Brands Hatch - Rounds 15 & 16 – 19 August 2007 - Race.

Ericsson claimed two lights-to-flag victories in a wet Round 15 followed by a dry Round 16 to end the weekend.
“It was a perfect day,” said Ericsson. “I had a good first race especially as Josef struggled, although the rain made it tricky. It was particularly slippery into Paddock Hill but one of the most worrying moments was passing some backmarkers.”

Ericsson came upon the battle for 17th between Matt Bell (Motaworld Racing) and Adam Butler (Team BRD) on lap 22 of Round 15, only just squeezing through between the pair.
Ericsson went on to stamp his authority again in Round 16 despite a brief safety car period bunching up the pack after an incident between Jordan Williams (Team Loctite) and Michael Moyers (Hyperion Motorsport). “I’m not used to leading restarts so I was a little nervous but I did it well and managed to build a gap again. I’m glad to be back in the lead and I’m really confident going to Knockhill. I’ll do my best and just see how far it will take me.”

Josef Kral (Double R Racing) was leading the Championship coming to Brands Hatch but terrible understeer in a wet Round 15 dropped him to tenth in the order. He bounced back in Round 16 to finish second but could not catch the flying
Swede, leaving him third in the standings once again.

“It’s been an unlucky weekend,” Kral said. “The car was much better this afternoon but still not perfect so I just couldn’t go as quick as Marcus. I can still win the Championship so hopefully Knockhill will be better.”

Henry Arundel (Fortec Motorsport) is also still in the hunt with third and second place finishes leaving him second in the Championship to Ericsson.

Arundel said: “I just didn’t have the pace at the start but I was running at the same speed as Ericsson by the end of Round 15. The weather makes it tougher but it’s the same for everyone so it’s a good result.”

Valle Makela (Nexa Racing) had a good weekend finishing third and fourth respectively while Henry Surtees (Carlin Motorsport) dropped from fourth to sixth in the Championship after his worst weekend of the year saw him not finish either race.

As the Formula BMW UK Championship heads to Scotland for the final rounds of the season the title is still wide open. With everything to play for it will be the drivers last chance to show what they can do.

Results – Round 15 – 24 Laps = 28.77 miles.

Pos Driver Nat Team Time
1. Marcus Ericsson  SWE (Fortec Motorsport) R 21:12.911
2. Henry Arundel GB (Fortec Motorsport)  21:19.116
3. Valle Makela SF (Nexa Racing)  21:20.296
4. Jonathan Legris GB (Motaworld Racing)   21:28.040
5. Oliver Webb  GB (Carlin Motorsport)  R 21:36.878
6. Daniel McKenzie GB (Fortec Motorsport)  21:42.038
7. Kimiya Sato  J (Nexa Racing)   21:42.045
8. Jordan Williams GB (Team Loctite)  21:48.876
9. Sam Abay AUS (Team Loctite)  21:53.942
10. Josef Kral  CZ (Double R Racing)  22:00.730
11. Anthony Comas F (Victory Engineering)  22:00.736
12. Carlos Huertas  COL (Double R Racing) R 22:00.930
13. Tom Gladdis  GB (Team BRD)  R 22:01.195
14. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs GB (Fortec Motorsport) R 22:02.563
15. Adam Butler GB (Team BRD) R 1 Lap
16. Matt Bell GB (Motaworld Racing) R 1 Lap
17. Doru Sechelariu ROM (Double R Racing)  1 Lap

Not classified:
Michael Moyers GB (Hyperion Motorsport)  21 Laps
Rupert Svendsen-Cook GB (Team Loctite) R 21 Laps
Henry Surtees  GB (Carlin Motorsport) R 9 Laps
Callum Holland GB (Nexa Racing) R 7 Laps
  
Fastest Lap:
Valle Makela (Nexa Racing) 52.305s, 82.49mph, 132.76kph
Pole Position – Marcus Ericsson (Fortec Motorsport) 46.999s

Results – Round 16 – 27 Laps = 32.36 miles.

Pos Driver Nat Team Time
1. Marcus Ericsson  SWE (Fortec Motorsport) R 23:42.064
2. Josef Kral  CZ (Double R Racing)  23:45.208
3. Henry Arundel GB (Fortec Motorsport)  23:45.470
4. Valle Makela SF (Nexa Racing)  23:45.836
5. Kimiya Sato  J (Nexa Racing)   23:47.831
6. Jonathan Legris GB (Motaworld Racing)   23:51.324
7. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs GB (Fortec Motorsport) R 23:51.352
8. Sam Abay AUS (Team Loctite)  23:52.005
9. Oliver Webb  GB (Carlin Motorsport)  R 23:52.104
10. Carlos Huertas  COL (Double R Racing) R 23:52.954
11. Daniel McKenzie GB (Fortec Motorsport)  23:53.466
12. Tom Gladdis  GB (Team BRD)  R 23:54.994
13. Adam Butler GB (Team BRD)  R 23:59.256
14. Doru Sechelariu ROM (Fortec Motorsport)  23:59.442
15. Callum Holland GB (Nexa Racing) R 24:00.344
16. Matt Bell GB (Motaworld Racing) R 24:01.912

Not classified:
Anthony Comas F (Victory Engineering)  22 Laps
Rupert Svendsen-Cook GB (Team Loctite) R 18 Laps
Michael Moyers GB (Hyperion Motorsport)  10 Laps
Jordan Williams GB (Team Loctite)  10 Laps
Henry Surtees  GB (Carlin Motorsport) R 1 Lap

Fastest Lap:
Marcus Ericsson (Fortec Motorsport) 47.358s, 91.11mph, 146.63kph
Pole Position – Marcus Ericsson (Fortec Motorsport) 47.181s

R indicates driver eligible for Rookie Cup

Championship Points Tables

Drivers
1. Ericsson (5 wins) 584, 2. Arundel 571 (1 win), 3. Kral (6 wins) 565, 4. Makela (1 win) 461, 5. Sato (1 win) 454, 6. Surtees 421 (1 win), 7. Legris 412 (1 win), 8. Abay 383, 9. McKenzie 358,10. Quiafe-Hobbs 357.

Rookies
1. Ericsson 584, 2. Surtees 421, 3. Quaife-Hobbs 357, 4. Webb 350, 5. Huertas 330, 6. Gladdis 240, 7. Svendsen-Cook 158, 8. Holland 90, 9. Butler 88, 10. Bell 52.

Teams
1. Fortec Motorsport 1205, 2. Nexa Racing 927, 3. Double R Racing 898, 4. Carlin Motorsport 770, 5. Team Loctite 680, 6.  Motaworld Racing 524, 7. Victory Engineering 180, 8. Team BRD 180, 9. Hyperion Motorsport 32.

Rounds 17 and 18 of the Championship will be at Knockhill on 01/02 September.