Fluid Motorsport has taken over the preperation and running of Jay Bridger's Mygale Formula Ford for the remainder of the Formula Ford season.
Jay, who is currently sitting 6th in the championship will join Takashi Nagase and Marcus Weller at Fluid to futher strengten the team's position within the championship.
With over half of the season still to run Jay is very much looking forward to making a strong challenge for the Championship.
Marcus Weller from Banbury debuted in Formula Ford with Fluid Motorsport as a guest driver at the April Brands Hatch GP meeting supporting the British round of the A1GP.
After a gap of nearly 3 months, Marcus has signed a deal to run with Fluid Motorsport for the remainder of the UK Formula Ford Championship with the first rounds back at the Brands Hatch GP circuit.
For more info about Marcus go to www.marcus-weller.co.uk
Juan Pablo Garcia Samano from Mexico is the latest driver to join Fluid Motorsport for the 2007 season.
Juan Pablo has been racing in Mexico in Formula Renault. He adds his name to the long list of South American drivers who venture to the UK to compete in the British F3 Championship.
He will join the team along side South African Sean Petterson to compete in the 2007 National Class Championship in a 2004 Lola Dome.
The first outing for the F3 team in 2007 will be at Pembrey on the 21st February at the first official test day.
Takashi Nagase from Japan has signed a fresh deal with Fluid Motorsport to compete in the 2007 Formula Ford championship.
In 2006 Takashi finished second in the Formula Ford Festival and also won races with the team in the Scholarship Class and also the Winter Series. He will be competing in the main championship in a Duratec Formula Ford.
Sean Petterson from South Africa will be joining Takashi on the team and competing in the 2007 Formula Three National Class Championship in a Mugen powered Lola Dome.
The car that Sean will be driving is the one that fellow South African, Cristiano Morgado, had success with in 2006, winning 4 races from the last 4 meetings and finishing 2nd in the championship.
Both Takashi and Sean have been out testing since racing finished and both look like strong contenders for their respective championships.
Photos courtesy of
Jakob Ebrey Photography
Eighteen-year-old Takashi Nagase had a Fifth of November to remember, the Milton Keynes-based Japanese driver shooting to his maiden Formula Ford win at Silverstone.
Nagase was contesting round two of the UK Formula Ford Winter Championship, and more than made up for the disappointment he suffered in Friday's opening round, when he was robbed of second place through gearbox problems.
The Fluid Motorsport driver started from the pole in his Van Diemen and overhauled early leader David Brown for top spot on the fourth of the 12 laps. Brown, who won on Friday, shadowed Nagase all the way to the chequered flag; he was 1.4s adrift at the line.
Less than 3.5s covered the top four, with Finn Jesse Krohn claiming third place in his Ray, just ahead of the similar car of Kent's David Mayes.
Photos courtesy of
Jakob Ebrey Photography
Cristiano and Fluid Motorsport Developments concluded a successful season of British Formula Three National Class racing by claiming his 4th victory in the last 4 race weekends at Thruxton last weekend.
In very changeable conditions, the South African qualified in 3rd place for both of the races, which were also run in wet/dry conditions. Race One saw Cristiano make a last minute switch to a wet set up. However, such was the fickle nature of the weather that the Lola-Dome driver’s charge was halted when the sun came through and started to dry the track, meaning he had to settle for 3rd position.
Race 2 also became a topsy-turvy race as the weather became increasingly indecisive. However, the savvy Fluid crew ensured that Cristiano had the best opportunity to keep his winning streak going by bolting on slick tyres to the Mugen-Honda powered Lola-Dome.
This was to prove a masterstroke as Morgado tentatively started the race despite the track still being very wet. His renowned car control came to the fore as he cut through the pack to take a convincing victory by almost 10 seconds and take the chequered flag in 12th place overall.
After victories at Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Mugello and now at Thruxton, Morgado has finished the season with a flourish to categorically prove that he and the Fluid Lola-Dome have become the most competitive proposition in the National Class.
“Cristiano did another superb job this weekend,” said team owner Lindsay Allen. “You always get a real gauge for how good a driver is when there are conditions like there were last weekend.”
