2007 Formula Palmer Audi season
Encyclopedia
2007 saw the 10th season of the Formula Palmer Audi
Formula Palmer Audi
Formula Palmer Audi, officially abbreviated to FPA, and sometimes informally abbreviated to Palmer Audi, was a one-make class of open wheel Formula racing founded in 1998 by former Formula One driver, Jonathan Palmer. It was based in the United Kingdom , and was organised and operated by MotorSport...

 open wheel racing series, contested over 20 races between 7 April and 23 September. The championship was won by Tim Bridgman
Tim Bridgman
Timothy James Bridgman is a British race car driver from England.Bridgman was born in Harlow and educated at Felsted School. He raced for Jensen Motorsport in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2006, finishing the season ranked 16th overall. He was the 2004 Formula BMW UK champion, and...

 in his first Palmer Audi season.

Championship

For 2007, Formula Palmer Audi underwent a change in its target market, focusing primarily on young aspiring Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 drivers rather than affluent businessmen. Of the 22 drivers in the field for each round, 16 were "career drivers", with a group of around six gentleman drivers" remaining. The number of races increased from 15 in 2006 to 20, the number of meetings increasing from six to eight. Despite this 33 per cent increase, the cost of competing in the series was reduced, the advertised price of £55,000 plus VAT being a reduction of nearly £3,000 on the 2006 season.

The race calendar for 2007, while expanded, did not feature any meetings outside of the UK. However, FPA continues to support large international events at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...

 such as A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix was a 'single make' open-wheel auto racing series. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most formula racing series. As such, it was often promoted as the "World Cup of Motorsport"...

 and DTM
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car racing series based in Germany, but also with rounds elsewhere in Europe....

.

Race Calendar

Round Date Circuit Laps Pole Position Winner
1 7 April Silverstone
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

 (National)
22 Matthew Hamilton
Matt Hamilton (racing driver)
Matthew Hamilton is a British auto racing driver. He is currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship.-Racing career:...

Matthew Hamilton
2 7 April 22 Matthew Hamilton Luciano Bacheta
Luciano Bacheta
Akshay Luciano Bacheta is a professional British racecar driver.Bacheta started karting at the age of fourteen in 2004 and stepped up to cars in 2005, racing in the Junior Ginetta series, recording six wins and the most fastest laps and pole positions...

3 28 April Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...

 (Grand Prix)
16 Tim Bridgman
Tim Bridgman
Timothy James Bridgman is a British race car driver from England.Bridgman was born in Harlow and educated at Felsted School. He raced for Jensen Motorsport in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2006, finishing the season ranked 16th overall. He was the 2004 Formula BMW UK champion, and...

Tim Bridgman
4 28 April 16 Tim Bridgman Stefan Wilson
Stefan Wilson
Stefan James Wilson is a British racing driver. He is the younger brother of former Formula One and current IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson...

5 29 April 16 Tim Bridgman Luciano Bacheta
6 13 May Snetterton
Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit
Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Norfolk, England. Owned by MotorSport Vision, it is situated on the A11 road some 20 km north-east of the town of Thetford and 30 km south-west of the city of Norwich...

16 Luciano Bacheta Luciano Bacheta
7 13 May 18 Jack Clarke Tim Bridgman
8 13 May 18 Tom Bradshaw Tim Bridgman
9 9 June Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...

 (Indy)
30 Jolyon Palmer Jolyon Palmer
10 10 June 30 Tim Bridgman Tim Bridgman
11 10 June 30 Tim Bridgman Jack Clarke
12 15 July Castle Combe
Castle Combe
Castle Combe is a small village in Wiltshire, England, with a population of about 350. It is renowned for its attractiveness and tranquillity, and for fine buildings including the medieval church. The 14th century market cross, erected when the privilege to hold a weekly market in Castle Combe was...

19 Jack Clarke Tim Bridgman
13 15 July 9 Tom Bradshaw Stefan Wilson
14 11 August Oulton Park
Oulton Park
Oulton Park Circuit is a motor racing track in the small village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington with a nearby rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line. It occupies much of the area which was...

 (International)
13 Stefan Wilson Stefan WIlson
15 11 August 13 Stefan Wilson Jolyon Palmer
16 2 September Donington Park
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...

 (National)
16 Tim Bridgman Tim Bridgman
17 2 September 18 Stefan Wilson Stefan WIison
18 22 September Croft
Croft Circuit
Croft Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near Dalton-on-Tees in North Yorkshire, England. The tarmac circuit is just over long and is based on the lands of an airfield, but has long since moved on from being a basic airfield circuit...

