SINGLE seater racer Jonny Lang is closing in on the North West Formula Ford title after scoring his first-ever win.

The Barrowford driver was the class of the field, at Oulton Park, after setting the fastest time in qualifying and leading for most of the seven laps.

"It's a great feeling to be standing at the top of the podium with a bottle of champagne," he said.

"It feels like it's been a long time coming. We've been threatening to win for the last couple of rounds, but it's well worth the wait!"

Lang, who is a director of Optic Lighting in Nelson, put his Infiniti Motorsport-prepared Van Diemen on pole position for the 20-minute race, despite problems in qualifying.

"The team worked all night to get the engine sorted, but as a result we only had one clear lap in practice, luckily it was fast enough!" he explained.

From the green light, Lang's team-mate Neil Boardman made the best getaway leading into the first corner at Old Hall.

But it didn't last long, as Lang dived down the inside at Knickerbrook and snatched the lead halfway through the first lap.

Boardman then came under pressure from third-placed Richard Tannahill, who

ultimately got ahead at Cascades on lap four. With Boardman taking to the

grass during the manoeuvre, Tannahill was free to chase down Lang.

Unfortunately the red flag left the crowd to speculate on who would have

come out on top in the final showdown. The flying Tannahill had closed to within 0.7s of Lang, but getting past would not have been easy.

"I was determined to get my first win, so I wasn't too unhappy when the race finished early!" he added.

The result moves Lang in second place in the series, three points behind Boardman with three rounds to go. Next round is back at Oulton on August 20.