F Ford @ Croft

[UKFFORDSTER]

Almost the weekend now and Im about to leave for Croft

Yours predictions for top 3 both classes Please - Its something to talk about


Cheers

[UKFFORDSTER]

No replies :confused: OK I'll kick it off with my predictions which are sure to raise an eyebrow or two

Not in any order >
Top 3 Champ class : Clarke, Danielsson, Clucas if he races

Scholarship class: Jelley, Walker, Howard

[Speedfreak]

I would say:

1. Alx
2. Gaymor
3. Asmer

Test times from Croft:
5 Marko ASMER EST 1 C Panasonic Batteries Team JLR 1:24.407 30 90.71
11 Alx DANIELSSON SWE 2 C Ray Sport 1:24.512 18 0.105 90.60
4 James WALKER GBR 3 S Panasonic Batteries Team JLR 1:24.556 28 0.149 90.55
16 Joey FOSTER GBR 4 C Continental Racing 1:24.653 22 0.246 90.45
20 Valle MAKELA FIN 5 C Nexa Racing 1:24.688 27 0.281 90.41
7 Dan CLARKE GBR 6 C ComTec Racing 1:24.791 20 0.384 90.30
19 Matt HOWSON GBR 7 C Medina Sport 1:24.962 11 0.555 90.12
12 Matt ALLISON GBR 8 C Continental Racing 1:25.013 27 0.606 90.07
6 Oliver JARVIS GBR 9 C ComTec Racing 1:25.017 36 0.610 90.06
84 Ben CLUCAS GBR 10 C Jamun Racing 1:25.060 32 0.653 90.02
21 Matt KOSKINEN USA 11 C Nexa Racing 1:25.212 40 0.805 89.86
10 Suk SANDHER IND 12 C Ray Sport 1:25.285 25 0.878 89.78
2 Tom KIMBER-SMITH GBR 13 C Panasonic Batteries Team JLR 1:25.412 15 1.005 89.65
22 Yuya SAKAMOTO JPN 14 C Nexa Racing 1:25.439 27 1.032 89.62
9 Charlie DONNELLY IRL 15 S ComTec Racing 1:25.634 19 1.227 89.41
0 Westley BARBER GBR 16 C ComTec Racing 1:25.771 16 1.364 89.27
17 Stephen JELLEY GBR 17 S Medina Sport 1:25.859 18 1.452 89.18
3 Stuart HALL GBR 18 C Panasonic Batteries Team JLR 1:25.945 36 1.538 89.09
18 Hideto YASUOKA JPN 19 S Medina Sport 1:25.957 39 1.550 89.08
26 Julian YAP GBR 20 S Team PCMR 1:26.022 25 1.615 89.01
32 Tony RODGERS GBR 21 C Jato Motorsport 1:26.260 26 1.853 88.76
30 Jay HOWARD GBR 22 S Team MDR 1:26.440 21 2.033 88.58
31 Nigel REDWOOD GBR 23 S Team MDR 1:26.508 33 2.101 88.51
46 Adam JACKSON GBR 24 S Team Welcome Motorsport 1:27.700 35 3.293 87.31
15 Diego FERNANDEZ MEX 25 S Team MDR 1:27.718 32 3.311 87.29
25 Chris RODGERS GBR 26 S Team PCMR 1:27.851 14 3.444 87.16
38 Henry SILLANPAA GBR 27 S Team MDR 1:31.018 25 6.611 84.12

[FormulaFordinfo]

I'm surprised no one has included TKS in their top three yet. How come?

1. Danielsson
2. Makela
3. Clucas (or Gaymor)

Scholarship:

1. Walker
2. Howard
3. Jelley

[bella]

asmer hasn't won yet has he? if not, i think croft could be the place. he seems to be moving on very quickly, and if his performance at rockingham was anything to go by he could end up as a seriously impressive driver.

has his go in a renault v6 affected him at all do you all think?