“On the whole it has been a very successful season and Cristiano has developed the car superbly,” continued Allen. “In some respects it was a learning year for Cristiano who was in his first full single-seater season. Considering how he has performed, that is staggering. The experience of this season will put him in good stead for what we hope will be a full blown Championship Class assault next year.”
Photos courtesy of
Jakob Ebrey Photography
Cristiano Morgado and Fluid Motorsport continued to be the class of the British Formula Three National class last weekend when they scored a third consecutive victory during the latest rounds at Silverstone.
Despite the satisfaction of notching up a hat-trick of victories there was still an air of slight frustration in the ultra competitive Fluid Motorport camp after Cristiano was only denied a double win at Silverstone by a mechanical problem.
Qualifying in a clear pole position for race one, Cristiano launched his Lola-Dome down to Copse Corner to open up a clear lead on his rivals. As has been the rule in the last few races he also put some clear distance on his National class pursuers by putting four Championship class between them.
A controlled and peerless drive to the chequered flag saw Cristiano once again stand on the top step of the podium. As ever he was delighted with his and also his teams performance, saying: “It was just a bout a perfect race for me. As ever the team were superb and I think I have learned more this season than anyone else as I have been developing the Lola on my own.”
Race 2 saw another dominant performance from Cristiano when he made his customary rocket start to take a clear lead in the National class. As in the first race, the Lola-Dome was in a race of it's own, until on lap 21 when a driveshaft breakage caused Cristiano to retire. It was a bitter pill for the South African and the Fluid team as another 20 points was all but guaranteed.
Still, team boss Lindsay Allen took more many positives from the weekends performance and said: “It was a shame that we could not achieve the double here as Cristiano definitely deserved it. We have shown that we can win on differing circuits like Brands, Mugello and now here at Silverstone. Cristiano is without doubt the class of the National class field just now and he is getting better and better with each race that passes by. We can now go to the final races this weekend to go for the double win and to sign off a successful season in the right manner.”
Photos courtesy of
Jakob Ebrey Photography
Cristiano Morgado and Fluid Motorsport Developments continued their terrific form in the British Formula 3 International Series last weekend at Mugello in Italy.
The rapid partnership claimed another win in the Lola-Dome chassis to make it three wins from three events and ensured that they are the combination to beat as the 2006 season draws to an end.
Race 2 at Mugello saw Morgado completely dominate the National Class proceedings. Morgado's pace was such, that in tricky conditions he completely out-performed his opponents. Taking a clear pole position by just under two seconds, Morgado made an impeccable start on the wet track and drove a controlled but aggressive race to lead home the next National Class car by almost three seconds.
His race included battles with Championship class cars, such as Alberto Valerio and Stuart Hall. Not only did the Lola-Dome racer take the top step of the podium in the National class but he also finished 11th overall, his best result so far this season.
"I was very cautious at the start, got up behind Valerio and I just followed him around, pushing the pace," said Morgado from the podium. "Then Hall came up to me a bit later and after he got past I just was able to cruise home."
Earlier in the weekend Cristiano had qualified alongside class champion Rodolfo Gonzalez for the first of the 16 lappers around the scenic Tuscan track. However, a coming together by a group of Championship Class cars at the start of the race forced the newly liveried Lola-Dome off the track and the team were forced to change the South African's nosecone. This meant that Morgado had to make do with 4th place in class this time.
Overall though, it was another successful weekend for the Fluid team, whose reputation for preparing fast and reliable cars is growing race by race.
"It is proving to be a great end to the season for us," said team boss Lindsay Allen. "Cristiano has scored 2 wins in 4 races and if luck would have been on his side it probably should have been more. He is showing now that he can beat Gonzalez fair and square and has the potential to be a major Championship Class player next season."
The penultimate rounds of the Lloyds TSB British F3 International Series take place at Silverstone this weekend.
Photos courtesy of
Jakob Ebrey Photography
After putting his car on the front row of the grid for both races, James battled hard in slippery conditions to finish third in race one. With one podium under his belt, James was full of confidence going into race two, for the first three laps he had race leader Freke in his sights until the safety car was deployed, on the re-start James kept the pressure on Freke and soon made a move for the lead which unfortunately for James didnt quite come off, this lost him ground, the gap was too much to get back and he had to settle for second place. With two podium finishes over the weekend James is full of confidence and looking forward to Silverstone where he hopes to close the gap on the title race.
