FORMULA FORD ON
TRACK FOR A GREAT 2011
19 November
2010: Formula Ford stars of future seasons joined the top
drivers from this year's Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of
Great Britain on track yesterday to underline the continuing
success of the world's longest running and most successful race
series for novices.
Rockingham was the
venue for the annual Formula Ford Sampler Day, an opportunity for
teams old and new to meet and test some of the young hopefuls
looking to give their single-seater careers the best possible
start. The day provided an opportunity also for the front-runners
from 2010 to claim a valuable prize - a test with a leading
Formula 3 team.
Among the 20 or so
drivers who took to the circuit were some successful karters
looking to make the step into Formula Ford. Jordan Chamberlain,
the 18-year-old British Kart Grand Prix winner, sampled several
different chassis. "It's been a great opportunity," said
Jordan, "and I want to thank everyone who made it possible
for me. Formula Ford is very much an option for me for 2011."
Jordan's test was a prize for victory in the Trent Valley Kart
Club's summer Kartmasters event.
Twenty-year-old
Josh Fielding, British KF2 kart champ in 2009, is another looking
to make it on to the Formula Ford grid after sampling single-seaters
for the first time this season in USF2000. He was joined on track
by Senior Max karter Ben Lancaster and 16-year-old junior kart
star Chris McCarthy.
Laura Koivuluoma,
this year's runner-up in the Finnish KF1 kart series, tested with
Linton Stuteley's Enigma Motorsport team under the watchful eye of
seasoned British championship contender, and Finnish Formula Ford
Champion, Antti Buri.
Sean Walkinshaw,
the 17-year-old son of Scottish motor sport legend Tom, enjoyed
his maiden single-seater laps at the wheel of Century Motorsport's
Juno chassis. "I have done some karting before," said
Sean, "but this is my first time in a Formula Ford, and I'm
loving it." Sean's father started his track career in Formula
Ford, winning the Scottish title in 1969 before moving on to
racing touring cars and sports cars, and to F1 team management.
Among the other
teams in action were multiple championship-winning squad Jamun,
Nick Tandy's JTR, DW Racing and Fluid.
A team new to the
championship, Advent Motorsport, was also at Rockingham to
publicise its planned involvement in 2011. Team boss Andrew
Crighton hopes to run two Fluid-built Van Diemens in the series.
"Formula Ford is where I started, and I love it," he
said. "I have wanted to contest the championship for many
years and I'm delighted that this opportunity has now presented
itself." Advent has enjoyed a 10-year run of success in
saloon championships such as T-Cars, the Mini Challenge, SEAT
Cupra Challenge and Abarth Trofeo.
Among the drivers
with the biggest grins were 2010 championship runner-up Scott
Malvern and third-place finisher Daniel Cammish, who were given
their maiden laps in Formula 3 cars run by Motul Team West-Tec, a
National class-winning team from British F3 as well as a
title-winning squad in the European F3 Open Championship.
Malvern drove a
Mugen Honda-engined Dallara chassis to UK specification, while
Cammish sampled the team's Euro-spec car. "It was my first
time in a Formula 3 car," said Malvern, "and it was
interesting to compare it with the F2 car I tested recently - they
are very different machines. There was a lot to take in, and it
was great experience." Malvern's career plans are progressing
while he awaits the outcome of the judges' deliberations in the
£100,000 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, in which he was one of the
six finalists.
Cammish was
delighted also: "Formula 3 is where I hope to be next
year," said the Yorkshireman, "so this test was a great
opportunity for me. The F3 car is so different in terms of
downforce, braking and grip, that it takes some getting used to.
Every bit of experience is vital."
Motul Team
West-Tec's John Miller was impressed by both men: "We have
approached this as a serious day of testing, with data logging and
debriefing, and the drivers have been professional in their
approach also. It's been a valuable day for them and they are both
clearly very talented and have great futures."
Young drivers
attending the sampler day not only had the chance to try the cars
but also to take advantage of seminars aimed at helping them with
their careers, including sponsorship and presentation, as well as
technical advice from Dunlop.
Sam Roach, of
championship promoter RacingLine, summed up the successful
Rockingham sampler day: "It's been a valuable day for all
concerned - for the teams looking for talent for the coming
season, for Scott and Daniel, who have gained useful,
career-enhancing experience, and most of all for the young drivers
looking to make a good, solid start to their racing careers. We
are very pleased with how things have gone."
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