09/06/2010 - Double Dutch Race Frustration for Juno
For Rounds 7 and 8 of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain, The Juno team travelled across the water to the Dutch coastal town of Zandvoort, the legendary former home of Formula 1 in Holland.
It was the F1 stars of tomorrow that lined up for the first of the weekend’s races in hot and sunny conditions. Scholarship class leader Luke Williams had a troubled qualifying session, when he failed to post a lap time after a trip off the circuit left him in the gravel. This meant a mountain to climb from the back of the 37 strong grid, strengthened by local Dutch Formula Ford competitors.
As replacement for the injured Jake Green, David Ellesley adapted well to his new Juno chassis and constantly improved but a spin, in the closing stages of the session on oil left by another car ended his progress in the gravel.
In an incident packed race, which saw two safety car periods and a start line crash both drivers put in solid performances, on the foundation of good starts to finish in the top 20. Which included a trip to the scholarship podium for Luke, in 2nd position.
43,000 fans packed the track on Sunday to see the action, which included a demonstration from F1 star Sebastian Vettel in his Red Bull Racing car. A change in the weather, bought drizzle and then a heavy shower, meant a last minute change of set up for the Juno cars in the Formula Ford race, which bought the weekend’s action to a close.
In appalling conditions, the drivers honed their remarkable skill by keeping the car on the track. With both cars starting near the back again, after their problems in qualifying both drove well in poor visibility. Luke’s race was cut short when he was run of the road in a dangerous move at the end of the fast pit straight. He limped to the pits with a puncture, but suspension damage curtailed his race, and reduced his scholarship championship lead.
David put in an excellent, mature drive, for his first time driving in the wet, bringing his car home in 13th place, beating many established championship drivers along the way. Juno would like to thank David and his father, Roger for their professional approach and efforts at the weekend. David showed his potential as a race driver, and was consistent all weekend. The team hope to work with him again in the future.
After this character building weekend, the team hope to bounce back for the Formula Ford Carnival and Rounds 9 and 10 of the championship at Castle Combe next weekend (19th/20th June)
