WDE ENJOY HOME COMFORTS AT BRANDS
Ashford-based WDE Motorsport scored an array of podium finishes and a well-deserved title at Brands Hatch last weekend. Competing in both the Dunlop Ford Fiesta Championship Seniors and Juniors, the team entertained the fans at our ever-popular Formula Ford Festival.
Running a grand total of eight Ford Fiestas at their local track, the WDE team had a very busy weekend with Aiden Moffat, Charles Ladell, Natasha Hussain, Jack Mitchell, Joanne Eason, Aaron Trigwell, Ronaldus De Bresser and Saghir Hussain all tackling the Indy circuit. Taking the first ever Fiesta Junior title was the highlight of the weekend, with Charles Ladell continuing his imperious form to wrap up the championship at Brands.
Over in the seniors, Aaron Trigwell shone, grabbing an impressive third-place finish in the final race. The weekend started well for the team, a double podium finish coming courtesy of Ladell and Moffat in the Juniors. On a damp Saturday afternoon track, Ladell won easily, with Moffatt second, Natasha Hussain an impressive eighth in her debut race and the rapid Jack Mitchell ninth aboard his eye-catching Vortex Performance Exhausts-backed Fiesta.
Roles were reversed for the second Junior race, Moffat taking his first-ever win ahead of Ladell. Disappointingly for Mitchell, his race ended in the tyre wall after a magnificent comeback drive from the back of the grid. Hussain took seventh in another confidence-boosting race. With a full grid of twenty-nine Fiesta’s, the four WDE senior drivers performed strongly in race one in always changing conditions.
From fifth on the grid, Aaron Trigwell got away poorly, dropping to ninth as they arrived at Paddock Hill Bend. The 18-year-old immediately responded, fighting back through the field with many strong moves to finish an impressive fourth. Joanne Eason handled her potent Fiesta ST expertly in tough conditions, battling past rivals whilst negotiating slower backmarkers. After a constant mid-pack tussle, Eason brought her immaculate machine across the line thirteenth overall.
Both Dannoff Vodka sponsored machines drove effectively, Saghir Hussain beating his teammate Ronaldus De Bresser in the results. After a trip through the Paddock Hill Bend gravel and many big slides, Hussain took the flag eleventh, with De Bresser eventually finishing twenty-first.
For race two Trigwell started on pole, but another slow getaway dropped him to fifth. By lap three he sat third, filing past competitors at Graham Hill Bend. His charge continued, pressuring Rory Bryant into a mistake on the sixth tour to take second. As he chased the leader entering the Druids Hairpin, John Langridge forced past on the inside to drop Trigwell back to third. Powering back onto Langridge’s tail, Trigwell finished an extremely close third after crossing the line side-by-side. Eason raced well to eleventh, Hussain sixteenth despite being punted into a spin and De Bresser again twenty-first.
Team boss Wayne Eason reflected on a successful weekend: “I’m very pleased with how it’s gone. To get the Junior title and many podium finishes is a nice way to end the season. We’ve had our ups and downs but you can’t knock the performances. It sets us up nicely for next year.”
Dan Wright