17 Luciano Bacheta Luciano Bacheta
19 23 September 17 Luciano Bacheta Jack Clarke
20 23 September 17 Stefan Wilson Tom Bradshaw

Silverstone (6/7 April)

The season began at Silverstone
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

 on Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

 Saturday, with a pair of 22-lap races scheduled for the 1.6-mile National circuit. Series newcomer Matthew Hamilton
Matt Hamilton (racing driver)
Matthew Hamilton is a British auto racing driver. He is currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship.-Racing career:...

 took both pole positions
Pole Position
Pole Position is a racing video game released in 1982 by Namco. It was published by Namco in Japan and by Atari, Inc. in the United States...

 after topping the two qualifying sessions on Saturday morning, having come out on top of a bizarre tiebreak in the second session. Both Hamilton and Luciano Bacheta
Luciano Bacheta
Akshay Luciano Bacheta is a professional British racecar driver.Bacheta started karting at the age of fourteen in 2004 and stepped up to cars in 2005, racing in the Junior Ginetta series, recording six wins and the most fastest laps and pole positions...

 set identical fastest times of 55.328 seconds. Hamilton was awarded pole having set the time before Bacheta did.

Bacheta took the lead at the start of Round 1 with Hamilton slotting into second. They would be forced to hold station for the opening laps as the safety car
Safety car
In motorsport, a safety car or pace car is a car which limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack in the case of a caution period such as an obstruction on the track. During a caution period the safety car enters the track ahead of the leader...

 was deployed for a collision between Jack Clarke and Andreas Demetriou
Andreas Demetriou
Andreas Demetriou is a well known Greek Cypriot developmental psychologist and a former Minister of Education and Culture of Cyprus.- Life :...

 at Becketts. At the restart on lap seven, Bacheta held off Hamilton, but was passed by him down the National Straight half a lap later. Hamilton went on to win the race by around two seconds, with Jason Moore
Jason Moore (racing driver)
-Karting:Moore began his karting career in 2000 aged 11, with a campaign in the Super 1 National Cadet Championship. Moore finished 24th in the championship, with a best finish of 10th coming at Rowrah....

 taking a podium
Podium
A podium is a platform that is used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many...

 in his first-ever car race, holding off more experienced drivers Dominik Jackson
Dominik Jackson
Dominik Jackson is an English racing driver. He started his career in UK karting, before going to Germany to compete in the Formula BMW ADAC Series. He has also raced in Formula Palmer Audi. Due to his lack of funding, he very rarely competes a full series championship...

 and Tim Bridgman
Tim Bridgman
Timothy James Bridgman is a British race car driver from England.Bridgman was born in Harlow and educated at Felsted School. He raced for Jensen Motorsport in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2006, finishing the season ranked 16th overall. He was the 2004 Formula BMW UK champion, and...

 on the final lap to take third.

The start of Round 2 was marred by a serious crash at the startline. A fast-changing red starting light caused some drivers to miss the start, including polesitter Hamilton who was then hit from behind by numerous other cars as they charged off the grid around Woodcote Bend. Hamilton was extracted from the cockpit and airlifted to hospital in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

 with a broken right femur
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...

. After a delay of around an hour, the race restarted with Bacheta leading away Clarke, who then assumed the lead on lap three. On lap six Clarke spun at Luffield and resumed in sixth (where he would finish the race), leaving Bacheta to take the victory. Stefan Wilson
Stefan Wilson
Stefan James Wilson is a British racing driver. He is the younger brother of former Formula One and current IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson...

 and Moore charged through the field to take second and third respectively.

Brands Hatch GP (27–29 April)

Rounds 3, 4 and 5 of the season took place on the Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...

 Grand Prix
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 circuit in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, where a trio of 16-lap races on the 2.3-mile track would support the final round of A1GP's
A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix was a 'single make' open-wheel auto racing series. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most formula racing series. As such, it was often promoted as the "World Cup of Motorsport"...

 second season.

