| For
immediate release
BATTLE ROYAL
AHEAD FOR FORMULA FORD
6 April, 2009: A
superb season in prospect - that's the verdict on the MSA Formula
Ford Championship of Great Britain, which gets underway at Oulton
Park over the Easter weekend (11-13 Apr) with a healthy grid and
an array of young driver talent.
Of the 24
championship entrants only five drivers have any great experience
of the Ford-backed championship, and that, say seasoned watchers,
will help make for a fascinating confrontation.
James Beckett,
founder and creator of the successful Walter Hayes Trophy for
Formula Ford cars, can't wait for the battle to begin: "The
grid is very strong this year, and that's a good thing at a time
when other championships are suffering. Formula Ford has
traditionally been seen as a stepping stone to greater things, and
that is still very much the case. All power to it."
Underlining
Beckett's point, five drivers on the grid for this year's Cooper
Tires British F3 International Series have graduated there after
Formula Ford experience. Notable among their number is the
reigning Formula Ford Champion, Wayne Boyd, whose stellar
performances in 2008 earned him a top F3 drive.
Beckett, a Formula
Ford watcher for more than 30 years, says he believes the big
battle of the year will be between the Jamun Racing Services and
JTR teams. Jamun, whose Mygales have powered the champions for the
last four seasons, fields a three-car squad headed by 20-year-old
MSA British Race Academy member James Cole, who already has a year
of Formula Ford under his belt. Alongside Cole is Ireland's
Patrick McKenna, and 18-year-old Josh Hill, son of 1996 World
Champion Damon and grandson of double World Champion Graham. It
will be Josh's first taste of single-seater racing.
JTR's twin-Mygale
attack, meanwhile, features experienced Dutch driver Liroy Stuart
and American sensation Josef Newgarden, who blitzed the opposition
in the Kent division of the Formula Ford Festival last year,
winning on his UK debut.
"I can see it
being a real battle between Jamun and JTR," says Beckett.
"I have been enormously impressed by Josef - I believe he is
the real deal, and in a good car he is going to be difficult to
beat. But Jamun have good drivers too and the winning pedigree. I
think Josh Hill will be one to watch: he has a level head and will
be on the pace by mid-season at the latest."
No Mygale monopoly
is likely however: the Fluid Motorsport Van Diemens, to be piloted
by Ireland's Peter Barrable, Ben Barker, the very experienced
Garry Findlay and 16-year-old Brazilian Fabio Gamberini, pose a
major threat. "The Van Diemen was the car to have at the end
of last season and may still be," says Beckett. "You can
never rule out Van Diemen."
Justifying the
"free chassis" rules that underpin Formula Ford, an
amazing seven different chassis manufacturers will be represented
this season: in addition to Mygale and Van Diemen, there will be
Rays, a Spirit, an MTEC (born from last season's Comtec chassis),
the new Juno, which will be driven by talented 2008 Scholarship
Class victor Chrissy Palmer, and a trio of Australian-made
Spectrums from the Kevin Mills Racing team.
One of last year's
quick men, Welsh 20-year-old Alex Jones, is set to make an
impression for KMR, as is Daniel Erickson, a frontrunner in
Australian Formula Ford. Promising kart star Dan Cammish completes
the Spectrum line-up.
Dutchman Rogier de
Wit enjoyed a sporadically successful 2008 with JTR. He has now
switched to the Getem team, a race-winning outfit in '07 and '08,
and he and his Mygale ought to flourish.
There are new and
returning teams to watch out for also, like DW Racing, which
brings saloon racer Darelle Wilson to the grid; Enigma Motorsport,
formed by competitor Linton Stuteley to field a car for promising
single-seater winner Jason Mills; and GV Racing, whose protégé,
16-year-old Spaniard Jordi Cunill, will benefit from the guidance
of former champion Michael Vergers.
Meanwhile, the
return of the Minister name to the championship - as a team and as
an engine tuner - will give 22-year-old Dan de Zille, son of the
1983 BP Superfind Junior Formula Ford Champion Graham, his maiden
outings.
Others to watch out
for include the works Ray for Indian driver Zaamin Jaffer; flying
Finn Antti Buri with the MTEC; kart star Luke Williams with his
family run Ray; Mark Harper and his Inter Motorsport Van Diemen
and Kieran Vernon, the multiple kart champion and another MSA Race
Academy member, in his Wrensport-prepared Spirit.
Oulton Park plays
host to three Formula Ford races - one on Saturday afternoon, the
remainder on Easter Monday. |
