Thruxton; Anthony Davidson championship campaign launched

Round 3, Thruxton, Hants Sunday 30th April

Britain's Anthony Davidson effectively launched his campaign for the Formula Ford Zetec Championship with pole position and a 2nd place at Thruxton, despite having the wrong gears. The 21 year old was the leading 'rookie' driver, bringing his BIC sponsored Haywood Racing Mygale home in a close 2nd place, just 1.6 seconds behind series leader James Courtney.

Davidson lead the first 3 laps of the race, having completed a stunning opening lap 1.3 seconds ahead of the chasing pack. But on the 150mph, high speed sweeps of Thruxton, where the leading car makes a hole in the air to give those behind an extra 10mph, Davidson soon saw his rivals 'tow' up to him.

"I thought I had done enough to break the tow. We changed the gears between qualifying and the race and the cars wasn't so quick, so they caught me," said Davidson. "We will be going back to the original set up for tomorrow's second race."

Davidson had set the fastest time in qualifying to take his, and Mygale's, first pole position of the year. The second Formula Ford Zetec Championship race takes place tomorrow (Monday) and Anthony will start from the front row again, thanks to his race result today.