Strong Championship Start for Anglo Australian Motorsport

Anglo Australian Motorsport launched their assault on the 2011 NSW Formula Ford Championship in fine form walking away from round one with first and third championship standings respectively for Steve Charman and James Spicer.
 
Returning to the NSW Championship in 2011 after running the VIC Formula Ford Championship and selected rounds of the NSW Formula Ford Championship in 2010 Steve Charman hit the track for qualifying Saturday morning putting in the fastest time for the 1600 ‘Kent’ Championship securing his first pole position.
 
Race one saw Charman lead the field from start to finish securing the fastest lap in the process. Light rain and a spin on lap five in race two pushed Charman back to third place, after fighting his way back to first a coming together with team mate James Spicer on the second last lap saw Charman spin for a second time forcing him into second but the speed of his brand new Spirit WL11 saw him recover back to first position to take out race two. Race three mirrored race one with Charman leading the pack from start to finish, an ensuing battle for third and second allowed Charman to pull away to a comfortable lead and secure him the race win, a clean sweep for the weekend and bag highest championship points to start his championship fight for 2011.
 
After receiving his first place trophy Charman was thrilled with his round one results “what a great start to the championship, brand new car quick and strong right out of the box, providing a good platform for the championship. A big thanks to Anglo Australian Motorsport, my family and my sponsors Intelligent Developments and Better View Blinds”.
 
New comer and ex karting speedster James Spicer hit the track in Saturday morning qualifying putting down some impressive times for his first outing in the Van Diemen FR92, qualifying in second place for race one.
 
Race one saw Spicer find his footing engaging in a close two lap battle with third place, with the battle for third quickly won Spicer was able to pull in on second position, with one second between the fastest lap time of Spicer and second position it wasn’t long until second was claimed paving the way for the chase of team mate Steve Charman in first position but when the chequered flag fell at the completion of twenty laps it was a second place for Spicer. A jump start at the beginning of race two didn’t deter the young driver battling up the front with team mate Steve Charman for much of the race, going into turn 10 a little hot on the second last lap of the race resulted in a coming together with Charman sending both competitors into a spin, regaining track position faster then his team mate, Spicer gained first position but it wasn’t to be with Charman reclaiming the lead leaving Spicer to cross the line in second place. Due to the jump start a sixty second penalty was imposed on Spicer post race resulting in a final race result of sixth place. Keen to make up lost points from race two, race three had Spicer carving up the field from a starting position of sixth. After a good start Spicer came out of the first corner in fourth position, the fight for third was won on lap three allowing him a clear track to close in on second, a short but heated battle won Spicer second at turn 10 and again the chase for team mate Charman was on. With eight laps to go it was a race against the clock for Spicer who crossed the line for a well fought second place.
 
Walking away from his first Formula Ford race meeting Spicer was pleased with his efforts for the weekend and impressed with the close racing between his Anglo team mate “there was some really close racing between Steve and I over the weekend. I want to thank the Anglo Australian Motorsport crew and Chris for all his technical data, my parents and my sponsors Kennard’s Hire and Spicer Consultants and a big thank you to NSW Formula Ford”.
 
Joining Steve Charman and James Spicer in the Anglo Australia Motorsport garage was Queensland resident Gene Stacey, piloting a Van Diemen RF91. Competing in Formula Ford for the first time in NSW Stacey was eager to see what his Anglo machine could do while finding his comfort within the car. Qualifying thirteenth in Saturday morning qualifying, Stacey had a clean race in race one finishing in eleventh position. Race two Sunday morning saw Stacey in a couple of battles enjoying the close racing, until running off the circuit in the damp conditions caused steering issues which forced him out of the race. With the issues from race two behind him Stacey was back on the grid for race three Sunday afternoon starting rear of the grid but finishing up the last race in eleventh posting his fastest race time for the weekend in the process.
 
Enjoying his first round, Stacey was impressed by the support and atmosphere of the Anglo Australian Motorsport outfit and looks forward to the rest of the season.
 
With round one wrapped up it looks like the 2011 season could be a case of history repeating itself for Anglo Australian Motorsport with the battle for championship honours to be closely contested between team mates. The team heads to Eastern Creek Raceway on the 18th and 19th of June for round two of the NSW Formula Ford Championship.