COLE SCORES SCOTTISH PODIUM AT KNOCKHILL
15 June 2009…/British racing driver James Cole took three points scoring finishes this weekend at Knockhill, Scotland in the British Formula Ford Championship to retain his lead in the driver’s championship by 16 points. The 20 year old Merseyside racer left the Scottish circuit with a strong podium result in race two, but incidents in races one and three saw the youngster pushed down the order with two sixth place finishes.
The first of the weekend’s three races Cole started from sixth on the grid only 0.090 seconds off pole after one of the closest fought qualifying sessions of the season. A strong start to the race and a determined drive saw Cole move up to second. However third place driver Daniel Erickson made a lunge up the inside of the hairpin, which Cole did not expect due to the waved yellow flags on track. A collision between the pair pushed Cole out wide and onto the gravel.
Rejoining in eighth place, Cole began chasing down his team mate Patrick McKenna ahead, before moving onto Garry Findlay in sixth place, both of whom he passed cleanly. The race came to a close too soon for Cole who was on a charge through the field, as the flag fell he was running in a solid sixth place.
After an overnight engine change, race two was a steadier affair for Cole. Starting once again sixth on the grid, he made a tidy getaway from the line and avoided the traffic. A jump start from the pole sitter Alex Jones handed him a penalty, promoting Cole up to fifth. An incident ahead moved Cole up two further places and into third, to secure him a strong podium finish.
The final race of the weekend took place in cloudy but dry conditions at the tight Knockhill circuit. Cole once again made a clean start, but in the melee at the first corner the leaders collided. As they rejoined Cole was forced to take avoiding action from being hit and in doing so he was forced onto the gravel and rejoined in 14th. A strong fight back ensued as Cole made his way through the field and up to sixth at the end of the race.
Cole commented after the weekend’s races, “I think we were playing catch up throughout the three races really. We struggled in qualifying and when you start mid pack you put yourself in a position to be involved in an incident. We had some bad luck in race one and race three, and those incidents are still under investigation by the stewards. The results are still subject to change and hopefully we could move up.
“I’m really looking forward to Snetterton. I’ve enjoyed that circuit in the past and think we could get some good results there. We were quick there in preseason testing, which bodes well for the race weekend. I’ll certainly be back looking for victories after a tough weekend at Knockhill.”
The next race in the British Formula Ford Championship takes place at the Snetterton race track in Norfolk on the 4th/5th July.
