Haggerty endures character-building weekend at Rockingham
Adam MacKay continued to impress during the second Scottish Formula Ford 1600 meeting of 2015 by adding yet another victory to his tally at Knockhill. Meanwhile, fellow Ecurie Ecosse Young Driver Initiative member Ciaran Haggerty showed flashes of his potential throughout rounds three, four and five of BRDC Formula 4 Championship at Rockingham.Ellon resident MacKay remains unbeaten this season after a third victory in as many races during last weekend’s rain-hit event at Knockhill. Following a dry practice session on Saturday, treacherous conditions didn’t stop the 17-year-old from snatching pole position by a margin of six tenths in Sunday’s qualifying session.By the afternoon, the amount of standing water on track was so great that it was decided Race 1 would start behind the Safety Car. The Graham Brunton Racing driver got off to a fantastic start at the green flag, building a three second gap by the end of lap two and eventually taking the chequered flag over 15 seconds clear of runner-up Jordan Gronkowski.Unfortunately, the weather won out for Race 2 and the meeting was cancelled due to fog.Ecurie Ecosse Young Driver Initiative Ambassador, Dario Franchitti, was on hand to congratulate the young Scot on yet another commanding victory in the national single-seater championship.Adam MacKay: “The race was extremely challenging. Driving in this weather without making any mistakes isn’t easy to do but thankfully I managed to just get my head down, put in consistently fast laps and build myself a nice lead. The car felt great and the guys at Graham Brunton Racing did an amazing job. I’m delighted that I was able to take another win for them and the Ecurie Ecosse Young Driver Initiative.”CIARAN HAGGERTY – BRDC FORMULA 4 CHAMPIONSHIPMeanwhile, Ciaran Haggerty had a tricky weekend at Rockingham for the second instalment of the BRDC Formula 4 Championship. Saturday’s dry qualifying session proved difficult for the young Scot after a set-up change that didn’t quite go to plan saw Haggerty qualify 14th for Race 1. A fantastic start however saw him make up nine places to fifth by the first corner, a position he maintained until contact with Sebastien Lanzetti forced him to spin and eventually cross the line in 13th.Following a somewhat disappointing first race, Haggerty was determined to impress in wet conditions during Sunday morning’s Race 2. Another brilliant start saw him dicing with the leading pack before the Safety Car was deployed. At the restart, Ciaran clung on to second position before a bold move from Tom Jackson at Deene hairpin forced Haggerty to retire with a puncture.Conditions improved for the final race of the weekend, in which the Ecurie Ecosse Young Driver lined up 10th on the grid eager to improve his luck. Haggerty made it three strong starts from three before a brave move at Deene backfired, putting an end to his race. In spite of a run of bad fortune, a resolute Haggerty left the Northamptonshire circuit ready to learn and return to form next time out.Ciaran Haggerty: “Overall it was a very difficult weekend but it’s days like these that make you stronger for the future. Luck just wasn’t with us at Rockingham but we’ll be pushing hard to be back fighting at the front at Silverstone. Thank you to the Ecurie Ecosse Young Driver Initiative and all my sponsors for the support, and Graham Brunton Racing for doing a great job on the car.” Ciaran’s next outing in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship will be May 30/31 at Silverstone, while Adam resumes his 2015 campaign June 21 at Knockhill.
