RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Formula Ford racers from across Europe will unite in competition with the launch of the brand new SuperSeries which will join MSVR’s ever expanding portfolio for 2012.

The newly created international Formula Ford 1600 series is the brainchild of category guru James Beckett following the success of the resurrected Champion of Brands, which produced five thrilling battles around the famous Brands Hatch circuit in 2011. SuperSeries aims to bring Europe’s elite Formula Ford drivers together for four intense encounters at some of the continent’s most challenging circuits.

SuperSeries will kick off with a visit to Northern Ireland’s Kirkistown circuit to unite with Ireland’s Formula Ford fraternity before making a trip to France to tackle the technical Croix-en-Ternois venue. The series will join up with the Champion of Brands competitors for a battle around the legendary 2.3 mile Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit and will round out the year with a trip to the iconic Monza circuit, home of the Italian Formula One Grand Prix, in September for the series finale.

Series co-ordinator James Beckett said: “Formula Ford has been breeding champions since 1967 and the SuperSeries will provide drivers the opportunity to race in a European series at superb tracks. The SuperSeries visits four circuits. Kirkistown is a hotbed of Formula Ford talent, and Croix en Ternois will host the opening European mainland races. The Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit will offer the ultimate challenge to competitors, and the famous Monza track in Italy will be a ‘must do’ event for every FF1600 racer.

“I am delighted that James Beckett Motorsport will be organising the SuperSeries for Formula Ford 1600 cars with MotorSport Vision Racing (MSVR) in 2012 and beyond. This is an extension to our excellent relationship that has grown out of the reintroduction of the Champion of Brands Formula Ford 1600 series to racing schedules at the start of 2010. The SuperSeries offers competitors a great opportunity to race at some of the world’s most famous circuits. The SuperSeries is open to Kent-engined FF1600 cars of all ages, and will grow on the success of the category that enjoys superb support around the globe.”

SuperSeries 2012 Calendar

Round 1: Kirkistown (Northern Ireland) April 28
Round 2: Croix-en-Ternois (France) June 9
Round 3: Brands Hatch GP August 19
Round 4: Monza (Italy) September 21/23

Just one week after the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain concluded at Silverstone championship regular Antti Buri headed straight for Brands Hatch, to tackle the prestigious Formula Ford Festival.

With high hopes for the tough challenge ahead, Antti enjoyed tense battles with 2011 British Formula Ford Champion Scott Malvern, as he strived for Festival glory.

As the build up to the event got underway testing showed it would be a difficult weekend for the Mygale SJ11 pilot. A broken gearbox awaited Antti and the team as they prepared for the first test session, which resulted in a lost day on track. However with some of the mechanics’ best skills on the case Antti was out on track to demonstrate good pace the next day.

The arrival of qualifying saw Antti return to the front of the field, with a second place start for the Heat. A sprint style race of just 12 laps made for an exciting battle around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, as drama struck again.

As he toured the circuit in second place, a stuck throttle sent Antti tumbling off the track before rejoining in third. Despite his pace time ran out, however Antti recovered to seal a strong third place.

Onto the Quarter Final, Antti lined up third on the grid. As the race unfolded, Antti toured in the wheel tracks of Malvern, as the pair edged out a substantial gap to their pursuers. Unable to snatch victory, he settled in second place.

The Semi-Final demonstrated a battle not only between Antti and his rivals, but also Antti and his tyres. A good start launched him into the lead of the race, until new tyres failed to agree with his single-seater. Second place again awaited the Finnish racing ace, as the all important Final edged ever closer.

Faced with the difficult decision of whether to run with old or new tyres, the Final was always going to be a tricky affair. After selecting new tyres, Antti lined his Formula Ford up on the grid, as the Final got underway.

It was soon clear the tyres presented him with a disadvantage, however despite his woes Antti made it to the chequered flag, in fifth place.

“It was a very frustrating weekend,” admitted Antti. “It started badly with our gearbox problems, but seemed to get better for a while. We were definitely on the pace of the others and enjoyed some really good battles with Scott.

“The speed was strong and there was no physical damage to the car all weekend, we kept out of trouble, so that is a bonus,” he added.

Now faced with the off-season break Antti will be working out his next step, with his 2012 plans announced in due course.