Friday's qualifying sessions for the first two races of the weekend saw Jolyon Palmer
Jolyon Palmer
Jolyon Carlyle Palmer is a British professional racing driver.-T Cars:Having spent 2004 racing in MiniMax karts, Palmer moved up to cars in 2005 and specifically the T Cars championship's Autumn Trophy – a racing series for drivers between the ages of fourteen and seventeen years old...

 and Tim Bridgman
Tim Bridgman
Timothy James Bridgman is a British race car driver from England.Bridgman was born in Harlow and educated at Felsted School. He raced for Jensen Motorsport in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2006, finishing the season ranked 16th overall. He was the 2004 Formula BMW UK champion, and...

 take the pole positions, with points leader Luciano Bacheta
Luciano Bacheta
Akshay Luciano Bacheta is a professional British racecar driver.Bacheta started karting at the age of fourteen in 2004 and stepped up to cars in 2005, racing in the Junior Ginetta series, recording six wins and the most fastest laps and pole positions...

 having to settle for a pair of fourths. In Saturday morning's first race (Round 3), Bridgman took the lead from the start and pulled away to take his first victory of the season. Behind, Palmer's challenge for a first podium of 2007 ended with a crash at Surtees. Bacheta took second, with Giacomo Petrobelli in third after withstanding pressure from Dominik Jackson
Dominik Jackson
Dominik Jackson is an English racing driver. He started his career in UK karting, before going to Germany to compete in the Formula BMW ADAC Series. He has also raced in Formula Palmer Audi. Due to his lack of funding, he very rarely competes a full series championship...

 in the closing laps.

In Round 4 on Saturday afternoon, Bridgman held first place from the start, while Stefan Wilson
Stefan Wilson
Stefan James Wilson is a British racing driver. He is the younger brother of former Formula One and current IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson...

 kept his second-place grid position as he stayed in touch with the leader. Late in the race, Wilson started to reel in Bridgman, using his turbo boost to pass him on lap 13, and going on to take his first car racing win at only his 10th attempt. Bacheta took third, ahead of Palmer.

Round 5 took place on Sunday, with Palmer being awarded pole position for setting the fastest lap over the previous day's races. Once again, Palmer lost the lead at the start, Bacheta hitting the front to take his second win of the campaign. Palmer spent the latter stages of the race trying to hold off Bridgman, who made it past at Paddock Hill Bend on the penultimate lap, only for Palmer to dive up the inside at Pilgrim's Drop half a lap later to reclaim the position.

Snetterton (11–13 May)

Rounds 6, 7 and 8 took place at Snetterton
Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit
Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Norfolk, England. Owned by MotorSport Vision, it is situated on the A11 road some 20 km north-east of the town of Thetford and 30 km south-west of the city of Norwich...

 in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

. In qualifying, Luciano Bacheta
Luciano Bacheta
Akshay Luciano Bacheta is a professional British racecar driver.Bacheta started karting at the age of fourteen in 2004 and stepped up to cars in 2005, racing in the Junior Ginetta series, recording six wins and the most fastest laps and pole positions...

 and Jack Clarke both took their first pole positions of the season in overcast conditions, although Bacheta could only manage fifth on the grid for the second race. Tim Bridgman
Tim Bridgman
Timothy James Bridgman is a British race car driver from England.Bridgman was born in Harlow and educated at Felsted School. He raced for Jensen Motorsport in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2006, finishing the season ranked 16th overall. He was the 2004 Formula BMW UK champion, and...

 would start both races from second.

Sunday's race day, the only day all season to include three races, was marred by changeable weather conditions. Round 6 was held in light rain, with Bridgman making the best start to take the lead and pull away from Bacheta. Further back, Tom Bradshaw
Tom Bradshaw
Tom Bradshaw was a Scottish international footballer of the 1920s and 1930s arguably best known for playing for Bury F.C., Liverpool and as being one of the Wembley Wizards...

 was scything through the field and catching Bacheta quickly in the latter stages. Then, Bridgman spun on the 16th lap of 18 at Russell chicane, allowing Bacheta and Bradshaw through to fight for the victory. That fight never materialised, a red flag being thrown on the last lap for a spinning backmarker at the Esses, ensuring Bacheta's third win of the season from Bradshaw and Bridgman.

A break in the rain shortly before Round 7 caused the field to make last-minute changes to slick tyres. Once again, Bridgman made the best start from second, and made up for his earlier mistake by leading all the way to victory. Bacheta, meanwhile, suffered his first retirement of the season, tangling with polesitter Clarke at the Esses on the opening lap while fighting for second. Tom Bradshaw inherited second and held it to the end, securing pole for the Round 8 in the process with fastest lap, while Stefan Wilson
Stefan Wilson
Stefan James Wilson is a British racing driver. He is the younger brother of former Formula One and current IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson...

 came out on top of a battle with friend Richard Plant
Richard Plant (racing driver)
Richard Plant is a British racing driver. Plant was Formula Palmer Audi champion in 2009. After taking a sabbatical from racing in 2010 due to an illness in his family, he returned to the track in 2011 to compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain.-Complete Formula Palmer Audi results:...

 for third.

