Murray tightens grip on Formula Ford Championship
NIALL Murray chalked up two wins and a third place finish at Brands Hatch last weekend to remain out in front in the race for the 2018 Avon Tyres British Formula Ford Championship.
Qualifying did prove a close affair, but it was double Brands Hatch Formula Ford Festival winner Murray who led a top 10 group that was separated by just half a second.
Niall Murray dominated in Brands Hatch
Starting the opening race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon from pole position, he preserved his lead despite the appearance of the Safety car.
Indeed once racing resumed he extended his advantage to more than five seconds as he took the chequered flag and with it his first win of the weekend.
He had prime position for Race Two on Sunday morning, but with the vastly experienced Joey Foster alongside him, Murray knew an early break would be crucial.
Once again, he nailed the start to lead into Paddock Hill bend, but Foster and the rest of the field were now hot on his heels.
Twice the Safety Car had to be rolled out, but Murray drew on all of his own experience to lead what would now become a five-lap sprint to the finish.
Indeed he made it look easy as he put in a series of blistering laps to carve out a slender advantage of almost seven-tenths of a second to take his second victory of the weekend.
The third race of the weekend was set to be a real test with the top eight finishers from Race Two reversed, meaning Murray would start from the outside of Row Four.
But he quickly set about carving his way through the field, overtaking Joey Foster, Michael Eastwell, teammate Matt Round-Garrido, Michael Moyers and Jamie Thorburn to make the first step of the podium.
“Great end to a fantastic weekend at Brands Hatch with two lights to flag wins and then I was really looking forward to starting from eighth in the reversed grid Race Three,” said Murray.
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