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The 2008 Ontario Formula Ford Challenge series is conducted over six weekends.
Competitors score championship points in races held on Saturday and Sunday.
The season kicks off in May at Mosport International Raceway during the BEMC Spring Trophy Races. The next two rounds are part of the DAC Trillium Trophy Races at Shannonville Motorsport Park. Then the series returns to Mosport for a doubleheader event during the Father’s Day weekend. In late July, competitors make their only visit to Calabogie Motorsports Park as part of the MCO Ted Powell Memorial Races. This event is followed by the BARC Canadian Touring Trophy and BEMC Indian Summer Races at Mosport. The CASC-OR Celebration of Motorsport ends the road racing season in Ontario. It includes a non-championship event, called the CanAm Cup, for Formula Ford competitors. The single-seater, open-wheel race cars in the championship are powered by a four-cylinder, 1600-cc Ford engine, which produces120-horsepower. A mixture of European and North American chassis is used by competitors. Two of the most successful cars are constructed in Canada – the Aero and CMV. Minimum vehicle weight is determined by the suspension design and ranges from 1050 to 1125-lbs., with the driver. Teams are required to use a spec tire (Dunlop Formula Ford treaded racing tire). Driver’s compete in one of three classes:
Rounds nine and ten of the 2008 Ontario Formula Ford Challenge were held during the BARC Touring Trophy Races at Mosport International Raceway. Drivers would compete in two heat races around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.
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Last season Matt White joined Mortimer Racing and missed claiming the Ontario Formula Ford Challenge title by twenty-two-points. This year, White returned in the familiar No. 05 Van Diemen RF00. After eight rounds, he led the championship with seven podium finishes, of which four were victories. White would continue his winning ways in races nine and ten – leading start-to-finish in both contests. |
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Finishing behind Matt White on both days of the BARC Touring Trophy weekend was Dean Baker. Baker shared the front row with White for the weekend’s first contest but could not match his speed in the rain. The driver of the No. 52 Van Diemen finished in the runner-up position, albeit one lap behind White. On Sunday, in better conditions, Baker started in the same spot and went unchallenged for a second-place result. |
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Caitlin Johnston made her series debut in 2007. After a slow start to this season, Johnston scored a pair of fifth-place finishes at the Father’s Day weekend event. She qualified fourth fastest for round nine at Mosport driving the No. 5 Mortimer Racing Van Diemen RF97 and inherited a third-place finish when Shane Jantzi retired. In the finale, Johnston started and finished in the third position. |
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During the off-season, the reigning Ontario Formula Ford Challenge FFB champion, Lew MacKenzie, replaced his PRS RH02 with a Van Diemen RF90. MacKenzie entered the weekend at Mosport with five class victories and the points lead. He was the fastest in the FFB category for Saturday’s contest and earned another win. MacKenzie started on the pole in the finale but finished in the third position. |
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FFB competitor Steve Bodrug didn’t start his season until the Father’s Day Weekend at Mosport but earned third and fourth-place finishes. His next event was the BARC Touring Trophy races. Unfortunately, the wet condition in race one did not agree with the driver of the No. 41 Van Diemen RF93 and he retired on lap-1. Bodrug redeemed himself on Sunday. He started third but won the category. |
