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2008 Single Seater News Alex Jones British Duratec Formula Ford campaign |
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Alex Jones bags a brace at Knockhill but electrical problems scupper the hat trick
Alex (left) picks up the
Scholarship Trophy
2nd round of the Championship was an eventful and nail-biting affair at Knockhill. Alex gained pole in the Scholarship class from timed qualifying, placing him 15th on the grid for Race 1 and was leading his class comfortably when the safety car came out following a collision. As the safety car pulled in it started to snow! Alex again opened up a lead but a few laps later had a minor spin and lost a couple of places, one of them being to the next contender in the Scholarship class. However, a brilliant and brave pass just beyond the start regained him his position, following which race was red flagged due to the deteriorating weather and track conditions. After some initial confusion about who was where when the flag was shown, Alex was rightly awarded the Scholarship win, fastest lap and 12th overall.
Race 2: Sunday saw a troubled start to the day with unforeseen electrical problems developing during the warm up. Some frantic work ensued by the team and with 2 minutes to spare they made it to the grid, hearts racing and not sure whether the car would actually go the distance. Again Alex pulled out a good lead and everything seemed well until three minutes before the end, the car cut out on track and Alex had to steer it safely off the racing line, so a DNF! He did manage the fastest lap in class but missed the win by four laps!! Alex said "I was really enjoying the race and had pulled out a good lead and on the back of the guys in front – absolutely gutted when the car cut but that’s racing..". Fastest lap though put him in pole position for the Scholarship and 14th overall in the final race.
Race 3: Between races the Team had been working relentlessly to resolve the problems and with fingers crossed Alex drove up to the grid. A flying start moved him up two places before the first corner and within a few laps he was up to 9th overall and ahead of some of the championship runners for some laps. Deteriorating weather conditions saw cars slithering all over the track and after running comfortably in the top 10, not wanting to jeopardise his place in the Scholarship, Alex decided to bring the car home safely in 11th. This ended a dominant weekend and placed him at the head of the Scholarship with two race wins, 3 Scholarship poles and fastest laps in all three races. Next outing.... Croft 26th/27th April.
For more information go to: www.alexjonesracing.com