ZANDVOORT: FF1600

Niall Murray took away two wins from the National Formula Ford 1600 championship’s outing at the Dutch Zandvoort circuit to further strengthen his bid for a first British title.

The Irishman enjoyed an easy lights-to-flag victory in the first race as local racer Melroy Heemskerk fought off Stephen Daly and James Raven for second.

The second race of the weekend saw the same set of characters battle it out for the lead all race long. Heemskerk, who as a guest driver wasn’t eligible to score points, looked to have the race under control after Murray dropped back to fifth mid-race before the Van Diemen driver shot back into the lead with just a lap to go and held on for his second victory of the weekend. Meanwhile, Murray’s nearest points rival Chase Owen fought back to ninth in race two after failing to finish the first race and thus lost ground in the title contest.

The British National races formed part of the third running of the Marcel Albers Memorial Trophy which enjoyed a major growth spurt since being conceived in 2014, with a quality entry of more than 60 cars from all over Europe turning out.

Stephen Daly took victory in an action packed final as he saw off challenges from Murray, Heemskerk, Owen and the surprisingly rapid Finn Patrick Pasma. With Murray dropping back after a drivethrough penalty for a jumped start, Daly consolidated his lead and stayed ahead of Pasma and Heemskerk to take a well-earned win.