Simon Rudd joins championship with Falcon MotorsportFormula Ford’s Road To Indy prizewinner to be announcedThe concluding rounds of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship are all set to provide another batch of unpredictable thrills at Brands Hatch this weekend (12/13 Oct). Last month’s Silverstone races provided three different first-time race winners, and the field is so evenly matched that calling a victor ahead of the final rounds is pretty much impossible.
Although the overall championship title is already decided (Dan Cammish wrapped it up at Rockingham after 24 straight wins) and the Scholarship Cup crown has been secured by 17-year-old rookie Harrison Scott, there are still important prizes yet to be decided.
Not the least of these is the recipient of the Mazda Road To Indy award, which offers an all-expenses-paid trip to the USA to take a free full-day test in a USF2000 single-seater, as well as a further full day’s testing in a Pro Mazda car. The winner will be chosen by a panel of experts from British and US racing and is set to be announced at Brands Hatch.
Scott, who claimed his maiden car-racing victory in the third of the Silverstone races, is among the Road To Indy hopefuls; the Falcon Motorsport driver is also intent on securing overall championship second at Brands Hatch. He’s currently a healthy 64 points ahead of Jamun Racing’s Juan Rosso, but he knows that a non-finish in one or more of the Brands races could cost him dear.
Falcon Motorsport will field a further two Mygales at Brands, with Luke Reade - son of Brands Hatch memorabilia shop owner Alex - again at the wheel of one of them and championship newcomer Simon Rudd in the other. It will be a home match for Chatham-based Rudd, 24, who has extensive karting experience.
“It’s a great opportunity to try something different,” said Simon. “I haven't driven the car yet, but I hope that I will be able to quickly adjust to it early on Friday during practice and make strides over the whole weekend. It’s the final round and everyone wants to finish the year on a high - so let’s see what happens. I’m looking forward to working with Luke. We are good mates and hopefully we can help each other over the weekend. Obviously we will want to beat each other, but I’m hoping to learn a few things that he has picked up and I’m sure that he will thinking the same. I'd like to say a massive thank you to Falcon Motorsport and Jackson Lifts for making this possible and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Argentina’s Rosso heads for Brands hoping to emulate his team-mate Jayde Kruger, another of the Silverstone victors, and end his season with a first Formula Ford race win at Rochester-based Jamun’s home circuit.
The third of the Silverstone winners was champion Cammish’s JTR team-mate Camren Kaminsky, and the talented young American performed strongly at Brands Hatch in March, twice finishing on the podium. Sam Brabham, son of triple Le Mans winner David, led all three Silverstone races and made the podium twice; he will be keen to end his rookie season of car racing with a victory on a track which honours his grandfather’s great name. Alongside Brabham and Kaminsky at JTR, in the Mygale vacated by Cammish, will again be 19-year-old Max Marshall, who impressed with his qualifying pace at Silverstone.
The other confirmed entries for the weekend are from Andy Richardson, the ex-Ginetta racer, who will be out to end his season on a high note in the family-run Mygale; James Abbott, whose progress at the wheel of the Radical Motorsport Mygale has been impressive of late; and 16-year-old Essex driver Connor Mills, who has shown great promise since making his Formula Ford debut in the summer at Snetterton with Meridian Motorsport.
In a change to the usual format, there are two Formula Ford races on Saturday at Brands Hatch, with the last round scheduled for a mid-Sunday afternoon live ITV4 slot.
Provisional placings after Round 271 Dan CAMMISH / GBR (Leeds) 7392 Harrison SCOTT / GBR (Althorne) 5633 Juan ROSSO / ARG 4994 Nico MARANZANA / ARG 4485 Sam BRABHAM / GBR (Henley) 4376 James ABBOTT / GBR (Thurlby) 406 etc
Scholarship class1 Harrison SCOTT / GBR 4432 Nico MARANZANA / ARG 3463 Sam BRABHAM / GBR 3304 Andrew RICHARDSON / GBR (Grantham) 2075 Connor MILLS / GBR (Upminster) 656 Luke READE / GBR (Keston) 62 etc
Brands Hatch provisional timetableFriday 11 October 1130 & 1610 testingSaturday 12 October 0925 qualifying, 1350 Round 28, 1710 Round 29Sunday 13 October 1500 Round 30
Live timing www.tsl-timing.com
TV Live coverage from Brands Hatch Sunday 13th 1045-1830 ITV4
