FF Festival: Browne Leads Murray for Final after Semi Wins

In the Semi-Finals for the Formula Ford Festival, it was Jonathan Browne and Niall Murray who took Wins, with the Cliff Dempsey Racing driver competing in the faster semi-final after Murray’s second heat was interrupted with a red flag.

The Team Dolan drivers will line up 2-3-4 in the Festival Final as both Matthew Cowley and Chris Middlehurst took second places in their races. While both spent the latter stages of their races holding off the third pace runner, Cowley is fortunate to be starting third for the final as he struggled to maintain the pace of Browne, being forced to hold off the challenge of Michael Eastwell.

Having clean-swept qualifying, heat and semi, Browne will be the favourite to win from the front, but with double champion Murray alongside, the Ray GR19 will have his work cut out later this afternoon. Murray however, needed to hold off Middlehurst and Luke Cooper in his race.

Semi Final 1

Winner: Jonathan Browne – Cliff Dempsey Racing – Ray GR19

As soon as the semi finals got underway, they were under caution as Heat polesitter Jordan Dempsey, spun down Paddock Hill bend. Jonathan Browne had kept the lead off the start. Alan Davidson in the leading historic had leaped to seventh at the start and with the slower Mondiale, allowed the leading six to break away.

Browne though, made sure that Matthew Cowley was not about to make his life difficult, eventually winning by 5.477 seconds, lapping some of the backmarkers over the 15 lap race. Cowley clearly did not have the pace of Saturday now the track had dried up, was more concerned about the drivers challenging behind.

The second place for Cowley was consolidated as his challengers chose to fight amongst each other rather than work together. The momentum swung between different drivers as Joey Foster scythed his way through to third, only to drop to fifth at the flag behind fourth placed Ross Martin. The star of the battle had been Michael Eastwell. Kevin Mills Racing’s star had fallen to third, only to jump past Oliver White and Foster into Graham Hill. From there, he hounded Cowley, crossing the line under two tenths behind.

In sixth was Callum Crawley after falling behind Davidson at the start, the New Zealand champion headed a train of runners, with Davidson leading Max Marzorati and Morgan Quinn. Having been in the battle for second, White will be disappointed to have dropped to tenth at the flag, as Ivor McCollough and Michael MacPherson complete the automatic Final qualifiers.

“I didn’t expect to get that far, I just had to get my head down and keep the consistent pace the whole way, that’s what wins you races. I think we did 5 laps within a tenth, we just need to do the same in the final.” – Jonathan Browne

Semi Final 2

Winner: Niall Murray – Team Dolan – Van Diemen BD20

Even before the race got underway, David McCollough pulled off at Paddock Hill as his car came to a halt. Paddock proved to a poignant place as two laps into the race, Peter Lucas ran wide, spinning into Steve Barlow, as Tom Cloet beached his car in avoidance, causing all cars to be damaged beyond repair. With two of the cars stuck in the middle of the track, it was red flagged, with 12 laps being re-run from the original grid.

Niall Murray had led the first start and continued to dominate, pulling away from Chris Middlehurst in the fellow Team Dolan Van Diemen. This was bad news for Peter Dempsey, who had jumped from seventh to fourth in the opening race. Dempsey quickly became the driver to watch, scything up to fourth until he ran into the back of Rory Smith at Druids, spinning the B-M Racing driver and bringing out the safety car. Dempsey’s actions would lead to his disqualification.

This time Murray did not break away, with Middlehurst and Luke Cooper forming a breakaway top three. Cooper had benefitted from the Dempsey crash and was not about to waste his opportunity, running side-by-side with Middlehurst over the finish line, though had to settle for third.

Off the podium, Scott Huffaker finished ahead of Team USA Scholarship teammate Josh Green, who had dropped positions after the Druids crash. Best of the rest was Ciaren Haggerty, as the Historic leader Matthew Rivett (Van Diemen RF91) led a queue of Noel Robinson, Team Canada’s Zachary Vanier and Adam Higgins in tenth. Pascal Monbaron and Tom Hawkins completed the top twelve.

“My car’s proving that it’s quick in the wet and quick in the dry today. Both myself and Jonathan are unbeaten in both races, so we’ll see how that goes. I’ve never won [the Festival] from pole. Last year I started pole and didn’t win and in 2016 I started second and won, and in 2013 I started fifth or sixth, so you don’t need to start from pole here.” – Niall Murray