Antti Buri needs only one race finish at Donington to prevent Eric Lichtenstein from denying him the crown and Road To Indy test drivesGame on for Fabian Welter and Matt Rao as they fight to the end to settle Duratec class outcome
20 September 2012 - One of two Formula Ford drivers - Antti Buri or Eric Lichtenstein - is on the Road To Indy. Depending on the outcome of events next weekend (29/30 Sep) at Donington Park in the final rounds of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain, Antti or Eric will be packing his bags shortly afterwards and heading for the USA to take up the champions prize.
Formula Fords new title victor gets an expenses-paid trip to the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a free full-day test in a USF2000 single-seater, followed by a further full-day test in a Star Mazda car, as part of Formula Fords valuable association with the renowned Road To Indy programme. The tests take place 10/11 October.
It is JTR Mygale driver Buri who is in the driving seat as the drivers head for the championships concluding rounds. The 23-year-old Finn needs only to finish one of the three Donington races to complete the job he began at Easter at Oulton Park, when he won the first race of the modern EcoBoost Formula Ford era.
Since Buris last race win, in June, Jamun Racings Eric Lichtenstein has been chipping away successfully at Anttis advantage and arrives at Donington on a seven-race winning streak. The 17-year-old from Argentina may not be able to do much about Buris progress towards the crown but he can at least aim to end the season with a greater number of race wins than the Finn. Eric has 10 under his belt so far to Anttis eight.
Buri had hoped to secure the crown earlier this month: Of course it was disappointing not to get the title at Silverstone but we still have three more races at Donington to try to get the job done. It hasnt always gone well for me at Donington, so hopefully this year will be different, said Antti.
The seasons other EcoBoost race winners - Jake Cook, Luke Williams and Julio Moreno - will be looking to end their seasons on a high, as will Ryan Cullen, who scored his maiden podium last time out. Cavan Corcoran hopes to return to the grid after being forced to miss Silverstone.
Battle still rages in the Duratec division to see who will emerge on top. Fabian Welter has been the class of the field for Rendez-Vous Racing, winning the division 12 times so far. But the Mygale driver is up against it in terms of the scores he must drop, and Fluid Motorsport Van Diemen man Matt Rao has the chance to pinch the title from under the Mexicans nose.
Third and fourth in the Duratec class is in dispute also, between Fluids Alex Drabble and Enigma Motorsport man George Blundell.
Two Duratec-powered guest drivers will be on the Donington grid. It will be a home race for Shepshed driver James Hammond in the Race Car Consultants-prepared Mygale, and a return to the cockpit for Formula Ford veteran Jason Down in his Getem Mygale, who is competing for the first time since Mays Brands Hatch rounds.
Provisional overall championship standings1 Antti Buri (FIN/JTR) 537 points2 Eric Lichtenstein (ARG/Jamun) 4533 Jake Cook (GBR/Jamun) 4364 Julio Moreno (ECU/JTR) 3705 Cavan Corcoran (GBR/JTR) 3236 Ryan Cullen (GBR/Cullen) 2827 Luke Williams (GBR/Jamun) 264 etc
Duratec class1 Fabian Welter (MEX/RVR) 5192 Matt Rao (GBR/Fluid) 4673 George Blundell (GBR/Enigma) 3614 Alex Drabble (GBR/Fluid) 3505 Abdul Ahmed (GBR/Hardman) 2356 Olly Rae (AUS/Enigma) 218 etc
Donington Park provisional timetableSat 29 Sep, 1040 qualifying; 1525 race 1Sun 30 Sep, 1035 race 2; 1755 race 3
On TV 6 Oct Motors TV, 20 Oct Channel 4
