Curnow wins thriller at rain-soaked Knockhill (30 August 05) 

Ross Curnow took victory in the second race of the two rounds which took place at the Knockhill circuit in Scotland on August 28th.

Ross had been on the pace in Friday testing, with the second and third fastest times in the two sessions. In Saturday qualifying, he ended up fifth and third on the grid for Sunday’s two races that would be held in atrociously wet conditions.

In race one, 18-year-old Ross made up a place at the start and eventually crossed the line in fourth, right behind the battle for second position. But because one of the drivers ahead of him is not eligible to score points, Ross was promoted to third.

In race two, he gained a position when he out-braked Oliver Turvey into the hairpin and sooner after took the race lead when he repeated the manoeuvre on Philip Glew. During the move, though, their cars made contact and one of Ross’s front wings was badly damaged. Despite this, he kept his composure to fend off the pack behind and drive to the Promatecme/Soper Sport team’s maiden Formula BMW win.

Team Principal Chris Weller comments: “We managed to celebrate … in the car coming back down the M6! This was by far our most successful weekend so far in what is still our debut Formula BMW season. Ross was never outside the top five and drove impeccably all weekend. All credit to him and the team for ensuring our car was very well set up for both dry and wet conditions around what is an extremely tough circuit.”

Ross Curnow adds: “I knew in the first race our car was good – I was all over the two drivers in front of me, although the blinding spray meant I couldn’t see enough to attack them properly. In race two, I always felt under control, even with the broken wing. The car was still good enough to keep in front. Without that, I’m sure I would have won by much more.

“It’s about time we had a win. We’ve been close on a few occasions, but also had some difficult weekends. But we’ve worked really hard at getting it right and this is the result. It’s good for our confidence. Silverstone, the team’s home circuit, is next up so hopefully we can have a win or two there.”

Silverstone’s two Formula BMW races come on the weekend of 17-18 September, with only one meeting to go after that, the season finale at Brands Hatch on 1-2 October.

(Pictures courtesy of MJP Media)

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