Report: Leanne Fahy via The Racewire
Photos: Jonathan Hatfield

A full throttle season in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain has now come to an end for Finnish racer Antti Buri, after an eventful weekend at Silverstone.

After 24 races spread across 8 weekends and 6 different circuits in the UK and Europe, Antti narrowly missed out on a top three championship position to finish in a strong fourth place.

The season finale at Silverstone last weekend (8^th-9^th October) was a challenging affair for the youngster, however it was far from short of action. Drama made an appearance from the very start of the weekend, when whilst waiting to hit the track for testing a burnt wiring loom forced Antti to miss the first session.

With one more session before qualifying and the three races, Antti took to the track for the second test. New to the Arena circuit layout Antti was unsure of what to expect on his first lap, and with the added excitement of damp conditions it was an experimental experience.

A lack of knowledge around the 3.66 mile circuit left Antti with guess work on setting up his Mygale SJ11 single-seater. Despite this, Antti launched into qualifying to secure a fourth place start for race one.

Described by Antti as “one of the best races this season”, race one was loaded with electrifying battles up and down the field. A fiercely close performance saw Antti reach second place, until a wide line into Luffield allowed two of his rivals to muscle their way through.

An original fourth place was later changed to third for the Geva-LMS Racing expert, when third placed Dan De Zille was deemed to have passed under yellow flags.

A damp track played host to the second race on Sunday (9^th October), and as ever a ferocious fight awaited Antti. Despite the excitement, Antti found himself tormented by a lack of testing, as he faced a battle with his tyres as well as his rivals.

A double fifth place finish awaited Antti at the chequered flag of both race two and three, as another season came to a close. A vivacious performance from the Finnish racer this year has seen him edge closer to that illusive first win in the British championship.

Looking back Antti said: “It has been an interesting year. We’ve had some good results and some great races, but it was a shame Silverstone was so frustrating.”

Now Antti looks ahead to the extremely prestigious Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch this coming weekend (15^th-16^th October). With testing for the Festival available throughout this week, Antti is eager to get back behind the wheel on a familiar circuit, as he strives for Festival honours

Photos: Parravani / JDH Motorsport Photography

Formula Ford front runner Dan de Zille will be teaming up with Fortec Motorsport to do the Renault Winter Series this November.

After three years of Formula Ford and some very impressive Sports-car racing results, automotive engineering student Dan has his sights set on testing his skills at a higher level.

Richard Dutton of Fortec commented” The Winter Series is a great opportunity for drivers to get a feel for the Renault Championships and learn to qualify and start”

The Winter series events start the first weekend of November with an intensive weekend of four races at Snetterton followed by an event at Rockingham the following weekend with a further 2 races. Dan will also have the benefit of three days solid testing leading up to the first round at Snetterton so there will be lots of track time to get used to the new car.

“The main difference with the car is getting used to the down-force, the Formula Ford cars have no downforce and the Formula Renault cars have both slicks and wings.”

“Since Dan was a front runner in Formula Ford, I see no reason why he should not do just as well in Formula Renault, there will be plenty of data to look at and he will have strong teammates to compare against, he will also have the same technician working alongside him throughout whom he can trust and rely on”

The first event will be at Snetterton on 5th November. After his seat fitting last week Dan commented “I am very excited about the Renault Winter Series, Fortec have a good reputation and I am looking forward to the new challenge, new faces and learning all about the new car, testing my driving ability on a higher level”

This week, Ford unveiled the new 2012 specification Formula Ford race car which will initially be used in the MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain.

The new car uses an increasing amount of road car technology, including the latest 1.6 litre turbocharged Ford EcoBoost engine which is currently seen in various Focus and Mondeo models, which in this application is limited to approx 165ps  and 220Nm of torque.   The engine will be mated to a 6 speed sequential gearbox with a mechanical shift mechanism (ie a traditional gear lever rather than flappy paddles)

The tubular steel chassis is the first one of its kind which meets the latest FIA safety tests and includes front and rear carbon crash structures, side intrusion panels, FIA specification head restraint system, wheel tethers and an FIA removable seat.

