Falcon Motorsport’s week-long test in southern Spain sees six young Formula Ford hopefuls put through their paces
The Falcon Motorsport team yesterday (Friday) completed a successful five-day driver evaluation test at the Guadix circuit in southern Spain. Six young prospects for the 2014 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain tested the squad’s three EcoBoost chassis, and team boss Nick Streatfield professed himself delighted by the results.
“It has been the perfect test session,” said Nick. “We have had exclusive use of the circuit every day, and the weather has been absolutely fabulous all week, like an English summer’s day – perfect for testing. We have covered hundreds of laps, and the drivers have got what they needed: time in the car.”
Multiple karting champion Ricky Collard, 17, drove one of Falcon’s Mygales every day at Guadix, and he was joined during the week by fellow karters Chris Mealin, Harrison Wignall and Max Cornelius. Australian Formula Ford racer Greg Holloway was another regular at the test, with 2013 Formula Ford Scholarship Champion Harrison Scott enjoying two days at Guadix ahead of his Stateside Mazda Road To Indy USF2000 and Pro Mazda tests.
“We had Ollie Hancock with us to assist with driver coaching,” added Streatfield, “and in all it proved to be a very good week – they all set some good times and impressed us with their approach to the test, and we are going home with some very happy drivers who are keen to step up to Formula Ford next year, which is what we set out to achieve.”
Ricky Collard was delighted by his progress: “Harrison Scott set a benchmark time before he left for the USA, and I have been chipping away at it all week. Obviously track conditions have got a bit better, and I have progressed as a driver, learning a lot about the car and the team, and I ended up a second faster. Really it has been one of the best tests I’ve ever had, and I’m so grateful to Falcon for the opportunity. Fantastic track, fantastic weather, fantastic team… fantastic everything.”
Max Cornelius was delighted by his outing also: “I loved it; it was really nice to get out to a different country and test. I loved the Formula Ford, the track was brilliant and the team really good. We got a nice little session in and got up to the speed we wanted, bang on the money. I’d very much like to be doing Formula Ford next year, but of course everything depends on finding the sponsorship.”
Formula Ford 2014 will feature 30 races at 10 rounds alongside the biggest attraction in UK motorsport, the British Touring Car Championship. The championship will boast live coverage on ITV4, as well as bumper trackside spectator attendance, and boasts a £30,000 cash prize fund.
