April 25, 2005
D'AGOSTINO UNSTOPPABLE AT OULTON PARK
BRENTWOOD, April 25, 2005: It was a weekend of firsts for American ace Joe D'Agostino - he claimed his first-ever pole position and then topped that performance with finely judged victories in both Oulton Park rounds of the UK Formula Ford Championship.
Now with three wins from four starts in the Ford-backed championship, Brackley-based D'Agostino, 20, moves into third place in the driver standings, 18 points behind overall leader Charlie Donnelly.
Dubliner Donnelly pursued D'Agostino's Team JLR Van Diemen for all he was worth in both races at the Cheshire circuit, but the 21-year-old had to settle for second in each.
Saturday's race was the closer, with Donnelly's Jamun Racing Mygale just six-tenths behind after 12 laps of furious battle with D'Agostino. "Charlie was right with me the whole race keeping me honest," said Joe, "but I managed to stay ahead." He claimed fastest race lap on his way to victory.
Robert Sunderland (Yatton Keynell) claimed third for Mackie Motorsport after a long fight with Donnelly's Jamun team-mate Duncan Tappy (West Ewell). Unfortunately Tappy's race ended in retirement when the battling drivers clashed four laps from the end. |
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Darwin Smith (Ballymena) gave his new Spirit chassis an encouraging fourth-place finish, well ahead of fifth-placed Stephen Roberts (Whitchurch), who was the leading Scholarship Class finisher. Swede Carl-Olov Carlsson was sixth ahead of Sarah Playfair (East Lothian), Liam Clifford (Nottingham) and Simon Kinsey (Holmes Chapel).
Donnelly started Sunday's race from the pole and made a superb getaway. But D'Agostino's was better, the Floridian charging around the outside of Donnelly into Old Hall Corner to wrest top spot from the Irishman's grasp.
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Charlie kept close tabs on the leader for four laps, until he found his mirrors full of his team-mate Tappy's Mygale. Their ensuing squabble over second gave D'Agostino just the opportunity he needed to stretch his legs and claim his second victory of the weekend, this time by a margin of 3.5 seconds.
Said Joe: "I got a good start, and then I just put my head down and went for it. It's a good result for me and there's plenty of races yet for me to close the points gap to Charlie."
Tappy's chances of a podium finish came adrift along with one of his front wheels three laps from home, and thus third fell back into Sunderland's clutches. Ebbesvik claimed fourth ahead of Carlsson. |
Smith and Roberts collided while disputing fifth on the lap two, both retiring, and this handed Baker the Scholarship Class lead. But Jonny was hounded down by Playfair, who made a last-corner do-or-die effort to relieve him of the honour. Alas for Sarah she ran wide at Lodge and Baker held on in front.
Clifford was in Baker's wheeltracks for seventh, ahead of Kinsey and the recovered Playfair who, thanks to her rivals' problems at Oulton, now finds herself atop the Scholarship Class points standings.
The next rounds of the UK Formula Ford Championship are at Croft in a fortnight's time.
Provisional championship standings after round 4, 24/4/05
1 Charlie Donnelly, IRL, Dublin, Jamun Racing, 111 points
2 Robert Sunderland, UK, Yatton Keynell, Mackie Motorsport, 94
3 Joe D'Agostino, USA, Brackley, Team JLR, 93
4 Thor-Christian Ebbesvik, NOR, Bergen, Team JLR, 64
5 Stephen Roberts, UK, Whitchurch, Kevin Mills Racing, 62
6 Sarah Playfair, UK, East Lothian, Marque Cars, 62 etc
Scholarship Class:
1 Playfair, 105; 2 Roberts, 97; 3 Jonny Baker (UK/Farnham Common/Team JLR), 84.
Championship website: www.ukformulaford.co.uk
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