Last time out in the Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain Jayde Kruger took the racing to champion Dan Cammish.
The South African who drives for Rochester based Jamun Racing finished with two second places and a fifth place finish in the three races at Rockingham.
Speaking after the race weekend, Jayde said: “This was the first weekend where I was actually able to match Dan for pace, we have been working really hard to try and close that gap and it seems that the hard work is starting to show.
“Race one was a nightmare for me after a good qualifying and getting the car on the front row for the first time in the UK I had really high hopes for the first race but unfortunately we made some changes to the gearing and it killed our straight line speed. As a result I was a sitting duck down the straights.”
Races two and three saw Jayde come to the fore and took the racing to Dan Cammish and ran him the closest he has been all season for the top spot.
He added: “Race two was my first wet race in a very long time. I made a good start and almost got alongside Dan but I just tried to brake too late into the hairpin and ran wide putting me back to fourth.
“From there I worked my way back to second and closed the gap to Dan towards the end but our pace was too similar for me to get close enough to mount a challenge. I think having not made the mistake on the first lap it would have been a great opportunity for me to beat him but that’s racing for you.
“It would have been great to have competed in all the races as we would have ironed out the issues we have been sorting out now earlier on in the season and would have been able to challenge Dan a lot sooner than it has happened.
“For me race three has been my best drive of the season so far, although it wasn’t a win I think it’s the first time anyone has pushed Dan till the last lap of a race all year so I was really happy with that.
“As far as the weekends results go I am happy with how it ended despite race one, all other races and qualifying we showed really good pace and I would say as a team Jamun put up a strong performance and showed that we are capable of beating JTR.
With Dan Cammish having won the title he won’t be racing at Silverstone which whilst giving Jayde a chance at taking his first victory, leaves him a bit disappointed.
He said: “Yeah, it’s highly disappointing that he won’t be carrying on with the remainder of the season I would have loved to beat him this season and unfortunately we are only now getting to a stage where we have a car capable of doing that.
“It’s not the way I would like to get a first win in Formula Ford but the series doesn’t end when one person leaves. There are two more rounds this season -Silverstone National and Brands GP- and they are both circuits I have never raced on so my goals for the rest of the season are to try win all the remaining races and gain valuable experience around the two very challenging circuits we are heading to.”
With Jayde having not driven at Silverstone or the Brands Hatch GP circuit he won’t be going in blind as he looks to get some track time before the events.
He added: “I have raced a Radical around the full Silverstone circuit and that went quite well. Learning the National circuit I think will be fairly easy for me but there are three long straights to consider and straight line speed is an area we have been lacking in so hopefully we can have that rectified before Silverstone and that will leave us in great shape.
“I have been lucky enough to do two track days at Brands GP and any laps around the GP circuit are like gold, the circuit is great. It is fast flowing and a lot more technical then I would have thought. Most recently I was lucky enough to be learning in a Radical and the track time gained will be a great help preparing for the Formula Ford rounds in October.”