Eric pips championship leader Antti Buri to the line at SilverstoneFabian Welter claims 10th Duratec class win of season
Eric Lichtenstein kept alive his slim Dunlop MSA Formula Ford GB championship hopes today after holding off points leader Antti Buri in a breathless finish to the opening race of the Silverstone weekend.
The grid lined up in glorious sunshine for the first race of the EcoBoost era on the Arena Grand Prix Circuit, and the title protagonists made sure that it was a thriller. Lichtenstein came to Silverstone on a hot streak, having won at the Nurburgring and all three races last time out, at Snetterton, and he was aiming to extend that run to five in a row in Northamptonshire, a task he managed by virtue of shrewd race tactics.
Things looked ominous for his rivals when Lichtenstein shaded Buri for pole and the red Jamun Racing Mygale leapt away well from the front of the field. Buri made a good start also and looked to the inside into Copse, but Lichtenstein saw it coming and covered the line into Becketts.
Silverstones long straights helped make the race close, with drivers able to benefit greatly from a tow behind an opponent. Buri knew he had a chance if he could get close enough to the Argentinian, and he slipstreamed past to lead into Stowe.
Buri pressed hard to try to pull a gap but Lichtenstein stuck in his wheeltracks and closed him down when Buri was too eager on the throttle through Brooklands on lap two. That helped Lichtenstein this time to pick up the slipstream and retake the lead.
The lead pairs repeated drafting helped them edge clear of the chasing pack, and soon the pair were circulating five seconds ahead of their challengers, but barely ever a car length away from each other. Lichtenstein grabbed the decisive edge on lap five, and managed to break the tow when Buri made a mistake by running too deep into Brooklands. I just braked too late, said the Finn, who dropped to almost a second adrift. I was driving within myself as I know the title is getting very close and I didnt want to risk an accident. The car has the pace, easy, but Eric wanted this one more.
Lichtenstein took the flag half a second clear. It was the toughest race of the season, he said. Its all about the tow around here. Whenever I got in front I could see Antti catching me again on the straights, and they go on so long here. I just kept my concentration and focused on putting the car in the right places.
Behind the leaders the action was just as fraught. Luke Williams held third for the early stages until Jamun team-mate Jake Cook closed in. The pair ran side by side into Brooklands and Cook grabbed the advantage at the start of lap two after using a strong draft down the pit straight. But Williams wasnt finished and nosed ahead again into Brooklands after pressuring Cook to defend into The Loop.
Their fight allowed both Julio Moreno and Ryan Cullen to close in and soon the fight for third was four cars long. Williams dropped out of contention when he went straight on at Brooklands while fighting Cook. Luke managed to fight back to grab fourth ahead of Moreno, but couldnt recatch Cook. It was a crazy race, I had to push so hard to hold the gap at the end, said Jake.
Fabian Welter continued to impress in the Duratec class. The young Mexican took a measured victory, dominating from lights to flag.
Welter qualified his Rendez-Vous Racing Mygale on class pole and sped away from his closest challengers at a rate of more than a second a lap. I knew I had to push early to make sure nobody could get a tow on me, he said. The car is feeling great and I like this track. Its fast and flowing and weve got the Dunlop tyres working well over a race distance.
Things were tighter behind him. Fluid Van Diemen driver Alex Drabble led the chase before he made a mistake at the start of lap two and fell back into the pack. Enigma Motorsports George Blundell bogged down at the start and fell to the back but soon got the hammer down and worked his way up to second. I pushed really hard, but its annoying because I had the pace on Fabian, he said. I didnt make the most of qualifying and then messed the start up. A better opening lap tomorrow and we could have a race on.
Drabble drove well to take third in class ahead of his Van Diemen team-mate Matt Rao, who recovered from a stall on the grid to overhaul Abdul Ahmed (Hardman Ray) on the final lap.
Provisional results
Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great BritainRound 19 (of 24), Silverstone GP 8/9/20129 laps / 32.94 miles
Overall & EcoBoost1 Eric LICHTENSTEIN / ARG Jamun Mygale 19m 19.785s / 102.25mph2 Antti BURI / FIN JTR Mygale +0.530s3 Jake COOK / GBR Jamun Mygale +13.135s4 Luke WILLIAMS / GBR Jamun Mygale +19.855s5 Julio MORENO / ECU JTR Mygale +20.279s6 Ryan CULLEN / GBR Cullen Mygale +20.959s
Duratec class1 Fabian WELTER / MEX RVR Mygale +49.465s2 George BLUNDELL / GBR Enigma Mygale +57.570s3 Alex DRABBLE / GBR Fluid Van Diemen +1m 02.434s4 Matt RAO / GBR Fluid Van Diemen +1m 02.735s5 Abdul AHMED / USA Hardman Ray +1m 06.107s
Fastest lap Buri 2m 07.908s / 103.02mph Est Rec
Full results http://bit.ly/OP0jFX
Provisional championship standingsOverall 1 Buri 509 points; 2= Lichtenstein & Cook 392; 4 Moreno 346; 5 Cavan Corcoran 323; 6 Cullen 238 etcDuratec class 1 Welter 457; 2 Rao 423; 3 Drabble 308; 4 Blundell 307; 5 Olly Rae 218; 6 Ahmed 189 etc
Next rounds 9 Sep Silverstone
