Qualifying versus racingChris van der Drift showed his overtaking skills once again in round 13 at Brands Hatch, climbing from thirteenth to fourth in the 21-lap race. The season has seen the J.D. Motorsport driver start races from pole (Oschersleben) to the very back (Valencia), making the 21-year-old something of an expert at scything his way up the Formula Master field.  Chris van der DriftChris van der Drift, 21, J.D. Motorsport“This weekend’s qualifying was a typical case of wrong-place-wrong-time for me. The first part was good but then I had red flags on one of my runs, which stopped me from improving my times. After that, I had to be careful as there were yellow flags and on my final run I had the chequered flag on my fast lap! “I don’t think there is anything in particular that is wrong about how I qualify; Anderstorp was good and so was Oschersleben, but I’ve had my share of bad luck or mistakes throughout the season too. “Having raced both from pole and from low down on the grid, I’d definitely say that the way you race is very different depending on whether you start from the front or not. When you start on pole, you’ve already half won the race and then the fight is to keep everyone behind you and not lose concentration. “When you are coming through the field, the challenge is about keeping your rhythm and recognising when you have reached drivers that are as fast as you. From the back of the field, some cars tend to be slower than you so it’s quite easy to pass them. Once you get closer to the top, you need to approach them slightly more carefully.” Hard racing from Michael Meadows at Brands HatchSpinning around British driver Michael Meadows’ first Formula Master race was cut short on Saturday with the 20-year-old Euronova Racing driver spinning out of round 13 shortly after the start. Fighting hard for position, Meadows was attempting to catch third placed Norbert Siedler when he spun and hit a barrier, breaking his rear wing in the process. Michael MeadowsMichael Meadows, 20, Euronova Racing“It was my error unfortunately. I was behind Siedler and thought I could get closer but the rear of the car started sliding and it caught me out. I probably would have been OK after a few more laps on the track when the tyres were up to their best temperature but unfortunately that didn’t happen! “It’s such a shame because I know we had the pace and had I passed Siedler I would have definitely been challenging Gatto as much as possible. I would have loved to have been at the top, racing D’Ambrosio! I don’t think Gatto was racing to beat him; I think he was busy making sure he kept second place, which is fair enough.”Note to editors  To download the image(s) embedded in this press release, follow the link and save to your desktop. As an exciting new single-seater series, IFM offers young, aspiring drivers the chance to prove themselves on an international stage (as it is part of the FIA World Touring Car Championship race weekend package), training and preparing them for the highest echelons of single-seater racing in front of a global TV audience provided by Eurosport.

Featuring N.Technology’s Formula S2000 race car with electric gearshift and clutch paddles and advanced aerodynamics, the car weighs just 550kg including the driver and runs on control tyres by Yokohama. It has already secured 2008 FIA homologation approval – a world first – and has generated excitement from all sectors thanks to its dynamic styling, light-weight body and powerful engine.