Talented teenage motor racing prospect Ollie Pidgley made good progress on his single-seater race debut at Donington Park National Circuit over the weekend, 18th/19th April, during rounds four, five and six of the prestigious new MSA Formula championship.Chalking up a best result of 14th position from the third and final race of the weekend on Sunday afternoon, the Downton 17-year-old improved throughout his first race meeting in ‘open wheel’ competition and is now targeting bigger strides forward for the next event on home soil at Thruxton.“Before I came into this weekend I said I just wanted to get three finishes, because we hadn’t had any track time at all, so I’m pleased with that”, said the MSA Academy racer, “I just needed to get as many laps under my belt as I could this weekend, from that objective it’s all been good and it’s been great working with everyone at Richardson Racing. I’m feeling very positive for the rest of the year.”While plans to be on the MSA Formula grid for the category’s inaugural event at Brands Hatch two weeks ago didn’t come to fruition, Ollie managed to agree a deal with the Richardson Racing team prior to this weekend’s trip to Donington Park and gelled immediately with the Grantham squad.Unfortunately the build-up to his first race meeting in single-seaters wasn’t as smooth as the former Michelin Clio Cup Race Series competitor had hoped – missing a fair chunk of the officially timed test with a lambda sensor issue and then encountering troubles with the wiring loom in qualifying.Beginning the first race on Saturday afternoon from 20th position on the grid, Ollie initially slipped back a place but soon got into a rhythm and reduced his lap times. By lap 10 he was back into the 20, he then moved into 18th position two laps later and by the end of lap 14 he was into 17th. On the last lap, Ollie then assumed 16th position and at the flag he was just 0.194 seconds shy of the top 15.Starting round five on Sunday from his finishing position of the day before, Ollie was bundled back to the tail of the field during a hectic first five laps but recovered strongly thereafter and worked his way back into 17th place by lap 12. Although nudged back a couple of spots during the final quarter of the race, he claimed 17th on the last lap to again post an important race finish.Round six was the highlight of the weekend for the series newcomer, despite facing a tough challenge from 21st on the grid, and after negotiating a chaotic opening lap – managing to avoid contact as several cars came to grief at the Old Hairpin – Ollie rocketed into 14th position.Following a four lap Safety Car period, the action resumed on lap six and although edged back three places Ollie recovered well. Taking 16th place on lap nine, he gained another position a lap later when Sennan Fielding pitted and he then moved into 14th on the next tour to cap a strong showing.“It was good to end the weekend with our best result, I’ve been getting a lot more comfortable with the car, more settled, but there’s obviously a lot I still have to work on”, he added, “Thursday testing could have been more productive, but we had a few problems which weren’t anyone’s fault – just little things going wrong which you expect with a new car.“If we’d had more time on track on the test day then I think we could have been further up the order in qualifying but that’s just the way it was, overall I’m pleased though. It’s important now to work towards three more finishes at Thruxton and then keep building from there.”Rounds seven, eight and nine of the MSA Formula season will take place at Ollie’s ‘home’ circuit, Thruxton near Andover, three weeks from now over the weekend 9th/10th May.One week earlier, on Saturday, 2nd May, Ollie's race car will be on display at the local Downton 'Cuckoo Fair' which is regularly attended by around 8,000 people. Having run for over 35 years, the free-to-enter annual event is extremely popular and features as many as 250 stalls, crafts and local businesses.Alongside Ollie's MSA Formula car, a variety of promotional materials will be available and footage of his racing will be screened - adding something a little bit different to this popular and well-supported Wiltshire day out.