Norfolk team Fluid Motorsport, the works Van Diemen squad, is hoping to serve up a triple-strength attack at its home circuit of Snetterton on Bank Holiday Monday (30 Aug) in the latest rounds of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain.
For not only should the team have its Flying Finn Jesse Anttila on board for the Snetterton rounds but it also hopes to field cars for promising South African 16-year-old Ernie van der Walt, as well as another for a race-winning driver.
Anttila, just turned 16, has been knocking on the door of a podium finish already this season, while van der Walt showed impressive speed on his British motorsport debut last weekend at Silverstone to finish 14th overall and second in the guest class in the third race of the weekend.
With only next weekend’s two races and a further eight to follow during September, the Ford-backed championship is becoming ever more tense for the men with the main chance, Scott Malvern and Scott Pye.
Malvern has headed the points table ever since his round two Oulton Park victory, despite Pye’s subsequent wins for the Jamun Racing team, which now total seven. Malvern claimed his second win of the season in the Cliff Dempsey Racing-prepared Ray at Silverstone, one of the few meetings this season in which Australian Pye did not manage to eat into Malvern’s points lead, which now stands at 38.
But it’s the time of year when thoughts start to turn to dropping scores. Malvern has scored in every race so far while Mygale man Pye has two zero-scores to discard, so in reality the gap is much closer - 10 points. However, with two non-finishes in Pye’s ledger already, another could prove disastrous for the Aussie’s title hopes.
Six different drivers have so far won races in addition to Pye and Malvern: Pye’s Jamun team-mate Josh Hill, son of 1996 World Champion Damon, who has racked up wins at Knockhill and last time out, at Silverstone; JTR Mygale pilot Dan Cammish, currently third overall; Fluid Van Diemen man Dennis Lind; and another of the JTR crew, Cypriot Tio Ellinas, who did the double at Rockingham.
Enigma Motorsport’s Flying Finn, Antti Buri, is the next man-most-likely-to; he’s battling with Cammish for championship third and, though he was a little off the ultimate pace last time out, he gave Ellinas a big run for his money at Rockingham.
The other top 10 men are Jamun drivers Emil Bernstorff and Jeroen Slaghekke, impressive 17-year-old Jake Cook, who’s with the Getem team, and James Tucker, who began the season with Fluid Motorsport before switching to JTR. Minister International driver Dan de Zille leads the men bidding to break into the top 10.
The two-man battle for Scholarship class honours is intensifying also: Tristan Mingay (Ray) and Luke Williams (Juno) have scored six class wins apiece, with Mingay currently 51 points ahead thanks to his superior finishing record. Williams was on strong form at Silverstone, however, and took two wins to Mingay’s one.
Provisional championship placings after round 15 (of 25)1 Scott Malvern GBR/Ilford 3702 Scott Pye AUS/Mount Gambier 3323 Daniel Cammish GBR/Leeds 2824 Antti Buri FIN/Masku 2725 Josh Hill GBR/Farnham 2696 Tio Ellinas CYP/Larnaca 254 etc
Scholarship Class1 Tristan Mingay GBR/Hailsham 3182 Luke Williams GBR/Thirsk 2673 Dani Domit MEX/Mexico City 168 etc