[UKFFORDSTER]

Really not sure about Asmer or TKS :confused: Their talent does not stand out from the rest as being that impressive, but i will reserve judgement

If we are talking drivers who are 'DUE' a win, then surely Clarke has got to be in with a shout, he is impressive, overtaking great, but what he needs is to keep it on the track! If he got pole I would put money on a win from Clarke, as I remember he drove superbly in the wet at Croft last year in the Juniors

[Daisy]

Is this the Asmer who tested for WilliamsF1 this week?

[No 4]

Daisy - Yes, he's backed by the management company who handled Button's move to F1, so serious dosh and connections in place! Lucky boy, says the impoverished father of a talented racer!!

[UKFFORDSTER]

Its the way it is though - Look at Ben Clucas, talented young racer but without the backing he is struggling to race let alone progress into the senior formula where he should rightly be this season.

There are lots of talented racers out there but as the Marko Asmer Williams test proves, you dont have to be the best to get opportunities and its so fecking annoying innit!

[racingdick]

I go For Clarke getting the win

[FormulaFordinfo]

Juniors are quite different from seniors, though. If anything, I think Gaymor may outshine Clarke this weekend, although at Rockingham, Tom did say he's not exactly very fond of Croft.

Will be interesting. I think Clucas is overdue a win now because it has only been bad luck since Brands that's prevented him from taking a victory. Either way, I'm rooting for him.

Danielsson is in with a very realistic chance.

[UKFFORDSTER]

Asmer and Clarke front row for race 1.
Re-evaluate Scholarship predictions - Hideto Yasuoka has come on leaps and bounds in the past few races

Pole 5
Marko ASMER
1:23.702
2 7
Dan CLARKE
+ 0.045 1:23.747



3 16
Joey FOSTER
+ 0.136 1:23.838
4 20
Valle MAKELA
+ 0.243 1:23.945



5 11
Alx DANIELSSON
+ 0.283 1:23.985
6 2
Tom KIMBER-SMITH
+ 0.294 1:23.996



7 30
Jay HOWARD
+ 0.342 1:24.044
8 6
Oliver JARVIS
+ 0.390 1:24.092



9 4
James WALKER
+ 0.409 1:24.111
10 19
Matt HOWSON
+ 0.451 1:24.153



11 22
Yuya SAKAMOTO
+ 0.549 1:24.251
12 18
Hideto YASUOKA
+ 0.584 1:24.286



13 3
Stuart HALL
+ 0.616 1:24.318
14 10
Suk SANDHER
+ 0.717 1:24.419



15 84
Ben CLUCAS
+ 0.781 1:24.483
16 32
Tony RODGERS
+ 0.789 1:24.491



17 21
Matt KOSKINEN
+ 0.845 1:24.547
18 1
Tom GAYMOR
+ 1.010 1:24.712



19 12
Matt ALLISON
+ 1.042 1:24.744
20 17
Stephen JELLEY
+ 1.234 1:24.936



21 26
Julian YAP
+ 1.294 1:24.996
22 25
Chris RODGERS
+ 1.529 1:25.231



23 31
Nigel REDWOOD
+ 1.674 1:25.376
24 9
Charlie DONNELLY
+ 1.758 1:25.460



25 15
Diego FERNANDEZ
+ 1.906 1:25.608
26 46
Adam JACKSON
+ 2.421 1:26.123



27 38
Henry SILLANPAA
+ 4.303 1:28.005

[racingdick]

Go danny Boy!!!

[UKFFORDSTER]

In a very good position for the race in an hours time - Looks great round Croft.

[UKFFORDSTER]

my post does not make sense - I was talking about Clarke

[racingdick]

i finish in an 15 min and have to follow later on... hang on im home.... MotorsTV.... WWOWOOOOOOOOOWWWHHHHOOOOOO

[FormulaFordinfo]

Asmer wins from Makela. Never thought I would see that (until the test times on Thursday). With TKS being 9th, and Makela, Danielsson and Clucas coming 2nd, 4th & 6th respectively, it closes the championship up a little.

Well done Marko! Can't wait for tomorrow's race now. What happened to Clarke?

[Fred]

. What happened to Clarke? [/B][/QUOTE]

I asked the same question of someone who was there and their reply was "... he had a typical Clarke moment".

From second on the grid with only one person to overtake, his PR company's take will be amusing to read when it gets posted to the list in a few days time.

