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Bridgman over troubled water
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13 May 2007
Tim Bridgman took his second successive win in the eighth round of the 2007 Visma Formula Palmer Audi Championship at Snetterton, conquering the field in torrential rain to close within two points of Luciano Bacheta at the top of the table.
Due to the conditions, the first three laps of 18 were run behind the safety car, with Tom Bradshaw leading off as the race got underway. Bridgman wasted little time taking the lead, making a robust move up the inside at Riches, which forced Bradshaw to take to the grass. The Lancashire hotshot was unhappy about the move, which led to him finishing 12th: "I gave him enough room, but as the saying goes, give an inch and he'll take a mile."
Bridgman kept in control throughout the race, leaving his spin while leading Round 6 behind him to take victory from Stefan Wilson by 10 seconds. "The spray was absolutely awful, and I did initially want the race to be stopped, but I made the best of what I had. I knew I'd have to get past Tom early, so I had to make the move straight away."
Wilson took second, putting him just five points of the championship lead, and was delighted at the result. "It's been the wettest conditions I've raced in in cars, so to get second and be right up at the top of the leaderboard is just fantastic."
Also, Stefan's former F1 driver and FPA Champion brother Justin, on hand to support him this weekend, was equally impressed at the 17-year-old's efforts. "He's put in some good controlled performances, which is great considering his lack of experience, and while he's got a lot to learn, he's doing a fantastic job."
Third and a first car racing podium went to Richard Kent, who kept a cool head throughout, but had a hairy moment late on when he was forced to take to the grass on the penultimate lap when lapping Derrick Collin. "There was about as much room as there was visibility, plus I locked up, so I got away with that one, but I'm happy to be on the podium this early in the season" he said.
Alex Brundle took an impressive fourth at his home track, but one of the stars of the race was Luciano Bacheta, who produced a scintillating drive from 19th on the grid to take fifth and hang on to his championship lead. "That was incredibly difficult, and the first few laps were a bit scary! I got past a lot of people, but it's still a little disappointing that I was in the position in the first place." said the teenager.
Dominik Jackson fought his way up through the field with Bacheta, taking sixth from 18th on the grid after passing Jason Moore on the final lap. Richard Plant came in eighth, with Ivan Lukashevich completing a successful debut FPA weekend in ninth and Jolyon Palmer rounding out the top 10.
fEnds
Photo: FPA
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