Andy Richardson was left to look to the positives as the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain headed to Knockhill for the seventh meeting of the year after suffering arguably the most challenging weekend of his single-seater career to date.
As one of only two drivers in the field to have competed at the Scottish circuit in the past, the South Lincolnshire-based 22-year-old headed into the event in confident mood as he looked to add to an ever growing collection of silverware.
Having used the Friday practice sessions to work on the set-up of his Richardson Racing-run Ford EcoBoost-powered Mygale, Andy qualified seventh on the grid for the opening race of the weekend.
As has been the norm throughout his career to date, Andy made one of the best starts in the field when the lights went out and was making up places on the run to turn one when he was unceremoniously dumped into the gravel following contact from rival Camren Kaminsky.
With his damaged car repaired for the second race, Andy lined up eighth on the grid and a solid opening lap saw him quickly move into the top six. Despite lapping strongly in the early stages of the race, Andy began to suffer with overheating tyres as the race wore on and eventually took the flag in seventh spot.
Again starting eighth for the final race of the weekend, Andy’s race would be something of a repeat of race two, with overheating tyres again limiting his performance on track as he took the flag in eighth.
Andy heads away from the weekend sitting eighth in the championship standings and fourth amongst the Scholarship Class runners.
“Obviously I was hoping for more from the weekend, and this is the first time I’ve headed home from a circuit without at least one piece of silverware to my name which is a bit disappointing,” he said. “However, I also think this is a weekend where the results on paper aren’t a fair reflection of how good our car was.
“The opening race was hugely frustrating as I got away from the line well and then the next thing I knew, I was going backwards into the gravel at turn one. In both race two and race three, we had decent pace in the car in the early stages but we just couldn’t get the tyres working right and that hurt me as the laps went on.
“The car felt the best it has been all year but the problems with the tyres prevented me from benefitting from it, and that is something we need to make sure isn’t repeated at Rockingham. This weekend has also shown me a few things that I need to adapt in my driving style compared to the Ginettas I’ve raced previously, and we’ve got to work to make sure everything comes together for us next time out.”