To mention something positive instead,

Clucas must have had a very good race to get from 15th on the grid to 6th at the end and pretty close to the winner? I thought he was impressive at Rockingham. He kept passing about two or three people every lap as soon as they got to the twisty bits, only to be repassed on the straight next time around. Apparently he got clouted up the back in the early laps and afterwards was having trouble with the ignition cutting out. Thats what I heard anyway, maybe they were making excuses ?

[UKFFORDSTER]

From what I can gather, Clucas is doing an exceptional job in a car that isnt as fast as it was pre silverstone race.
His qualifying must have been a disappointment to him but he did really well to get 5th in class in race 1 and 6th today in a car that doesnt have the pace of winners today and yeaterday.
When will we see Clucas in the SJ03?? Sooner rather than later would be great news for him

As far Dan Clarke, another 'typical Clarke moment' today to with a great comeback to 12th from 27th on the grid. I would raise my hand and say that IN my Opinion his PR attack has been a bit OTT this year, anyone who creates such waves as he did with his MN article and his Press Releases wont be first in the queue to congratulate him on good performances, bitterness maybe. On the face of it, I would say he has potential, he just needs his music management to stop promoting him like he is a pop star.
Apart from Clarkes managements PR style, what would you guys fault him on?

Asmer must be pleased with himself, everything seems to be falling into place for him at the moment, having said that, his test at Williams will have cost him a fortune so I am guessing that he NEEDS to be on an upward spiral in order to pay his manager for the investment

[Fred]

Originally posted by UKFFORDSTER
Asmer must be pleased with himself, everything seems to be falling into place for him at the moment, having said that, his test at Williams will have cost him a fortune so I am guessing that he NEEDS to be on an upward spiral in order to pay his manager for the investment

I watched the race on TV and there was a remark from the commentators that might explain his position ?

They pointed out that he had a large BMW badge on his overalls and that his parents were very well connected in Estonia and Russia. Given that the East is probably the biggest potential market for car makers in the coming years ( think of the number of people without vehicles of any description ), could it be that BMW are taking a very long term view of Asmers marketing potential ?

This is not to disregard his ability in any way, he would appear to be genuinely quick, but if you fit the marketeers profile your path will be a bit smoother than others. There have been several people who have made it to F1 in the past 20 years on the back of fitting in with marketing plans, Mazzacane (?), Diniz, De Cesaris, Nakajima . . .

[FormulaFordinfo]

Fred: With regards to your comment about Clucas at Rockingham, his ignition problems were unfortunately caused by the Jamun attracting some unwanted physical contact early in that race.

Where did Asmer come from? That is the thing that's bugging me. He was tipped as quick at the start of the season, but since that no one has said anything. And now halfway through the season, he comes out of no where to go out and win twice within 24hrs. Can someone please shed some light on that? Or I might end up switching to conspiracy theory mode...

"Asmer could be seen running what appeared to be two dragster-like engines on his way to securing a double victory at Darlington's Croft circuit this weekend." Sorry, just warming up

[Paul Rayner]

Since the last Formula Ford race, Asmer has raced a Formula Renault V6 and tested an F1 car, both for the first time (to my knowledge). Could it be simply a case that, after a taste of those, stepping back down to Formula Ford it seemed a lot more "pedestrian", and easier to handle?

[FormulaFordinfo]

Nah, I'll go with another conspiracy theory. Look at where TKS was running in both races, then go back to previous races and look at where Asmer was running. Richard Dean simply swapped the two JLR cars around so TKS had Asmer's and vice-verser.

Good point though, Paul. Does anyone know how he went in the V6 races or the Williams test at all?

[No 4]

Ther's a thread running in the F1 section that details the times Asmer did in the Williams.

[medler]

From what I remember Asmer has always been near the top during the tests since the start of the season. I also think he was the quickest in the last official test at Croft. I also believe this is his first season of racing in the UK so he has had to learn all the tracks unlike some others tipped to be great driver who have had 2 or 3 to build up circuit knowledge. He got pole kept his head and didn't make silly mistakes like hitting the tyres.