Feeder Series News

KNOCKHILL, Scotland – Scottish racer Ross Martin is going back to the Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout after clinching his second successive Scottish Formula Ford 1600 Championship with another pair of wins at Knockhill on September 16.

The latest Scottish Motor Racing Club event was held on the reverse-direction layout, which meant a completely different challenge for many of the usual contenders. But it seemed to make little difference to Martin, who maintained his 100 percent win record despite some fresh opposition in the shape of former Scottish FF Champion Ciaran Haggerty, who also has raced successfully in Formula 4 and British GTs. Haggerty’s return netted a pair of podium finishes.

Sebastian Melrose grabbed second in Race Two on Sunday with a bold pass on Haggerty on lap three as they raced into Clark corner. Melrose then kept around a second clear of the former champion. He now is now in a strong position in the championship and is poised to clinch the runner-up spot with two rounds remaining at Knockhill on October 7.

Martin has been a potent force in his Ray GR17 and wasn’t troubled last weekend. He won all three races a few weeks previously at the David Leslie Super Touring meeting but remained under constant pressure from Jordan Gronkowski, who last weekend on the counter-clockwise track ran third in Race One until mid distance before spinning on the damp track and dropping to sixth.

“Making the decision to stay in the championship was tough but I needed to do it in style,” said Martin. “The car was really good, and I’d like to thank my team and sponsors for their support. The Mazda Road to Indy Shootout is in December and I’m really looking forward to that.”

Scottish FF Championship Points after 11 rounds:
1. Ross Martin, 283; 2. Sebastian Melrose, 168; 3. Jordan Gronkowski, 142; 4. Matthew Chisholm, 129.