Harrison Scott justified his status as one of Britain’s brightest up and coming racing drivers by not only being crowned Dunlop MSA Formula Ford vice-champion, but also Mazda Road To Indy Formula Ford Driver of the Year at the Brands Hatch season finale last weekend (October 11-13).
While his pair of class victories and second place finish in the weekend’s three races capped off a dominant Scholarship title-winning campaign, it was the manner of his performances throughout 2013 against more experienced opposition that impressed the panel of UK and US racing experts overseeing the Road To Indy accolade.
The prize, traditionally awarded to the championship’s most promising driver, sees Scott head to Alabama in December where he will sample both USF2000 and Pro Mazda single-seaters over two days of running. That’s on top of his end-of-season test at the wheel of an Airwaves Racing Ford Focus BTCC racer for winning the Scholarship title at Silverstone last month.
“The most important thing this year was to make a strong transition from karts to cars, so needless to say ending the season as Scholarship champion and second overall is something to be extremely proud of,” said Scott. “That my performances should be recognised by the Driver of the Year panel is the icing on the cake, really!
“I can’t wait to get out there and try the USF2000 and Pro Mazda cars. I haven’t sat down to discuss next season yet but I certainly want to step up and that could be in the States, so it’s important that I do a good job during the two-day test. More and more British drivers are moving there to further their single-seater careers and that’s definitely an option for me too. I know teams will be watching closely.”
Last weekend saw Scott make it 27 Scholarship Class podiums in 30 races this year thanks to his 12th and 13th victories, as well as a second place finish. With the track still wet at the start of Saturday’s qualifying the Falcon Motorsport driver opted to sit tight and wait for conditions to improve, only to then happen upon oil dropped by another car, which hampered his own run.
But lining up fifth for Saturday’s opening race proved of little significance to the Essex teenager, who set fastest lap en route to finishing second on the road and first in Scholarship after passing James Abbott on the final tour.
It was a similar story later that day when Scott picked up three positions from where he had started to again finish as top rookie in third overall. After dispensing with Simon Rudd at Surtees, he and Abbott went on to enjoy a race-long duel that finally went the way of Harrison three laps from home. More importantly the 24 points that went with it were enough to make him vice-champion for 2013.
Sunday’s final race of the season saw Scott recover from an early spin to battle his way back up to fifth overall, before being informed of his Road To Indy Driver of the Year award in parc fermé live on TV.
“That was kind of cool,” he explained. “I had no idea until Louise Goodman told me I’d been selected. What a way to end the season!”
On top of being crowned Driver of the Year, Scholarship winner and vice-champion, Scott also picked up a rather poignant award – the Joe Tandy Memorial Trophy – which each year is presented to the series’ top rookie in memory of the JTR team’s late founder. “Honestly, I was lost for words,” added Scott. “It’s such a special trophy. I was too young to know Joe but have heard nothing but great things about him within Formula Ford circles. My sincere thanks go to the Tandy family and JTR team.”