Manufacturers such as Mygale and Van Diemen are known to be developing new chassis and manufactuers such as these will have certain freedoms in developing their own chassis and bodywork to encourage diversity. This is permitted providing some mandatory features are retained, and also certain parts must be used to try and create aerodynamic equivalence.

Whilst the new car will be a considerably investment for the major teams, many will be embracing the new model as it gives them the most experience and knowledge about the car.   The new car will run alongside the existing Duratec engined cars on the grid, allowing there to be a transitional period with both cars eligible which will provide a lower cost entry for drivers and to help develop race mechanics and engineers.

Unlike the BTCC, there has yet been no promise of performance parity, so the older cars will effectively form a Class B.

Ford is set to unveil the brand new 2012 specification Formula Ford at the Frankfurt Motor Show on the 13th September.   They have released an image to whet peoples appetities and a few key details about the new car.

The engine will be the 1.6 EcoBoost unit, which is a 1.6 litre turbocharged engine that is found in the Ford Focus, Mondeo, C-Max and also some Volvo models.   The road car engine is available in three power levels – 150ps, 160ps and 182ps.

We  have to wait until next week when all will be revealed…

Formula Ford is am important career ladder for many drivers.   Started in 1967,  Formula Ford has been instrumental to the careers of 10 Formula One world champions and many other nationally and internationally successful racing drivers.

Over recent years some have questioned the relevance in Formula Ford as many karting proteges have used the various categories of Formula Renault to launch their transition into bigger cars, citing that slicks and wings is arguably more relevant to the cars that they will be driving in the future.   Those who disagree, and there are many, say that Formula Ford is where you develop the feel for a car without aerodynamic devices and also learn very close racing, and the time spent in this category is hugely important.

More news soon…

Epic Start in Formula Ford race sees Dan de Zille finish 2^nd at Brands

Dan de Zille moved up into 5^th position in the championship at Brands Hatch this weekend in his fight for the British Formula Ford title after three Top Ten finishes, including a podium for coming 2^nd in race two..

Qualifying on Friday was incredibly close, with Dan getting closer to pole than ever before. Amazingly, the top 14 drivers were all within 1 second of each other: Dan qualified in 8^th position for Race 1, a scant 0.5 off the actual pole sitter.

In Race 1, Dan gained a couple of places off the grid, quickly shifting up to 6^th place, only to lose a couple of positions through gearbox selector problems till he found a way to drive round the issue, finishing where he’d started, in 8^th place.

A change of set-up and some sheer determination on Sunday morning resulted in Dan flying from 7^th off the start of Race 2, and he was up into 4^th spot before daunting Paddock Hill Bend. Dan held 4^th throughout much of the race, and was promoted to 3^rd when rival Malvern received a drive-though penalty for jumping the start.

Once up to 3^rd, Dan drove a faultless race, in spite of having to battle an understeering car in the closing stages . On the penultimate lap, team-mate Geoff Uhrhane spun at Clearways, allowing Dan to zip past into 2^nd place to take the chequered flag.

Another good start in Race 3 elevated Dan from 7^th to 5^th, where he battled with McBride and Williams. Handling issues meant he struggled to keep Williams at bay, finally slipping back a slot to finish in 8^th position overall.

Dan commented, “The final race was a frustrating result after this morning’s podium finish. We made yet more changes to the set-up, but it didn’t make the car any better as I was battling with understeer. We have some work to do in testing before Donington!”

Dan will be back out in the British Formula Ford counter at Donington on the 24/25^th September for the penultimate rounds of the Championship.

Glynn Geddie took pole position for the British GT championship race on the new Snetterton 300 configuration in the Ferrari 458 Italia during a day of mixed conditions. Geddie, sharing the car with his father Jim, staked his claim for pole position early on in the session, and it was good enough as none of his rivals could come close.

Joining Geddie on the front row is the United Autosport Audi R8 of Michael Guasch and Matt Bell with the Lester and Simonsen Ferrari 430 Scuderia and the Black and Hall Aston Martin DBRS 9.

Heading GT4 class was the KTM X-Bow of Athanasios Ladas and Michael Mallock, beating the two Lotus Evoras entered by Lotus Sport.

