Hannah defeats Gronkowski to take David Leslie Trophy spoils
Logan Hannah claimed her maiden Scottish Formula Ford 1600 victory in spectacular style last weekend, winning the David Leslie Trophy after a race-long battle with reigning champion Jordan Gronkowski.
The Graham Brunton Racing Ray driver started from the front row of the grid following a second-placed finish in race one, and set a number of fastest laps throughout the 10-lap affair.
Gronkowski, who won the opening encounter by a whopping 13 seconds, led initially but was passed by Hannah around the outside of Duffus on the third lap. But, two laps later, Hannah had a “big moment exiting Clark’s”, allowing Gronkowski to seize back the lead at the Hairpin.
The Van Diemen maintained a slender half-second margin over the Ray before Hannah reclaimed the lead once more at Duffus. Back in front, Hannah immediately set her fastest lap to pull out a six-tenths margin on the final tour. Gronkowski, who won the David Leslie Trophy after an epic scrap with GBR interloper Matt Cowley last year, responded with his own fastest lap but was beaten to the line by 0.474s.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic – I’m not going to lie, that was amazing,” Hannah said.
“I had a bit of a shocker in qualifying really but I got a good start and stuck behind Jordan’s gearbox before just sending it around the outside of Duffus.
It’s given me a lot of confidence for the next few weeks with the Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy – the racing today couldn’t have got any closer.”
Because the action was frenetic at the front, much of the attention behind was diverted. But the battle was no less intense as Matt Chisholm recorded a pair of third
places in his Van Diemen.
Chisholm waited until the dying stages of the opening race to get past the GBR
Ray of Steve Barlow, while in race two the pair were nip-and-tuck in the early running. Neil Broome ended the weekend with fourth in the Trophy race after dropping out of the opener with gearbox trouble.
Elsewhere at the Knockhill Motor Sports Club-organised meeting, Steven Mcgill won two out of three Scottish Legends races but was denied a clean sweep after a finalrace retirement on the opening lap. In total, 14 Legends cars turned out, with the action typically fraught. Mcgill came out on top in the opening encounter, beating Stewart Black by just four tenths, while race two was settled by an almost identical margin.
Black prevailed in the final, edging
James Hall-morton by just over a tenth after a race-long battle, with Jon Critchlow completing the podium.
Jon Woolfitt (Spire GTR) took two dominant Northern Saloon & Sports Car wins but did not start the finale, which was won by Gary Bowers (BMW M135).