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Maximum points for Pearson in first race of 2007!
Ian begun his 2007 title defence with a maximum score for pole position, fastest lap & class victory at Donington Park on the 29th April. With a capacity grid of 32 cars, getting a clear lap in qualifying was going to be a problem, but Ian managed to find a few gaps & set a time just under his lap record set in 2005. However Ian was forced to pull out of the qualifying session just before it ended due to fuel starvation problems. This problem was going to stay with Ian for rest of the day as the fuel system needed a re-design not just a repair. With no choice but to run extra fuel in the car, Ian lined in pole position in his class & 19th overall with four FR2000 class cars behind him and a three car FR2000 buffer to his nearest rival.
Ian made an excellent start making up two positions on the run to the first corner and then settling down into a comfortable 17th place. Initially Ian managed to build up a gap of nearly a second to the chasing the FR2000 class cars of Hillspeed racing - even making up another place on lap 6, capitalising on another drivers mistake. As the race wore on and with the fuel level dropping the fuel pressure problems started to return and Ian was soon coming under some serious pressure from the chasing pack. Ian managed to absorb the pressure for several laps but on lap ten he was passed into the old hairpin. Ian lost a further two places in the later stages as his fuel pressure problems worsened but still finished first in class with a comfortable 15 second lead over his nearest.
Ian commented “I was just glad to get to the end, the car was very frustrating to drive & at the end I was just like a sitting duck”. Ian’s next race is at Croft in North Yorkshire on 19th & 20th May.
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