Cars to watch will be the Predator CCTV Ferrari 430 of Adam Wilcox and Phil Burton, which sat out much of the practise sessions with a misfire, and also the Mercedes SLS of the Jones Brothers who only managed to qualify in 14th position.

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Felipe Nasr took pole position for both F3 races, but it was Kevin Magnussen, son of the 1984 F3 Champion and later F1 driver Jan, who stole the win of the first race with a slipstreaming move against Nasr up the Senna Straight and taking the lead into Riches Corner.

Nasr established a new outright lap record with a best time of 1m 40.103s to take away Aaron Steele’s MSV F3 Cup record established in March.

All cars were varieties of Dallara chassis, with Volkswagen and Mercedes engines powering them.   Volkswagen engines took the first 6 positions, and the Carlin Racing team took a 1-2-3-4.

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Jamie Orton took pole position for the Caterham R300 Championship, Ben Anderson and Stuart Pearson share poles for the Ginetta Challenge and Steve Chaplin converted 2nd on the grid for the Volkwagen Racing Cup to a race win in his No. 53 (naturally) VW Beetle, and Scott Malvern triumphed in the first Formula Ford race.

Sunday sees a full day of racing, with the 2hr British GT race taking place after lunch.  Two more rounds of the F3 championship, two more Formula Fords races, plus more racing from the VW Cup, the Ginetta Challenge and the Caterham Championship as well.

Photos: Norwich Photo

Double podium for Dan de Zille at Silverstone Formula Ford Opener.

Silverstone National circuit was the venue for this season’s Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship opener, where Jersey-based Dan de Zille made a return to the series for his third successive season, running with JTR Racing under the guidance of Nick Tandy.

Dan got off to a flying start in this highly competitive setting, qualifying 5^th for Race 1, and 4^th for Races 2 and 3, with the top 5 cars all within three-tenths of each other.

In race 1, Dan quickly got up to 3^rd position before getting squeezed into a corner, causing contact and a spin. He recovered to finish 11^th overall.

In Race 2 Dan dropped a few places at thestart, but quickly recovered back to his 4^th place grid slot. Hepicked up 3^rd on lap 7 before losing it again, then on lap 13 his rival Malvern got in a tangle with Uhrhane, gifting Dan 2^nd overall which he held onto till the finish.

Dan put in a superior drive in Race 3 anddidn’t make a single mistake. Front running Malvern spun off on the first lap, elevating everyone up a place, and Dan then expertly passed Slagkekke on lap 13 to take 2^nd behind team mate Uhrhane, resulting in a great one-two finish for team JTR.

At the end of the Championship’s first weekend Dan lies 3^rd in the overall driver rankings with 62 points, behind Australian teammate Geoff Uhrhane (68) and Dutchman Jeroen Slagkekke (75).

JTR Team manager Nick Tandy said: “It’s been a fantastic weekend for the team! I am delighted with all three of our drivers picking up a total of 5 out of the possible 9 podiums; we have definitely got the pace and we seem to be consistent, and I can’t wait for the rest of the season!”

Dan remarked: “I thought it was going to take a few rounds to settle in to the new set-up. It’s a shame about the Race 1 result, but I am over the moon to be up there on the podium on the first weekend. I’ve come away with far more than I expected, sitting 3^rd in the Championship standings – this gives us a good shot at going for the overall Championship!”

The next round is at Oulton Park on 23 – 25^th April.

Silverstone National circuit is the venue for the opening round of this season’s Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship series on 10th April.

Jersey-based Dan de Zille makes a return to the series for his third successive season, running with two-time Championship contenders JTR Racing under the guidance of Nick Tandy.

Dan finished 8th in the Formula Ford Championship in 2010. Towards the second half of the season Dan was regularly finishing in the top 6, and his early-season testing this year has demonstrated much potential.

JTR Team manager Nick Tandy said “It’s going to be a busy season; we have three very strong drivers. We are delighted to have Dan on board with us – he’s a very experienced driver. The tests days have gone well, and Dan’s been putting in some front-running speeds. We’re looking forward to a very strong start to the season next week.

