Cockerton named FMS champion
Franklin’s Taylor Cockerton is the 2017 Formula Masters Series champion after a close fought battle with rival competitor Daniel Lu and the title being decided in the final race of the weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit in China. Cockerton finished fourth in the first race and then went on to record three race wins to clinch the championship when Lu faded and finished fifth in the final decider.
‘‘It has been a roller-coaster weekend,’’ Cockerton.
‘‘At one stage we had dropped to 27 points behind Lu with his winning the first race and my finishing fourth. We were able to rescue the situation with some good race wins and reducing the gap to just nine points and one race to go.
‘‘All the races were in pretty treacherous wet conditions which in the end played to my advantage. I started on pole for the final race knowing that I needed to win commented and have Daniel (Lu) finish no higher than fourth.
‘‘It was quite nerve-racking and I was literally tip-toeing around the (wet) track. I crossed the line to win not knowing where Daniel finished until my engineer told me that he had finished in fifth.’’
‘‘I’m incredibly thankful to those who have supported me and especially to Pinnacle Motorsport for providing such a great car all season and having confidence in me all weekend.’’