Photos courtesy of
Jakob Ebrey Photography
Zetec driver Takashi had two pole positions, two fastest laps and two wins at Knockhill last weekend, finishing tenth overall in both races. The wet conditions in Scotland suited the young Japansese drivers style, at one point during qualifiying Takashi was fifith overall, seeing him out qualify his nearest Zetec rival by more than a second. Takashi leaves Knockhill standing third in the Zetec Championship and increasing the pressure in on the Championship leaders with each round.
Photos courtesy of
Jakob Ebrey Photography
Fluid Motorsport celebrated their second win in as many races during the latest rounds of the TSB British Formula Three International series at Brands Hatch last weekend.
After Martin Kudzak's superb win at Silverstone a fortnight ago, Cristiano Morgado followed suit by claiming his first victory in the series. It was a richly merited success for the South African, who had previously notched up nine second places in the previous fourteen rounds.
After finishing a close 3rd in the first race of the weekend on Sunday morning, Morgado made a barnstorming getaway at the beginning of race two, 'sling-shooting past Finnish racer Juho Annala in to Paddock Hill Bend before latching on to National Class points leader Rodolfo Gonzalez as they snaked up to Druids.
Under braking for the infamous hairpin, Morgado dived for the inside and pulled off a classy manoeuvre to take the class lead. From there he managed to fend off the advances of his Venezuelan rival and the resurgent Annala, dealing coolly with a Safety Car period to win by just three tenths of a second. Morgado also set the fastest lap of the race with a best of 1m23.103s.
“It was a long time coming,” said a delighted Morgado after the race. “We've had a lot of chances through the year, but things just didn't go our way. But I'm really glad, because the team really deserves this, the team's awesome. I'm really pleased to win with the Lola and really happy to finally get this.”
Team boss Lindsay Allen was equally ecstatic with the result and said: “Cristiano did an excellent job as usual and to get the win he so fully deserves shows that his hard work and determination have paid off. They say that once you have taken the first victory it becomes a habit and we are sure that the top step of the podium will become the most natural place in the world for Cristiano.”
Silverstone victor Martin Kudzak was unable to take part in the races after suffering a large accident at Sheene Curve during qualifying on Saturday. The Swede emerged unscathed from the accident, reinforcing the strength of the Lola-Dome chassis. The 17 year old will be back in action for the next race on the British F3 calendar at Mugello in Italy on September.
Fluid Motorsport celebrated their first victory of the year at Silverstone last weekend when Martin Kudzak triumphantly brought home his Lola-Dome chassis to become the youngest ever race winner in the British F3 series history.
In what was an ultra successful weekend for the Sudbury based team, Cristiano Morgado claimed another two podium positions in the two races, both of which were run on the same bill as the Grand Prix Masters event.
In a fully wet first race, Martin Kudzak got a flying start and immediately showed his wet weather skills by scything through the field and taking the national class lead. The 17 year old, who celebrated his birthday the week before the race, was as igh as 10th place overall on the treacherous track at one stage.
Having pulled out a 10 second lead over his national class rivals, Kudzak's heart sank when the Safety Car appeared after an accident had left a car in a dangerous position.
Keeping a cool head, the Swede lead again from the start but was suddenly under pressure from National Class points leader Rodolfo Gonzalez. Just unable to hold the Venezualan back, Kudzak looked certain to be forced in to the runners-up position. However, he harried the T-Sport Dallara in to a mistake and Gonzalez collided with Christian Bakkerud at Club Corner on the last lap to give Kudzak a well deserved victory.
Race 2 saw Kudzak start from 6th place on the National Class grid and finish in 5th place, just failing to catch Rodolfo Avila on the last lap.
Cristiano Morgado was once again left to rue his misfortune after consistently proving to be one of the fastest National Class cars on track during the meeting. He duly turned his pace in to pole position for race one and led away, but was rudely chopped by Gonzalez's Dallara.