When asked how he was feeling about the move and the forthcoming season Dan said: “Making the move to JTR was a hard decision to make as Minister had put so much into me. But hopefully this will push me forwards as a driver and allow me to perform at a higher level, consistently throughout the season. I already know most of the team and it’s gelling well and we’re setting good times so I am very happy with the move so far! With regard to the season, I am feeling pretty confident, we’ve not had long with the car in it’s full JTR spec but we’re already finding lots of time and closing in on the front runners. I see my main rivals being Scott Malvern, Jeroen Slaghekke and Geoff Uhrhane. The other Jamuns are also going to be quick I think it’s going to be about consistency as much as raw pace so I need to have an intelligent approach to the season.”

The Season opener starts this Saturday 10th April at Silverstone Nat ional Circuit at 4pm.

As we come to the end of another year the motor racing season has long been put to bed. Regardless of the racing coming to a halt, Rotherham racer Jake Cook has recently enjoyed an extra accolade, after winning the inaugural Motor Sports Association (MSA) Young Driver of the Year Award.

The award was created earlier in the year for those enrolled on the prestigious MSA Academy’s Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) Programme. After discovering last month he had made the final five entrants for the award, Jake is ecstatic with the achievement.

“It’s fantastic to win this award, it’s great for me as a racing driver to receive the recognition,” said Jake. “I’m really pleased to have been chosen as the MSA Young Driver of the Year,” he added.

After snow played it’s part in delaying the process, Jake made the trip to the Pure Tech Racing Centre near Gatwick last Thursday 16^th December to finally take his place in front of the judges.

A rigorous process of contesting a race simulator, followed by a self presentation in front of some of the most notable names in motorsport lead to Jake being crowned as the first winner of the award. He will now attend the coveted Night of Champions awards ceremony in January at the Royal Automobile Club, where he will collect his trophy.

Robert Reid, MSA Performance Director and 2001 World Rally Champion Co-Driver said: “During his time with the MSA Academy AASE Programme Jake has shown himself to be dedicated to both his education and his racing career. He has excelled in taking what he is learning on the programme and applying it to what he is doing on the circuit. Jake is a worthy winner of the MSA Young Driver of the Year Award as he has all the attributes to become one of the UK’s top motorsport drivers, and someone we will certainly be keeping a close eye on for future inclusion in the Team UK national squad.”

Words: Leanne Fahy
Pictures: Jonathan Hatfield

Photo: Jakob Ebrey

Exmouth based Formula Ford Academy scholarship winner Jack Drinkall enjoyed an encouraging weekend at Brands Hatch as he finished eighth in the final after going up against 55 other drivers over the two days of the 2010 Formula Ford Festival.

Racing in the Kent class for Alan McGarrity Racing the 16-year-old headed in to qualifying in a car that he had only stepped in to the day before and promptly put in a time good enough to start the weekend from third place.

“Qualifying was really exciting and the conditions were in my favour with a damp, slippery track.” admitted Drinkall. “I spent the first half of the session getting used to the track conditions and warming the car. I then went to work for an ultimate lap. For the last couple of laps I was pushing the car to the limit, knowing the track had dried slightly. I tucked up behind a car going into clearways and got a good tow past the line and clinched third.”

The first race of the weekend saw Drinkall finish in a promising fifth place. “First heat was dry and I knew I wasn’t completely on the pace in these conditions with a slight over steer problem around clearways. I was happy to finish fifth.” said Drinkall.

With confidence growing Drinkall would finish the second race in sixth place after battling with the frontrunners. “The second heat was up and down with the front runners and I felt better within the car in these dry conditions. Once again I was really happy with a 6th place, which put me 12th on the grid for the final.” he said.

“Sitting on the grid for the final was tense.” confessed the Devon youngster. “I felt I’d done a good job sitting there in 12th place out of 56 entrees. My start was reasonable and I moved into 10th around Paddock Hill Bend. I then set myself upon Scott McGaritty and put a move on him around clearways, which moved me up to 9th place. The race was stopped and re-gridded for the last 8 laps. Once we got away again I moved up into 8th and held my position comfortably until the finish.”

Summing up the weekend Drinkall said: “I thought the weekend went very well as I kept on the track and constantly exceeded my times. Qualifying was a high point, knowing I was quick in slippery conditions and achieving 3rd with an entree of 56 international drivers. The McGaritty team were so professional and I couldn’t have asked for more.

