Rockingham Riddles for Ross (25 May 05)

The famous banked circuit at Rockingham was the venue for Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2005 Formula BMW UK Championship on the weekend of 21st/22nd May. The fun-filled BMW Power Festival provided lots of entertainment for those lucky enough to be there, including demonstration laps by cars not normally seen at a national race meeting. Andy Priaulx, BMW’s 2004 European Touring Car Champion and Chief Instructor for the Formula BMW juniors, treated the crowds to the experience of seeing a BMW William F1 car take 9 seconds off the outright circuit record. He also showed off the BMW 320i which he is driving in this year’s World Touring Car Championship before climbing into the famous BMW V12LMR which won at Le Mans and Sebring in 1999 - and which Promatecme/Soper Sport’s own Steve Soper took to three wins in the American Le Mans Series later that year.

Testing on the Friday brought mixed weather and mixed results for Ross Curnow. Heavy showers in the morning session posed problems for the Salisbury 17 year-old but a dry spell in the afternoon saw him top the charts with the fastest time of the day. Both qualifying sessions on the Saturday brought more heavy rain, however, which saw him finish up 13th and 10th out of 22. “This is a shame. We were so quick in yesterday’s dry session but we’re just not getting it together in the wet,” said a disappointed Ross.


Photo: MJP Media Images Ltd

Raceday on Sunday dawned dry and stayed that way. The car was returned to its dry settings but Ross was nevertheless starting both races from the middle of the grid determined by Friday’s wet times. In Race 1, he was quick off the line and had gained two places by the time the pack had exited the hairpin for the first time. He then fought hard to plough his way further through the field to eventually finish 7th. Race 2 saw him with handling problems, however, and he struggled throughout to finish 8th on the track. He was subsequently relegated to 11th after suffering a 10 second penalty for a technical infringement on the start line. “The car in front of me had problems and waved me by during the green flag lap. I thought I was being directed to his slot when I arrived on the grid but I wasn’t. Simple mistake - I’ve learned now!”

Ross and the team were disappointed to have come away with so little after such a stunning performance in the dry on Friday. Ross was positive nevertheless: “We’ve shown we can be very quick here and that’s encouraging for us. We’re also learning and collecting data the whole time so we’re looking forward to our next outing at Brands.

Ross’s week has since been split between taking his ‘A’ Levels and spending time at the BMW Williams f1 factory as part of his BMW Scholarship training programme!

The next two races will be at Brands Hatch on the weekend of 4th and 5th June with testing on Thursday 2nd.

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