With damage to the nose of his car, Morgado pitted when the safety car came out a few laps later, ensuring that he was able to rejoin the back of the snaking pack. During a remarkable recovery drive, the South African showed terrific spirit to claim 3rd place at the chequered flag.
Race two saw the dayglo Lola-Dome tail class pole sitter Rodolfo Gonzalez to the flag and claim 2nd place. This was despite his best efforts in overtaking the Venezualan but after one particularly bold lunge, Cristiano was forced to back off and settle for 2nd place.
Fluid Motorsport Developments Lindsay Allen was delighted with his teams performances over the weekend and said: “It was a great weekend for us with Martin doing a brilliant job in difficult conditions to claim his first win. He really drove with a great deal of maturity this weekend and it is certainly a result that he can achieve once again before the season finishes.”
Fluid Motorsport continued their ultra consistent season with a pair of fine runners-up positions in the latest rounds of the British Formula Three International Series at Spa in Belgium over the weekend.
South African racer, Cristiano Morgado, once again came within a few seconds of winning the first of the two races, held in typically erratic Ardennes weather.
After just missing out on a National class pole position, Morgado chose to stay on slick tyres as rain fell on some sections of the 4.3 mile Belgian Grand Prix circuit. As many of the other runners came in for grooved rubber, the Fluid team made a bold decision to start the race on slicks.
It almost paid off for the Sudbury based team, as Morgado instantly opened up a healthy 40 second lead over his title rival, Rodolfo Gonzalez. However, with the rain get increasingly worse and making the majority of the track wet, Cristiano was forced to conceded the lead on the very last lap of the race.
A solid second place in race two saw Morgado consolidate his 2nd place in the National Class standings and now trails Gonzalez by 42 points with ten races remaining.
The sister Lola-Dome chassis driven by Martin Kudzak claimed a pair of 4th places at Spa. The young Swede has recently returned to the series after a serious accident threatened to curtail his 2006 programme.
However, the 16 year old has proven to be a tenacious competitor and has closed in to within 12 points of 4th placed Rodolfo Avila.
Team principal Lindsay Allen was satisfied with the performances at the weekend and believes that his drivers are closing in on that elusive first 2006 victory:
“Both drivers did a very competent job at spa which is a very difficult circuit to learn if you have not been their before,” said Allen. “It will all come together very soon and more and more people are now talking about both our drivers in glowing terms which is nice.”
Fluid Motorsport Developments entered Formula Three in 2005 and made an instant impact with Ben Clucas taking a class victory in the teams second ever event at Monza in Italy.
The F3 team will next be in action at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit on August 12/13.
The Lola-Dome F3 chassis was in action at Snetterton for the latest rounds of the British Formula Three Championship this weekend. The chassis, which put Lola on the F3 map enjoyed more success with Fluid Motorsport, as South African racer Cristiano Morgado collected two podium positions to consolidate his second place in the National Class points standings.
Young Swedish racer Martin Kudzak also made his return to the series for Fluid Motorsport at Snetterton after being forced to miss the Mondello Park rounds after an accident at Pau, in France, last month.
Qualifying saw Morgado place 3rd for race one, albeit less than three tenths of a second from pole sitter Rodolfo Gonzalez. However, the 26 year old found a few extra tenths in the second qualifying session to grab pole in his Mugen-Honda powered Lola-Dome.
Race one saw Cristiano make a superb start and soon started to apply pressure to class leader Gonzalez. He vaulted in to the lead on lap 8, making a clean pass on national class points leader. However, on the very next lap Gonzalez found a way through and despite being faster, Cristiano was unable to retake the lead before the end of the race. It meant another 2nd place for the fighting South African.
Race two saw Morgado lead from pole in the opening laps ahead of Gonzalez and Annala until the safety car was deployed on lap 9. At the re-start, with tyre temperatures having dropped, the Lola-Dome got a wheel on the grass and dropped down to 3rd. A couple of laps later he spun at the first corner and rejoined in 4th place 6 seconds behind the leading pair. Cristiano was soon back in 2nd place and closing on the race leader every lap to finish just one second behind Annala and setting fastest lap with Gonzalez coming in a distant third.