“It was a challenging weekend but I feel I adapted quickly and performed to my best with good results.” he finished.

Matt Kelly of Mattkelly.co.uk driver management team was impressed with Drinkall’s performance: “Jack’s learning curve over the festival week was almost vertical, everything was new to him but he didn’t let it faze him at all, he raced well and was exceptional in the damp conditions qualifying in a fantastic third place in his group. I coach and manage a number of young up and coming drivers and feel that Jack has real potential to make it in Motorsport, defiantly a star of the future, a fantastic performance on a high pressure weekend”

You can keep up to date with Jack via his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jackdrinkall or on his website at www.jackdrinkall.co.uk.

Exmouth based Formula Ford Academy scholarship winner Jack Drinkall will be taking part in the 2010 Formula Ford Festival after securing a deal which will see him go head-to-head with upcoming driving talent from around the world at Brands Hatch over the weekend of 16/17 October.

Manager and driving coach Matt Kelly completed the deal last week which gives 16-year-old Drinkall an opportunity to get out on track with Formula Ford stalwarts Alan McGarrity Motorsport

Talking about the deal Drinkall said: “Since winning the Formula Ford Academy scholarship in April, I have had 3 wins out of 4 races which I am very pleased with and am happy with my integration into the single seater series from karting.

“I am very excited about the forthcoming Formula Ford festival and racing within the AMG Motorsport team. I hope to be in competition with the front runners and anticipate a tough but exciting weekend.” he added.

Manager Matt Kelly spoke of the deal: “We’ve seen massive potential after working with Jack throughout the 2010 season and are now looking for him to make the next step up following a strong season in Formula Academy.

“The deal with Alan McGarrity Motorsport is ideal for Jack to show what he can do in a professional team, up against some of the best young drivers on their way up to bigger things.”

Previous winners of the Formula Ford Festival include the likes of 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button, along with Mark Webber, Anthony Davidson and numerous other F1 drivers.

You can keep up to date with Jack via his Facebook page or on his website.

Report: Vince Pettit

After a mixed weekend at Snetterton, Norfolk, in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain just one week ago (28th-30th August), Rickmansworth-based racing driver Philippe Layac bounced back at Brands Hatch last weekend (3rd-5th September).

As he arrived at the Kent circuit, Philippe was instantly ready to show what he could do around the infamous Indy circuit layout, as he and his Antel Motorsport team readied themselves for three days of track action.

With the qualifying taking place on Friday, Philippe was able to get some time out on track, as he strived to record a strong weekend. Lining up 14th on the grid for the first race gave the Frenchman a positive starting off point, as the opening race got into gear.

Before the first race had barely begun the safety car was released to rescue a car stuck in a dangerous position, which bunched the pack up for a number of laps. Before too long the race was restarted, as the field thundered into the intensely steep Paddock Hill Bend (turn one).

A few laps down the road and the safety car reared its head once more, when two cars collided in fierce style on the pit straight. As time ran out the race was forced to finish under safety car conditions, meaning Philippe was extremely limited on the number of racing laps available. Despite this he still finished 11th at the flag.

Race two saw Philippe enjoy a tense battle with a number of his rivals, as they toured the circuit nose to tail lap after lap. Unfortunately, his pace was short lived when an issue with the fuel pump on his car forced him to return to the pits.

The final race of the weekend was another difficult outing for the Antel Motorsport pilot, when the wrong gear ratio meant he struggled for the 18 minute duration. Despite this Philippe battled through the field to another strong 11th place finish as the chequered flag signalled the end of the race.

Commenting on his weekend, Philippe said: “We were short of time this weekend, with no testing beforehand, but it’s not been too bad.

“It was frustrating to not finish the second race, as we were doing so well up until that point. Despite that it was a fairly good weekend in terms of what we have learnt about the car. We’re learning something new about it all the time,” he added.

Philippe’s next round of the Formula Ford Championship is at Donington Park, Leicestershire, over the weekend of the 18th-19th September. The Formula Ford series have secured an imperative spot supporting the British Touring Car Championship, which is a position rivalled by many series.

Thirsk-based racing driver, Luke Williams is back in control of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain Scholarship Class, after triple success at Brands Hatch, Kent, last weekend (3-5th September).

