The final seconds of the 2005 Formula BMW UK Championship were marked by an overtaking manoeuvre from Ross Curnow which is being heralded as the finest of the season. This netted him 20 points - the second highest of the weekend - after two very consistent drives which demonstrated the maturity of this 18 year-old from Salisbury and took him to 5^th place in the championship.

The Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit was the venue for the last two rounds which were held on the weekend of 1^st and 2^nd October 2005.

Testing took place on the Friday which began cold and wet and then dried in the afternoon. After a difficult morning spent trying to find a good set up, Ross ended the day 4^th fastest overall.

The first Qualifying session, which was dry, saw him struggling with a lack of straight line speed which put him over 3 mph down on the back straight. He ran 3^rd fastest for some of the time but the session was interrupted by a couple of red flags, one when he was on his quickest lap, and he eventually qualified 7^th. The afternoon session started with a very wet track which steadily dried, causing times to tumble progressively throughout. The order changed every lap, therefore, with Ross running in the top three for some of the time. When the final flag came out it, it was a case of who had just started their last lap and unfortunately Ross finished back in 8^th. “We’re still down on straight line speed”, he said. “We’re almost 5 mph off the pace through the speed trap on the back straight which is costing us dearly and we can’t find the reason.”

Starting from the inside of the 4^th row for Race 1, Sorlie stalled in front of Ross which caused him to lose time but he’d fought back to 6^th by the end of the first lap. In a steady race, he held position until lap 10 when he moved up to 5^th and then took 4^th on lap 14 which he held to the finish.

Ross got a good start in Race 2 but was tapped from behind going through Paddock  which had him on two wheels. By the end of the first lap, he was back to 5^th which he held till lap 10, unable to get by Simon Walker Hansell in front of him and with Jordan Wise challenging him from behind. In this struggle, he was trying to attack and defend at the same time and Jordan managed to get by, Ross therefore going into the last lap in 6^th position following both of them.

The three fought throughout the lap but emerged from Clearways and into Clark Curve in the same order. Ross then picks up the story: “Jordan went for Simon as we approached the line and Simon moved across to the higher side of the track to defend his position. This gave me a gap on the inside which I went for and we crossed the line together. I didn’t know till I’d climbed out of the car that I’d pipped both of them over the line!”

This gave Ross 4^th place and the timing equipment put him 1/1000^th sec in front of Simon Walker Hansell and 1/100^th sec ahead of Jordan Wise. It was a finish which had those in the grandstands on their feet as well as TV viewers on the edge of their seats.

Team Principal Chris Weller said: “It was an incredible finish and a very positive way to end our first season in Formula BMW. Considering the deal with Ross only came together just a few days before the first round back in April, the team has done a very good job during the season. Ross has also driven well and it was great to take our first win at Knockhill in August. We can all be very pleased with our performance.”

2nd & 3rd Pictures courtesy of MJP Media