Championship Season in Top 10

James Cole  has finished his first season with Jamun Racing in the  British Formula Ford Championship in 10th position at the season finale at Donington Park today with 267 points.

James has made a solid BFFC debut for the Jamun/Mygale team. The 19 year-old, hailing from Southport in Merseyside,  was  2007  Club  Formula  Ford  North-West  Champion  and  is  a  talented  musician,  currently studying at the world famous LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts). James headed to Donington Park in tenth position in the Championship and was looking to take his maiden win at the Derbyshire circuit.

James made an encouraging start to the weekend, qualifying for the first race of the weekend in 8th position on Saturday with a lap time of 1m 10.821s, ahead of team-mate Victor Correa in 10th place on the grid. It  was  an  exciting  afternoon  of  wheel  to  wheel  racing  with  the  weather  providing  damp  and  tricky  track conditions. James made a clean start in race one and skilfully kept his Jamun Racing car out of trouble all the way to the chequered flag.

Following exciting battles with the mid-field pack, James came home in 9th place.  The final rounds of the season finale event on Sunday brought mixed fortunes for the Jamun Racing driver who experienced his fair share of Formula Ford racing drama. James  Cole:

 “Our Qualifying times on Saturday were really good, but it was a very close field. I was only four tenths of a second off pole, but in eighth place, so although it was not a great result, I was happy that the timings were so competitive. We got a good start in the first race on slicks (tyres) and we made up a few positions to seventh. Then it started to rain half way through, which made it difficult as I am not experienced on slicks in the wet.

"We were going well, but then when I tried to pass on the outside of Adrian (Campfield) he locked up and I spun after we touched. After that I was playing catch up from the back, but on a positive note the car felt really good and I put that down to my inexperience in the wet on slicks. Even so, I was the fastest person on track until the last lap when I got held up stuck in traffic and we battled up to sixth position at one point, but we finished the race in 9th.  For the last race, once again I got a great start and it was very close  racing. 

"We  got  up  to  5th  place  a  couple  of  times,  but  then  we  had  a  radiator  leak  and  the  engine overheated, which is very disappointing, so I crossed the line much lower down the table than I should have done, but at least it was within the points.

“On  reflection  there  are  many  positives  to  take  from  this  year  and  I  have  learned  a  great  deal  in  my  first season in Formula Ford. We have had some strong outings and the championship has taught me a great deal and my driving style  has changed considerably  since the beginning of the  year. I  would like to thank everyone at Jamun Racing as I now consider myself to be a racing driver and am happy with where we have finished in the championship.”