COCKELL CHARGES TO MODIFIED FORD GLORY RACE WINNERS
Dave Cockell was star of the show in Modified Ford as he charged from the back to win the concluding Group A race in his 2.2-litre turbo Escort.
Cockell started the second race of the double header from the rear as he dropped out of the opener, having led from pole, with a broken driveshaft. This let Jack Gadd through to win. Gadd then led the second race but the recovering Cockell swept past at half distance, then a misfire slowed Gadd and made Cockell secure.
Cockell told Motorsport News: “Very disappointing missing the first race but sometimes things like that [winning race two] make up for it because it was so much fun.
“It’s a massive thing for me to win from the back. It’s not the first time I’ve done it in my career but this one was special, because there’s so many quick cars here and it’s not an easy place to make time up on people.”
Ford Escort Zakspeed duo Neil Jessop and Mike Thurley fought for the wins in Modified Fords’Group B for lower-powered cars and took a victory apiece.
Rory Smith started his preparations to reclaim his Formula Ford Festival winners’crown by taking two clear victories in the combined United Formula Ford and Champions of Brands contests.
In both races he prevailed from fellow Festival winner Joey Foster, who was having his first races of the season.
The Focus Cup and Sports 2000 titles were already decided before the Brands Hatch meeting, but new champions Liam McGill and Josh
Law were not taking things easy.
McGill won twice on Saturday but his winning run halted in the first Sunday race after he had to start at the back due to qualifying track limits offences. He rose to second but Simon Rudd was out of reach. McGill then got another win in the reversed-grid finale.
Law also won on Saturday but then also had to give best on Sunday as Michael Gibbins held off his furious attacks to win, the pair finishing side by side.
In Clubmans Sports Alex Champkin took two wins from three, though the CSP2 class’s Michelle Hayward retains the overall points advantage.
Champkin, having won race one, in race two got by poleman Steve Dickens near the end with a fine move. Hayward meanwhile, having been beaten by Mathieu Gauthier-Thornton in the opener, prevailed in race two after longtime leader Gauthier-Thornton’s throttle cable broke.
Both however were pipped in race three, Champkin by Dickens while Hayward finished just 0.075 seconds shy of Gauthier-Thornton.
Peter Morris and Chris Dyer were Porsche Club Championship winners, while two podiums in the Boxster class strengthened Colin Tester’s championship position ahead of October’s finale.
In the separate Boxster Cup Peter Evans, another title favourite, took a third place then a bizarre race-two victory wherein after a red flag only Evans and one other restarted from the grid and the rest started from the pits.
Ian McDonald’s Radical and
Colin Tester in a shared Porsche
911 GT3 overpowered the rest in two Allcomers’ races.
Focus Cup
Races 1, 2 & 4: Liam McGill; Race 3: Simon Rudd
Porsche Club Championship
Race 1: Peter Morris (997); Race 2: Chris Dyer (Cayman S)
Porsche Boxster Cup Race 1: Graham Heard; Race 2: Peter Evans
Sports 2000 Championship
Race 1: Josh Law (MCR S2N); Race 2: Michael Gibbins (MCR S2)
Clubmans Sports Championship
Races 1 & 2: Alex Champkin (Phantom PR21); Race 3: Steve Dickens (Mallock Mk29)
Allcomers
Race 1: Ian McDonald (Radical SR3 RS); Race 2: Colin Tester (Porsche 911 GT3)
Modified Ford Series Group A
Race 1: Jack Gadd (Ford RSR); Race 2: Dave Cockell (Ford Escort Cosworth)
Modified Ford Series Group B
Race 1: Neil Jessop (Ford Escort MK2 Zakspeed); Race 2: Mike Thurley (Ford Escort MK1 Zakspeed)
United Formula Ford feat. Champion of Brands
Races 1 & 2: Rory Smith (Medina Sport JL18)