Morgado’s two podium places means that he continues to have a comfortable second place in the National Class standings. Of the ten rounds held so far, he has scored eight podium positions.
Martin Kudzak, in the sister Fluid Motorsport Lola-Dome enjoyed getting back in to the cockpit again after emerging unscathed from a serious accident at Pau in France last month.
Kudzak, who is the youngest driver ever to compete in the British F3 series, scored a solid 4th place in class, in the first race, before being unceremoniously shunted off the track by Japanese racer Keiko Ihara in race two. It should have been a pair of 4th places for Kudzak, but this incident relegated him down to 6th. Still, it was a fine effort from the Swede, especially after only having driven his new chassis for the first time during testing on Friday.
Fluid Motorsport Developments Lindsay Allen said of the weekend: “Ultimately, we should have won today because Cristiano was as quick if not quicker than Gonzalez. He did a superb professional job as always and deserved to get more from the weekend. He had the pace throughout the weekend but his time will come for sure.”
“Martin did a solid job too,” confirmed Allen. “It is great to have him back out there fighting and with some more testing he will continue to make the excellent progress that he has already made so far this season. We can’t wait for the next rounds at the great Spa-Francorchamps track in Belgium.”
Seventeen-year-old Japanese kart star Takashi Nagase is to contest the 2006 UK Formula Ford Championship, it is announced today.
Nagase, who won Japan's long circuit kart championship in 2005, has joined forces with crack team Fluid Motorsport to contest the Ford-backed championship's Scholarship Class at the wheel of Van Diemen RF05.
"Takashi wants to learn the UK circuits as a first step in his racing career," says Fluid boss Lindsay Allen, "and there's no better way of doing that than in the UK Formula Ford Championship. Hopefully he will use the Scholarship as a springboard to the championship class in 2007."
Fluid Motorsport will run Nagase alongside a two-car British Formula 3 International Championship campaign featuring Swedish ex-Formula Ford star Martin Kudzak.
The team will be rewarding the 2006 UK Formula Ford Champion and the series runner-up with valuable Formula 3 test and assessment sessions, as well as discounted F3 drives for 2007.
Martin Kudzak and Cristiano Morgado become the latest drivers to confirm their entry for the 2006 British Formula 3 International series, signing to race for Suffolk based Fluid Motorsport Development.
16-year-old Kudzak becomes the youngest driver in British F3 for 2006, with the Swede moving up from Formula Ford, where last year he competed in Sweden, North European and took 5th place at the Formula Ford Festival.
2003 Rotax Max World Kart Champion Cristiano Morgado joins Fluid after recently taking two wins and a second place in the A3 support race to the A1GP in his home town of Durban. The 26-year-old South African raced in Formula Ford, taking pole position in the 2004 Formula Ford Festival, eventually finishing 6th in the final that year. Morgado is a multiple karting champion and has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Motor Racing Driver of the year award by South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.
“We are pleased to announce that Martin Kudzak and Cristiano Morgado will race for Fluid this season,” said team principle Lindsay Allen. “Martin is very young but has gained a lot of experience in his short career. Cristiano comes to us on a high after his A3 wins last month in front of the A1GP teams. Both drivers are capable of winning this year’s National class and the team will be giving them every opportunity to do so.”
Kudzak and Morgado will compete in Mugen Honda powered Lola Dome F106/4 Formula 3 race cars in the British Formula 3 National class.
James Nash, 19 from Milton Keynes tested the new 2006 Van Diemen Duratec for Fluid Motorsport at Snetterton on Saturday.
The team was impressed with James' performance and approach to the test. He got quicker throughout the day setting a time of 1:10.6
Last year James competed in the BRDC Single Seater Championship and this year he is hoping to step up to the new Duratec Championship.
Tom Gaymor has come back from a career threatening injury
Photo courtesy of
Lola Cars
Highly rated racing driver Tom Gaymor's return to the cockpit continued successfully at Snetterton last Friday with a further impressive F3 test in a Fluid Motorsport Developments Lola-Dome.
Gaymor has been out of the cockpit for two seasons after major back surgery and his rehabilitation was given a further boost by completing 65 laps without any physical discomfort.