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Another driver challenged by the wet conditions in Saturday’s contest was Eric Nielsen. Nielsen was gridded eighth overall and second in the FFB category driving the No. 60 Van Diemen RF92. At the checkered flag, he was fifth in his group. The next day, Neilson started from the second row - on the class pole. Unable to hold-off a hard-charging Steve Bodrug, he finished in the runner-up position. |
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Last season, Ivan Graham campaigned a Reynard 84SF in FFB, but this year he was piloting his familiar No. 3 Crossle 65F. Graham opened the year with second and third-place results at the BEMC Spring Trophy Races - his best finishes to date. During round nine at Mosport, he equalled that result with another runner-up result. Unfortunately , in the finale Graham slipped down the order and finished fourth. |
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| POS. | START | CLASS | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | A-1 | Matt White | Van Diemen RF00 | 10 | - |
| 2 | 2 | A-2 | Dean Baker | Van Diemen RF01 | 9 | - |
| 3 | 4 | A-3 | Caitlin Johnston | Van Diemen RF01 | 9 | - |
| 4 | 7 | B-1 | Lew Mackenzie | Van Diemen RF90 | 9 | - |
| 5 | 6 | A-4 | Brad Baker | Van Diemen RF01 | 9 | - |
| 6 | 10 | A-5 | Rick Doktor | Van Diemen RF00 | 9 | - |
| 7 | 11 | B-2 | Ivan Graham | Crossle 65F | 9 | - |
| 8 | 20 | A-6 | François Leblanc | Van Diemen RF97 | 9 | - |
| 9 | 15 | B-3 | Dave Grimes | EuroSwift SC95 | 9 | - |
| 10 | 14 | B-4 | Sean Cadney | Van Diemen RF92 | 9 | - |
| 11 | 8 | B-5 | Eric Nielson | Van Diemen RF92 | 9 | - |
| 12 | 17 | C-1 | Mike Lee | Van Diemen RF92 | 9 | - |
| 13 | 16 | C-2 | Ross Smith | Reynard 84SF | 8 | - |
| 14 | 13 | A-7 | Michael Lorraine | Lola T-540E | 8 | - |
| 15 | 18 | C-3 | Andrew Celovsky | Reynard 84SF | 8 | - |
| 16 | 9 | A-8 | Steve Tzountzouris | Reynard 82SF | 5 | Did Not Finish |
| 17 | 19 | B-6 | Benny Cannella | Van Diemen RF00 | 2 | Did Not Finish |
| 18 | 5 | A-9 | Dan Burchill | Van Diemen RF88 | 1 | Did Not Finish |
| 19 | 12 | B-7 | Steve Bodrug | Van Diemen RF98 | 1 | Did Not Finish |
| 20 | 3 | A-10 | Shane Jantzi | Van Diemen RF02 | 0 | Did Not Finish |
| POS. | START | CLASS | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | A-1 | Matt White | Van Diemen RF00 | 12 | - |
| 2 | 2 | A-2 | Dean Baker | Van Diemen RF01 | 12 | - |
| 3 | 4 | A-3 | Caitlin Johnston | Van Diemen RF01 | 12 | - |
| 4 | 7 | A-4 | Dan Burchill | Van Diemen RF88 | 12 | - |
| 5 | 5 | A-5 | Rick Doktor | Van Diemen RF00 | 12 | - |
| 6 | 10 | B-1 | Steve Bodrug | Van Diemen RF98 | 12 | - |
| 7 | 4 | B-2 | Eric Nielson | Van Diemen RF92 | 12 | - |
| 8 | 6 | B-3 | Lew Mackenzie | Van Diemen RF90 | 12 | - |
| 9 | 9 | B-4 | Ivan Graham | Crossle 65F | 12 | - |
| 10 | 13 | A-6 | François Leblanc | Van Diemen RF97 | 12 | - |
| 11 | 18 | C-1 | Ross Smith | Reynard 84SF | 12 | - |
| 12 | 15 | C-2 | Mike Lee | Lola T-540E | 12 | - |
| 13 | 11 | A-7 | Steve Tzountzouris | Reynard 82SF | 12 | - |
| 14 | 16 | B-5 | Benny Cannella | Van Diemen RF00 | 12 | - |
| 15 | 14 | A-8 | Michael Lorraine | Van Diemen RF98 | 12 | - |
| 16 | 12 | B-6 | Sean Cadney | Van Diemen RF92 | 11 | - |
| 17 | 17 | C-3 | Andrew Celovsky | Reynard 84SF | 8 | - |
| 18 | 8 | A-9 | Brad Baker | Van Diemen RF01 | 0 | Did Not Finish |
| - | - | A | Shane Jantzi | Van Diemen RF02 | - | Did Not Start |
| - | - | B | Dave Grimes | EuroSwift SC95 | - | Did Not Start |
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