Round 8 was held in torrential rain, with the first three laps run behind the safety car at slow speed. When the race finally got underway with a rolling start, poleman Bradshaw left the door open for Bridgman at Riches, who made a robust move to take the lead. Bradshaw ran out of road, spinning on to the grass, although he later rejoined to finish 12th. Bridgman cruised from then on to a 10-second victory over Stefan Wilson, with Richard Kent
Richard Kent
Richard Kent is the secondary coach for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He is a former college football player with a recent scouting and coaching career in NFL Europe...

 securing his first car racing podium in third. For Bacheta, the race was much more eventful as he fought his way up from 19th on the grid to finish fifth. This meant he held on to his championship lead by just two points from Bridgman, with Wilson another three further back.

Championship standings

Pos. Driver Nat. Points Wins Podiums Poles
1 Tim Bridgman
Tim Bridgman
Timothy James Bridgman is a British race car driver from England.Bridgman was born in Harlow and educated at Felsted School. He raced for Jensen Motorsport in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2006, finishing the season ranked 16th overall. He was the 2004 Formula BMW UK champion, and...

360 6 14 6
2 Stefan Wilson
Stefan Wilson
Stefan James Wilson is a British racing driver. He is the younger brother of former Formula One and current IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson...

332 4 9 4
3 Luciano Bacheta
Luciano Bacheta
Akshay Luciano Bacheta is a professional British racecar driver.Bacheta started karting at the age of fourteen in 2004 and stepped up to cars in 2005, racing in the Junior Ginetta series, recording six wins and the most fastest laps and pole positions...

303 4 9 3
4 Jack Clarke 253 2 7 2
5 Jason Moore
Jason Moore (racing driver)
-Karting:Moore began his karting career in 2000 aged 11, with a campaign in the Super 1 National Cadet Championship. Moore finished 24th in the championship, with a best finish of 10th coming at Rowrah....

251 5
6 Tom Bradshaw 233 1 5 2
7 Richard Kent 208 2
8 Richard Plant
Richard Plant (racing driver)
Richard Plant is a British racing driver. Plant was Formula Palmer Audi champion in 2009. After taking a sabbatical from racing in 2010 due to an illness in his family, he returned to the track in 2011 to compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain.-Complete Formula Palmer Audi results:...

196
9 Chris Chubb 191
10 Jolyon Palmer
Jolyon Palmer
Jolyon Carlyle Palmer is a British professional racing driver.-T Cars:Having spent 2004 racing in MiniMax karts, Palmer moved up to cars in 2005 and specifically the T Cars championship's Autumn Trophy – a racing series for drivers between the ages of fourteen and seventeen years old...

187 2 4 1
11 Alex Brundle
Alex Brundle
Alex Brundle is a British racing driver. He is the son of Formula One driver-turned-commentator Martin Brundle. He attended Oakham School in Rutland, and is managed by 2MB Sports Management, a company established by Martin and his colleague Mark Blundell.-T Cars:Brundle drove a kart for the first...

160
12 Matthew Hamilton 157 1 4 2
13 Chris Bell 147
14 Nik Iruwan   127
15 Ivan Lukashevich
Ivan Lukashevich
Ivan Lukashevich is a Russian racing driver. He is part of the Marussia Motors driver development programme.-Karting:Lukashevich competed in karting from 2001 to 2005. In 2001 and 2002 he took the Mini Class title of the Moscow Karting Championship...

  155
16 Dominik Jackson
Dominik Jackson
Dominik Jackson is an English racing driver. He started his career in UK karting, before going to Germany to compete in the Formula BMW ADAC Series. He has also raced in Formula Palmer Audi. Due to his lack of funding, he very rarely competes a full series championship...

88
17 Mark Powell 87
18 Derrick Collin 76
19 Maxim Snegirev   74
20 Jeremy Preddy 66
21 Doros Loucaides   65
22 Giacomo Petrobelli   51 1
23 Russell Small 40
24 Bruce Hodges 20
25 Alan Kempson 19
26 Russell Bolesworth 13
27 Howard Spooner 12
28 Andy Demetriou   0
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