The 24 year old was on the verge of climbing up the single seater ladder in 2004 before the surgery was completed. Now, after impressing the Fluid team, Twickenham based Gaymor is confident of confirming his plans to contest the 2006 British Formula Three National Series.
"It went extremely well and I am now focused on serious pre-season testing," said a clearly delighted Gaymor after the test. "I had no physical problems at all except for the usual neck aches that you get from a first real test in a while. I have really re-assured myself that I am back to a good level of fitness and hopefully now we can concentrate on signing a deal with Fluid and going for the title."
Lindsay Allen knows Gaymor from his time at Nexa Racing in 2002 and said of the test. " We sought special dispensation to test during the 'testing ban' period to let Tom see if his back was up it. I don't think anyone would begrudge him that after the two years that he has just had. Thankfully he had no problems at all and in fact got down to some very competitive times, getting quicker and quicker as the day went on. We would love to run him this year as we think that he is a very fast and intelligent driver."
A former works Van Dieman Formula Ford driver, Gaymor has impressed many with some tenacious racing, that saw him win in every year that he competed. After two years in Formula Ford in 2002 and 2003, he was set to graduate to Formula Renault V6 with David Price Racing in 2004 but his plans were put on hold due to the surgery.
"Now it's the next step which is to firm up a deal to race with Fluid," said the former BRDC Rising Star scheme member. "I was really attracted to the Lola because I had seen what Charlie Hollings and Ben Clucas did with it last year. The guys at Lola are very committed to win in F3 and that tallies exactly with what I want from 2006."
Kudzak was only 16 in August!
Tom Gaymor has come back from a career threatening injury
Matt Shawyer was fast on his F3 debut
Photos courtesy of
Lola Cars
Fluid Motorsport Developments enjoyed a successful two day test at Snetterton earlier this week, testing two drivers with a view to them joining Swedish racer Martin Kudzak in the team for 2006.
Kudzak himself got to grips with F3 quickly and completed 120 laps of the Norfolk track in his Neil Brown prepared Mugen-Honda engined Lola-Dome.
The 16 year old will become the youngest ever driver to start a British Formula Three race next April and he impressed the team after stepping up from the Scandinavian Formula Ford series. Kudzak also finished a fine 5th at the Formula Ford Festival in October.
Also testing at Snetterton were the British duo of Tom Gaymor and Matt Shawyer. Both drivers were also having their first run in an F3 Lola and they acquitted themselves superbly to the car and to the cold and blustery conditions.
For Gaymor it was a morale boosting test after almost two years out of the cockpit with a debilitating back condition. The former British Formula Ford race winner underwent serious back surgery two years ago but was delighted with the way that the test went, saying: "I completed 27 laps and did not feel any after effects at all so I am delighted to have proved to myself that I can make a return to the cockpit next season. This is just an initial test and there will be more in the New Year, in preparation for a full programme."
Matt Shawyer also made a very favourable impression and set a time of 1m03.6s, a lap that would have been good enough for 4th place on last years national class grid. This was despite near freezing temperatures and just 50 laps in a car that he had no prior knowledge of.
Shawyer was very enthusiastic about the test and the team, stating: "The team are really on the ball and we gelled immediately. It was a fantastic opportunity to drive a Lola F3 car, I think I have now done the easy bit in proving my speed and ability in the car, the harder task will now be finding the financial resources to have a serious crack at the National F3 Title in 2006."
Lindsay Allen and Roger Littin, team principals of Fluid Motorsport Development were satisfied with the last test of the year and said: "We were very impressed with all three drivers and what they each achieved over the two days. All of them got quicker with every lap and in fact could have gone significantly faster had there been more time."
Next seasons British Formula Three International series kicks off at Oulton Park on April 17.
This years national class champion Salvador Duran went on to represent his country - Mexico in the A1 Grand Prix series, scoring a podium position at Brands Hatch.
Ben on the podium after his first win in Formula 3
Photos courtesy of
Jakob Ebrey Photography
Ben Clucas took his First Win for Fluid Motorsport at Monza this weekend.
