Graham Hepburn leads Ian Schofield and Matthys Strydom
The fourth round of the 2014 Investchem Formula Ford Kent Championship took place at a chilly Kyalami Circuit in Midrand on 12 July.
Graham Hepburn (Suburban Body Shop Ray) gave an early indication of his intentions for the day with a qualifying lap just over three-quarters of a second quicker than second place qualifier Matthys Strydom in his Sage Talon. Championship leader Ian Schofield (Investchem Mygale) headed the second row of the grid with series newcomer Jonathan Nash (Swift) alongside him. Matt Nash and Jeff Gable in their Van Diemens rounded out the top six.
Schofield managed to get in front of Strydom when the lights went out to signal the start of the first race. The battle between the two of them allowed Hepburn a clear run at the head of the field and he was never seriously challenged on the way to a comfortable win. The fight for second place between Schofield and Strydom continued for the entire race, eventually going the way of Strydom by eight tenths of a second.
Behind the leading trio there were dices right throughout the field. Fourth place eventually went the way of Jonathan Nash from Matt Nash, the two of them also separated by eight tenths of a second at the flag. The four-way fight for sixth place between Ben van der Westhuizen (Delta Rubber / Pioneer Plastics Royale), Andrew Schofield (Investchem Reynard), Andreas Petrou (Investchem Reynard) and Dean Venter (Turnfab Swift) ended in that order.
Race 2 had hardly got underway when the red flags came out after contact between some of the front runners. Once the debris had been cleared the race was re-started but first race runner-up Strydom and Matt Nash were missing from the grid. Once again Graham Hepburn had a comfortable win, finishing over nine seconds ahead of Jonathan Nash with van der Westehuizen claiming the final podium position. He was followed over the line in quick succession by Andrew Schofield, Petrou and Venter. Gable ended the race in seventh with the final championship point going the way of Ian Schofield who fought his way up from the back of the field after being involved in the incident that brought out the red flag.
Ian Schofield still leads the championship log from Strydom but Graham Hepburn’s two victories move him up to third on the log, just six points behind Strydom. Petrou is now in fourth ahead of van der Westhuizen and Andrew Schofield.
The Investchem Formula Ford Kent Championship returns to the track on 16 August 2014 when the fifth round takes place at Phakisa Freeway outside Welkom.