Taws Mosport Formula 1200 race recap

Taws finishes 2nd and 3rd in Mosport double header

Ashley Taws left Mosport International Raceway a happy young lady yesterday after competing in a pair of Formula 1200 races on the weekend. The seventeen-year-old driver of the "Be Anything With Barbie" car finished second on Saturday and third on Sunday.

Ashley, who currently holds second place in the Isseco-Kumho Formula 1200 Championship, was flying all weekend and sent a clear message during Saturday's qualifying session when she outpaced the nineteen-car field to take pole.

"The car is amazing," said Ashley after qualifying. "It was absolutely planted. Just perfect!"

In her first race of the weekend, on Saturday afternoon, Ashley fell just short of converting her pole start into a victory. The race was hard-fought and Ashley gave it her all right to the checkered flag, but chased Vallis Motor Sport stable mate Louey Jabouri across the line.

On Sunday, starting from second place (based on the Saturday finish), Ashley hoped for another battle with Jabouri, only this time expecting to relegate him to second place. Unfortunately, the Saturday winner dropped out with an engine failure and Ashley had to look for someone else to play with. She was soon mixing it up with Brent Gilkes and Eric Budwit, who proved very quick. It was a great scrap and Ashley was in contention throughout the sixteen-lap race, but teammates Gilkes and Budwit worked together to finish ahead of Ashley.

"They (Gilkes and Budwit) were working together, so I knew it would be tough for me," Ashley commented. "They worked together to get their cars ahead of me and I knew if I was going make a move on them, I had to do it at the end of the last lap so they wouldn't have a chance to come back at me. They drove well though and didn't leave me any opportunities. It was a good race. We all had fun out there.

"Vallis Motor Sport did a super job with the car," she complimented. "The handling was awesome, so thanks to all the guys at Vallis."

There is now a break in the Formula 1200 schedule as the next event is slated for September 22-23 at Mont-Tremblant in Quebec. Ashley's calendar, however, is quite full as she will be busy visiting Wal-Mart stores around southwestern Ontario with her "Be Anything With Barbie" race car.

- www.AshleyTaws.com