Pye's Seventh Heaven At Silverstone

Australian ace Scott Pye took another chunk out of Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship leader Scott Malvern's points advantage today (Saturday) at Silverstone when the Jamun Racing Mygale driver claimed his seventh race victory of the season.

BRDC Rising Star Scott Malvern Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography/British Formula Ford

Pye led all but the first half a lap of the race - round 13 of the Ford-backed series - and beat off a sustained challenge from Malvern to win by a 2.5-second margin. With the championship now just past the half-way stage, Cliff Dempsey Racing pilot Malvern's title lead is cut to 34 points.

The pattern of the race on the damp-but-drying Grand Prix circuit was established by a chaotic opening lap which saw Pye and Malvern break away from their pursuers. The dramas started when Pye was slow away from the grid, throwing away the advantage of pole position and handing the lead to JTR's Daniel Cammish, who started third behind Pye and his Jamun team-mate Josh Hill.

Cammish didn't last long in front however; the Leeds driver was forced on to the wrong line through Stowe corner, was passed by several rivals, and then, at Abbey, was forced into taking avoiding action. "My team-mate, Tio Ellinas, and another car went off and came back on the track in front of me; it was a case of taking to the grass in avoidance or hitting them." Cammish endured a lurid slide down the grass, hitting some marker boards along the way which broke his mirrors, and managed to get back on track in eighth spot.

Pye and Malvern were long gone as this drama unfolded, and their pursuers, headed by Hill, dropped well back in the confusion to give the battling duo a clean break. Malvern had no intention of allowing his Australian rival to get away and narrowed the gap from 1.5s to less than a car's length by the sixth of the 10 laps. English Scott launched a big challenge down the Hangar Straight, and followed up with several more attacks, but Australian Scott had an answer for his every move.

On lap eight Malvern slipped well back. "I'm not sure what went wrong," said Scott, "but I had a problem when I got on the power coming out of Stowe. Something in the last couple of laps just wasn't right."

Pye, who went on to win by two-and-a-half seconds as Malvern struggled, said: "I didn't get the ideal start and Scott had good pace early on, but I held on for the win, and to get it by such a big margin at the end was fantastic."

Cammish was the star of the show as he fought back from his opening-lap dramas. Dan charged past Jake Cook, Ellinas and Hill between the second and seventh laps to move up to fourth, on the tail of another of JTR team-mates, James Tucker. Next time around Cammish seized third but was denied the final step of the podium on the last lap by Hill. "Because my mirrors were gone I had no idea where Josh was," said Dan. "I was hoping to stay ahead but he got me."

BRDC Rising Star Scott Pye. Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography/British Formula Ford

Cammish held on ahead of Cook for fourth, with Tucker sixth, Ellinas seventh and Emil Bernstorff eighth. Antti Buri - a race winner in Finnish Formula Ford on Friday, and driving despite a broken hand - struggled to ninth having gambled on wet weather and with his Enigma Mygale set up accordingly. Jeroen Slaghekke, Fluid Van Diemen driver Jesse Anttila and Dan de Zille completed the top 12.

Tristan Mingay started the race on wet tyres and led the Scholarship class briefly before the slick-shod Juno of Luke Williams, which was much better suited to the drying track, romped past him to secure the class win. Chris Holmes, in the Century Motorsport Juno, was the only Guest class finisher after Dutch driver Pieter Schothorst's Mygale suffered mechanical problems and 16-year-old South African Ernie van der Walt spun his Van Diemen out of the race.

Scott Malvern and Scott Pye, respectively first and second overall in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain, have been awarded 'Rising Star' status by the British Racing Drivers Club.

The honours were confirmed today at the BRDC's home circuit of Silverstone, venue for round 13 of the championship. 'Scouted' from trackside, the BRDC Rising Stars are the club's junior members and represent it in national championships. Lewis Hamilton is one of the scheme's success stories.

Scott Malvern is delighted to have been recognised: "I'm over the moon. It's something I've always thought would be a great boost to my career and I feel honoured to have been selected."

Added Scott Pye: "It's a fantastic honour and I'm going to do my best to live up to the accolade."

Provisional results

Round 13 (of 25) Silverstone Grand Prix 14/8/2010
10 laps / 31.94 miles

Pos  Driver          Nat  Home           Team   Chassis   Time

1    Scott Pye       AUS  Mount Gambier  Jamun   Mygale   19m 46.013s / 96.96mph
2    Scott Malvern   GBR  Ilford         Dempsey Ray          +2.498s
3    Josh Hill       GBR  Farnham        Jamun   Mygale       +9.722s
4    Daniel Cammish  GBR  Leeds          JTR     Mygale      +10.201s
5    Jake Cook       GBR  Rotherham      Getem   Mygale      +11.611s
6    James Tucker    GBR  Burntwood      JTR     Mygale      +12.563s
                                                         
Scholarship class:
     Luke Williams   GBR/Sowerby        Williams/Juno        +47.098s

Fastest lap: Emil Bernstorff  DEN/Jamun/Mygale  1m 56.316s / 98.86mph Est Rec


Provisional championship placings

1 Malvern      317 points; 
2 Pye          283; 
3 Antti Buri   240; 
4 Cammish      238; 
5 Tio Ellinas  216; 
6 Hill         212 etc


Scholarship class

1 Tristan Mingay  260; 
2 Williams        236; 
3 Dani Domit      168 etc


Next rounds: 15 August Silverstone

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