Ed Moore celebrates his win

Ed Moore has won countless races at Castle Combe, but the Bradford on Avon-based driver reckons his victory there on Easter Monday was his best ever.

The 31-year-old ace staged an incredible comeback to win the first running of the Golden Helmet Trophy at Castle Combe.

The race attracted top Formula Ford 1600 drivers from all over the UK and electrical problems with the distributor meant Moore, 31, failed to complete the qualification race.

He was forced to start at the back of the grid in his Van Diemen RF00 in the first meeting of the season.

But Moore picked off 23 racers in 15 laps to take the chequered flag in first position, breaking the lap record over and over as he did so.

Moore said: "In terms of Formula Ford racing it was probably my best ever race.

"It shocked me and everyone else. I didn't expect to be able to do that from where we started.

"I only went out to race to enjoy myself and see how fast I could go. I had no illusions of trying to win."

Moore said at one point he was not sure if he would race at all.

Moore said:"It had been playing up throughout the day and it manifested itself in the qualification race.

"It started misfiring and then misfired completely and at that point I thought it was all over."

In the early stages Josh Fisher took the lead, with Stuart Gough and Tom Bradshaw battling for second and Felix Fisher just behind them.

But the four racers were so competitive that they were holding each other up, and as the laps went by, Moore was able to close in on them.

With five laps to go it was a straight fight between Moore and Josh Fisher for top place.

Josh Fisher broke the lap record by almost three quarters of a second to stay in touch, but Moore was not to be denied.

He took the victory, with Josh Fisher second and Stuart Gough just behind in third.

Castle Combe's Andy Jones took fourth after a long battle with Felix Fisher, with Robert Hall coming home in fifth and Felix Fisher making up the top six.

Moore said: "I was hopeful of perhaps finishing top six but I honestly didn't envisage that I would win the race.

"When I was in fifth place I could see the front four cars, and I thought there was a slim chance I might be able to come up to them.

"The luck was with me and I drove as hard as I possibly could.

"It fell into place. I had a little bit of luck, the car was very good and I drove with my heart and went for it.

"It's pretty unlikely I could do that again, everything was perfect. I've never had a race like that."

Moore now has the privilege of wearing a golden helmet for the rest of the season as a memento for his victory.

Moore said: "I haven't got it yet but I look forward to getting it fairly soon."

CLICK HERE for more pictures from Monday's meeting.

11:02am Friday 28th March 2008

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