The weekend started well for the team. In the first free practice session Ben set the fastest time over a quarter of a second clear of the next National Class competitor. The second session was a bit baffling. with a couple of small changes and new tyres, Ben set a slower time and ended up 5th, 8 tenths off of the fastest time.
The first qualifying on Saturday morning was wet and Ben ended up 3rd on the grid.
Qualifying 2 was dry. Reverting back to the setup from free practice 1, Ben took his first pole position in Formula 3 heading the time sheets for almost the whole session.
Race 1 was a great race. Running wheel to wheel first with Josh Fisher and then with Jonathan Kennard. Ben ended up 3rd, happy with his first podium, but a little disappointed that the 2 guys in front of him had both come from behind on the grid.
The second race was fantastic. Ben dropped down to 2nd on the start but at the 2nd Chicane passed Barton Mawer and pulled a gap. Mawer then had contact with another car which left Ben with a clear run to the flag. He won by over 10 seconds and took his and Fluid Motorsport's first win in Formula 3.
For more information about Ben go to www.benclucas.co.uk
Click here for race results for the F3 Championship.
Photos courtesy of
Jakob Ebrey Photography
With only a days' testing at Snetterton with the new team, everyone was treating the weekend as very much a learning exercise. To come away with 4th and 5th places in class, and, more importantly, very close to the pace of the quickest drivers, was very pleasing.
Despite losing half of the sole 40 minutes free practise because of a failed noise test, 5th quickest National car was encouraging, with a 0.7 second deficit to the leading car. Ben went 4 tenths quicker in first qualifying, but others went quicker too, so 7th on the grid was a bit disappointing. Quicker still in second qualifying - and less than 4 tenths behind the quickest National car of Charlie Hollings - put him 5th for the second race.
The first race went well. After a good start Ben was well placed at Tower on the first lap when Charlie Hollings and Barton Mawer collided just in front of him. Ben avoided the incident well, losing time in the process, though gaining him two places, but allowing the Championship car of Keiko Ihara past. A lap later Ben repassed Ihara and was on the tail of Jonathan Kenard. Next lap Ben was up to 4th with a neat move on Kenard at first chicane and closed with Juho Annala. A safety car period intervened on lap 12 and a poor restart by Ben frustratingly let Kenard back past on the run up to Tower. A spin by Annala promoted Ben to 4th at the flag.
The second race was relatively uneventful - but frustrating. Ben spent most of the race on the tail of Duran, but with Championship cars close behind and sometimes between them Ben couldn’t mount a successful challenge. 5th in class at the flag was the result.
Ben was generally happy with the weekend. "It was encouraging how I went progressively quicker - only being a tenth or so off the front runners in the final race. The team, with the support of Lola, worked really hard to achieve that, and I feel it bodes well for future races. It was just a pity a mistake in the first race cost me a podium".
Photos courtesy of
Jakob Ebrey Photography
Carl-olov Carlsson started his 2005 season this weekend at the first round of the British Formula Ford Championship at Donington.
After a few test days at Donington, C-O expected to do reasonably well at the first race of the season.
C-O qualified 8th for both races and admitted later that he would have liked to have done better. "I got caught out a bit by the level of grip on the circuit."
Race one started with C-O gaining a place on the start to go into 7th ahead of Jonny Baker into the first corner. On lap 5, Baker got back past C-O and the two battled for a few laps until Baker made a mistake coming out of the chicane on lap 10 and C-O was through.
C-O also managed to get past Rob Sunderland on lap 13 and was looking to take 5th place off of Steve Roberts on the second to last lap when he run wide in the chicane and had to take to the grass.
C-O lost a couple of places and ended up finishing 8th.
He was much happier with the race than with qualifying and looked forward to race two.
Race two started much the same as race one. C-O got past Baker again into the first corner but lost it again later in the lap.
On lap two, the race leader, Joe D'Agostino spun and rejoined the race at the back of the field.
C-O battled with Baker and got past him midway through the race and was pulling away from him. Six laps from the end of the race, D'Agostino, who had been making his way back through the field came up behind C-O. C-O thought it was Baker behind him as they both had similar cars and could not understand where Baker had found the extra speed.
D'Agostino tried a couple of times to get past C-O and ended up colliding in the chicane, ending both their races.
