultants Mygale) and Alex Drabble (Fluid Van Diemen) completing the Duratec top six.
The heavy rain which has blighted the championship all summer returned to plague the competitors in race three, and the conditions led directly to a severe accident with damaged several cars and brought the race to a red-flagged end.
Once again it was a Buri v Lichtenstein fight at the front, with Buri leading into the first corner past the pole man. Lichtenstein followed Buri’s spray for three laps before making his move to take the lead crucial moments before the arrival on track of the safety car, which was called out while Cullen’s stricken car was retrieved. Cullen had spun at Montreal and been collected by Welter, the latter limping back to the pits.
When the safety car peeled in after a lap controlling the race all hell broke loose on the Senna straight, with unsighted cars piling into one another and that of Corcoran rolling. No drivers were hurt in the incident, which accounted for the cars of Moreno, Corcoran, Hammond and Blundell.
The result of the red-flagged race was wound back to the lap before the safety car was deployed, with Lichtenstein declared the victor from Buri and Cook, and Drabble taking the Duratec class honours for the first time.
“It’s a disappointing way to win a race, but I am satisfied with my performance for the weekend as a whole. We had the better pace throughout the weekend and we deserved three wins.”
Buri now takes a 113-point championship lead into next month’s final six races, with Lichtenstein just six points behind Cook in the battle for second in the standings.
The Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain continues on September 8-9, with a trip to the famed Silverstone Circuit.
Full British FF Championship Race results available HERE and HERE |
|
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
