UK Formula Ford Championship
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BRANDS_GP |  |
KNOCKHILL | |
SILVERSTONE | |
THRUXTON | |
COMBE |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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OULTON |  |
DONINGTON |  |
SNETTERTON | |
BRANDS | |
ROCKINGHAM | |
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Graham's weblog: 22th May: Donington  Rounds 3 and 4 of the UK Formula Ford Championship were at Donington Park on the 20th and 21st of May. After helping out at rounds 1and 2 at Oulton Park, I was keen to stay involved and volunteered my services to Kenny and David. The car has had lots of work done to it since the first round, and everyone was hoping for a good showing. Both of them had managed to get down to Donington for a test the previous week and it was lucky that they did, as David did not get much running on race weekend. I say race “weekend”, but the truth is that these meetings are lasting 4 or more days. In the future this will be a major problem for the team as there are 5 meetings in seven weekends. As much as I would love to do all the rounds there is no way I can, given all the other commitments that I have.The test on Thursday got off to a poor start when the first Formula Ford out, dropped oil all the way round the track. The session was then abandoned while the track was treated. The next session went well, and David was onto his pace very quickly. He found a little extra in the second session, so things were looking good for qualifying on the Saturday. Friday was to be a day off for the older members of the team, (Kenny and I have been on this planet for a century between us.) because there was no testing available, and David had flown home on Thursday night to sit an exam on the Friday. We had the car to check over, and awning sides to put up. When we awoke on Friday, it was pouring with rain so we decided to go to the Donington collection for a drool. Drool we did, and enjoyed all the exhibits. QUALIFYING. Disaster for Scotland! After a good test in the dry we had a downpour as the cars lined up for the start of qualifying. A quick change of tyres and suspension settings, and David was away. A drying track meant that your last lap was most likely to be your best time. The stop watch proved the theory but on our last lap poor David became involved in someone else’s mishap and returned to the pits on the back of a recovery truck. There was a fair bit of damage and a poor time as a result of losing the last lap of qualifying. We managed to get the car repaired in time for the race thanks to Van Dieman having a parts van in attendance at every round. We were also lucky that David Robertson, an old friend and Rotor JT 3 owner, turned up and helped us out. We made the race with 2 minutes to spare after a thorough strip and check, together with a quick set up. Race one The race went well with David climbing from 20th to 13th before disaster struck. Safe in second place in the Scholarship class, he should have held station, but whilst racing with a Duratec class car, David got punted onto the grass and the delay dropped him to the tail of the field. Sadly, in true Scottish tradition, we managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A very disappointing result. Race two. Heavy rain made the race a lottery and poor David did not get on well. His visor steamed up and he had great difficulty seeing where he was going. He made the finish, but due to various problems, never showed his full potential. The car was in one piece at the finish and bearing in mind the trauma that we had already endured, it is safe to say that we were happy with that. Next race: SNETTERTON |
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