UK Formula Ford Championship
 |
BRANDS_GP |  |
KNOCKHILL | |
SILVERSTONE | |
THRUXTON | |
COMBE |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
OULTON |  |
DONINGTON | |
SNETTERTON | |
BRANDS | |
ROCKINGHAM | |
Graham's weblog: 18th April: Oulton
My season has started. A trip to Oulton Park for the UK Formula Ford Scholarship got things underway in what I hope will become a very enjoyable year.
The UK Formula Ford Scholarship
Kenny Brown, a former JT3 owner, had been in touch to say that his son David was hoping to become involved in the newly launched UK Formula Ford Scholarship. Formula Ford, once the best of all the junior formulae, had slipped recently, and poor entries caused by the Zetec cars being difficult to drive, has meant poor grids and a lack of interest over the past few seasons. For 2006, Ford have introduced a new set of technical regulations that changes the engine used to the Ford 1600 Duratec. This engine is much lighter than the previous 1800 Zetec and gives the cars better weight distribution and should make the cars better fun to drive. For this transitional year the Championship is allowing Duratec and Zetec cars to take part, and Kenny has managed to put a deal together that gives David a chance to learn the circuits in the cheaper Zetec class with a view of moving to the Duratec class if funding can be found. The Formula Ford series is part of the F3/GT package and the first round was at Oulton Park on the full circuit. It might be a hobby for me but it is a serious business for the other teams involved.
The Team
David Brown is only seventeen. He recently passed his driving test and his experience of cars is limited. A strong showing in the world of Karting and a few outings, - and race wins I hasten to add, - in a Jedi 600 proved that he has talent, but the move to National Formula Ford is a big one. Finance is tight and so a season with a big budget team is out of the question. Kenny has managed to secure the use of a 2001 Van Dieman that he intends running himself with help from friends and associates such as me.
Qualifying
Thursday saw open testing for the Ford cars with 4 sessions available, then on Friday there was a half hour session for the Formula Ford entries. Saturday was qualifying in the morning followed by a race in the afternoon. The meeting finished with a second race on Easter Monday meaning 5 days away and a great deal of commitment for all involved.
As expected it took a while for David to learn the circuit. The long circuit is not for the faint hearted and the boy was on a vertical learning curve. He did well and every time he went out he improved his times. The car however was not going well and on Friday the gearbox, starter, exhaust and an engine mount caused us trouble. We begged help from all and sundry and managed to keep the car going. We were rewarded with a few glimpses of the youngster’s speed, which made things worthwhile.
Race 1
Despite qualifying last, which had never happened to him before, he got stuck in, and in the first race passed a couple of cars and finished 4th in class.
Race 2
On Monday he did even better in the race and found another second, which shows that he is nowhere near his limit and is learning fast. His race speed is impressive and he knows how to race, and more importantly how to overtake. As a football manager might say "the boy done good" It was a great showing and a good start to his campaign. It was a great 5 days and I was delighted to be involved. Our efforts were rewarded when Kenny and I won a bottle of Champagne for the hardest working mechanics at the Ford prize giving.
The next round is at Donington on the 21st of May, I hope I have enough brownie points to go !!!! Rotor Reunion
While at Oulton I met many people across the race classes but by a strange quirk there were a few folk involved in the meeting who had also ben involved with Rotor Racing in the past.
We start with David Brown. His father Kenny raced the Rotor JT3, the car that had been built for Stewart Roden, team principal of Secuderia Ecosse. The senior race engineer of Ecosse is Stuart Robertson who won the Formula Ford class in the Scottish Sprint Championship in 1996 in the very same Rotor JT3. Despite being very busy we all met on the Sunday and had a natter about the JT3, which I built for the 1985 season.
Stewart Roden and his team won both GT races in the team's new Ferrari F430 car.
Next race: DONINGTON