Just one week after a difficult outing a Snetterton, Norfolk, Luke was back on form to ensure he leapt back into the lead of the Scholarship championship.

As the weekend at Brands Hatch got underway a lack of practice on the circuit before qualifying meant Luke was forced to head into the qualifying session blind. Having not driven around the infamous Indy circuit layout for six months, coupled together with the newly laid track surface, Luke faced a steep hill to climb, however he was up for the challenge.

Being satisfied with his qualifying session, the 18-year old headed into the first race of the weekend happy, and eager to get underway. Race one was a tough outing for Luke, when he struggled with the car for much of the duration.

In the early stages of the outing, the safety car was deployed after a rival speared off into the gravel trap. Shortly after the restart, a fierce incident on the pit straight involving Luke’s chief rival, Tristan Mingay, unleashed the safety car whilst his stricken car was recovered. With time swiftly counting downwards the race was soon brought to an end, finishing under the safety car.

Despite the lack of racing laps Luke took a class win, enhancing his title campaign. “I was pleased to get another Scholarship Class victory, but it wasn’t the best way to achieve it. I was sorry to see Tristan out of the race with his accident, it wasn’t nice to see, but I was pleased to get the win. It was a bit mixed up really,” said Luke.

By the time race two arrived, Luke’s chances for success were looking strong once again. Regardless of only needing to finish in order to secure another victory, the youngster pushed to get the best finishing position possible.

This time around Luke found his single-seater much better, despite struggling with his tyres in the early stages. After the sixth lap Luke was six seconds adrift, due to a lack of grip with his tyres on the changeable track surface. Determined not to be beat it wasn’t long before Luke fought through his struggles to work his way through the field. As the chequered flag fell he swept passed to take another class victory.

The final race of the weekend brought more success for the Yorkshireman, when he overcame more brake and tyre issues to lock in a triple win performance. Another safety car appearance failed to hamper his progress as he stormed to yet another class triumph.

Looking back over his successful weekend, Luke said: “Overall I’m very happy with the weekend. I’ve struggled over the weekend, with my lack of track time beforehand, and with the tyres for instance, but we were able to fight through to take another three wins.”

Luke now leads the Scholarship Championship with just two rounds and five races remaining. Luke’s next round of the championship is at Donington Park, Leicestershire, over the weekend of 18-19th September. The series have secured a prestigious spot providing supporting action to the British Touring Car Championship.

Report: Leanne Fahy
Photography: Jonathan Hatfield

via The Racewire

James Tucker raced at the super fast Norfolk circuit, Snetterton, this windy August Bank Holiday weekend.

The young Burntwood racing driver gained 7th place in Qualifying, making him the fastest rookie driver on the track.

The first race came, as did the rain, after a dry qualifying session, this made the first few laps a leap into the unknown with no previous practice in full wet conditions around the track. Despite this James managed to hold onto his position over the first few laps, over the more experienced drivers, getting faster every lap. Half way through the race, the gap to the lead group started to close enabling James to dive around the outside, of the pole sitter, into the Esses chicane, the fastest part of the circuit, on the brakes to take 6th place. However the move halted his progress as it caused a gap to the next car.

Race 2 and straight from the off James was stuck in a 10 way battle for the lead but as the race got further in frustrations grew, coming to a climax on lap 3 where, Josh Hill, son of 1996 Formula 1 World Champion, went for a desperate move into the second part of the Esses chicane, hitting James’ wheel. This threw Hill up into the air, breaking his suspension and putting him out of the race, the impact also bent James’ rear suspension, leaving him to struggle with a badly handling car. James struggled round for the next 4 laps only dropping one place until he was hit by another bit of bad luck, he picked up a puncture from the debris left from the incident. This forced a pit stop, something that does not normally happen in Formula Ford, this being the first one of the year, for a tyre change. James finished the race in last position due to the puncture, put managed to set 5th fastest lap on his spare tyre and bent suspension.

James said, “The weekend was looking so good from qualifying and practice, even in race 1 it was still going well. Unfortunately bad luck hit in race 2, but that’s racings ‘ups and downs’. I am still very happy with my pace in race 2 despite everything being against me and I am now looking forward to the race next weekend at Brands Hatch.”