Two Top-Ten Finishes and another Solid Points Haul Still Leaves Aussie Far From Satisfied

26/4/2007

DRIVER UPDATE : Formula BMW Asia : Sam Abay

Former Formula BMW Asia and leading Aussie charger Sam Abay was left far from satisfied despite two more strong top ten finishes and another solid points haul at Rounds 3 & 4 of the 2007 Formula BMW UK Championship at Rockingham.

As soon as the cars hit the track for qualifying on Saturday morning, it quickly became apparent that Abay’s machine was suffering from a cracked header pipe robbing him of horsepower. With the qualifying session being just 20 minutes - not long enough to replace the damaged exhaust - Abay was left with no option but to push on as best he could, ending qualifying in 8th position, amazingly still only four-tenths of a second away from pole position for race one, and then narrowly edging out Round 1 winner Valle Makela (Nexa) to qualify 11th for race two.

Abay’s performance with the wounded machine drew praise from Team Loctite. “The car set-up is not where it needs to be and we are lacking grip, but our situation was compounded by a cracked header pipe which is murder on a track like Rockingham, where half the circuit is made up of a high speed oval. When the difference between the top 10 cars is five-tenths of a second, that’s not the sort of misfortune you can afford to have” said Abay.

When the lights went green for race one Abay dropped a position off the start to Kimiya Sato (Nexa Racing) before engaging in a thrilling battle with Carlos Huertas (Raikkonen Robertson), Jonathan Legris (Motoworld) and Valle Makela (Nexa). With none of the drivers willing to give an inch, Abay was forced onto the grass as Legris passed into turn one. The Australian would regain the position from Legris a few corners later and then latch onto the back of Makela, before making a decisive move on the Finn on lap 10. With laps running down, Abay closed on the back of Huertas, eventually taking the chequered flag five-tenths of a second behind the Columbian for 9th place.

Race two saw Abay gain position on the first lap forcing his way past Huertas. The battle between the two then developed into a thrilling duel. The Raikkonen Robertson drafted past Abay into the first corner on lap 14 before the Australian made a final and decisive move out-braking the Columbian into the second turn. Abay then pulled out a gap and would secure another 9th position 1.7sec behind Carlin driver Oliver Webb.

Abay who once again lead the charge for the Sommerset based Team Loctite, was forthright in his assessment. “It’s fair to say we are having a trying time setting the car up and getting it to work as it should. But the team and I will take a critical look at ourselves to make sure we get the Orchard Funds/Team Loctite car further towards the front as the season progresses.”

Prepared by samabay.com