Formula Palmer Audi 2008

Event Report: 13th and 13th April

The first DPRAC trophy was handed out on the Sunday When the Muriel Tomlinson Trophy was awarded in an actian packed weekend. There were several different championship at Donington including Formula Palmer Audi, GT Cup racing including Ferrari, Porsche and other assorted GT cars, Vee de Vee, Lotus championship races and some historic cars also took to the track. This large variety of cars meant a number of DPRAC members took advantage of the free entry on offer and the weather for the most part was quite good! There were one or two heavy downpours thoughout the weekend some even consisting of hail but we are used to that at Donington! Below is a brief report and some pictures from the event.

The Muriel Tomlinson Trophy was the first piece of silverware presented by the DPRAC this year. The winner of the Trophy last year, Henry Surtees drove in the Formula BMW Championship but as this year it was decided that the trophy should be awarded to the highest British points scorer in the Formula Palmer Audi Cahmpionship, due to the high number of British competitors in the highly competitive field. The racing was very quick and the changing weather conditions made the cars quite a handful to drive quickly. The young drivers who compete in this championship however did an excellent job and very few contact incidents were had which is a testament to the ability of the drivers!

On the right is the Muriel Tomlinson Trophy, on show behind the FPA winners trophy's and the champagne!

There were three races on the Sunday, so there were plenty of points to be had for the drivers so it made for an exciting day. Jason Moore took the first race victory from fellow Brit's Tom Bradshaw and Alex Brundle, who made up the rest of the podium. Race two saw Richard Plant take his maiden victory which was a good reaction from him after having to retire from race one earlier in the day due to an accident. Jason Moore took third, not quite as good as his race one finish but he took the fastest lap as well so showed once again he was quick. The other driver on the podium was Tom Bradshaw who just couldn't climb onto the top rung of the podium.

	In the decisive last race of the day it was between Tom Bradshaw and Jason Moore for the Muriel Tomlinson Trophy with Alex Brundle and Jolyon Palmer waiting in the wings if any mistake were made by the two front runners. In the final race, Jason Moore showed his superiority and won the last race dominating almost from the start which gave him his secon win of the weekend and the Muriel Tomlinson Trophy. Alex Brundle finished second, for another podium for the weekend with Jack Clarke finishing Third and gaining his first podium of the weekend. On the right is Jason Moore holding the Muriel Tomlinson Trophy which was presented by DPRAC chairperson Yvonne Bennett. Sadly Muriel, who wanted to present the trophy herself couldn't make the presentation.
		There were some nice cars on the trach including Aston Martins, Ferrarrr's and Porsche 911's but off the track were some nice cars too..... Including this £333,000 Porsche Carrera GT! This certainly caught the attention of spectators who were walking around the paddock!

Another very exciting class of racing is in the Lotus Championship, which cater's for almost all derivatives of Lotus Elise. You can race almost standard Elise's or fully modified Exiges with the 340R also being able to take part. The racing is split into different classes which means within one race there are always two or three separate races you can watch! There was also a handicap race where the slower cars were let go for a head-start with the faster cars starting after them and having to try and catch them up. This was a great spectacle and one of the higher spec cars winning by only a couple of seconds from a lower spec car!

A good weekend was had by all that attended and it was nice to see all of the DPRAC members who used their membership to watch some fantastic racing. Please visit http://www.formula-palmer-audi.com/ to view all of the FPA full race results, reviews and pictures.

Below are some more pictures from the race weekend. Please note all pictures are taken by Nick Wade, DPRAC Press Officer. Please e-mail Richard Cox or Nick Wade if you would like larger copies of any of the picture's. You can find our e-mail addresses in the contacts page.