Kart star Ashley Sutton to join Connor Mills at Meridian Motorsport for 2014Third driver signed and to be announced soonTeam championship title targeted by Meridian with its race-winning Mygale EcoBoost chassis

Formula Ford team Meridian Motorsport is to triple its strength and field a three-car team in 2014, it is confirmed today. The Essex-based squad will run EcoBoost Mygales for championship returnee Connor Mills, who will be joined by talented karting graduate Ashley Sutton and by a third exciting talent whose identity will be revealed soon.

Meridian’s signings were announced on the Ford stand at the Autosport International racing car show, which opened today at Birmingham’s NEC, the team confirming that it has secured the chassis which did the bulk of the winning in the 2013 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain – Dan Cammish’s car, which was victorious in 24 races, as well as Juan Rosso’s ex-Jamun Racing Mygale, which won three times.

Meridian principal Paul Abercrombie is excited about the driver line-up and his team’s prospects for the coming season of live-televised BTCC support races: “It’s great to have finalised our line-up so soon and it gives us the opportunity to get ahead with preparing the cars ready to hit the ground running as early as possible.

“The three cars are being stripped back and rebuilt now, and we plan a fly-away test, probably to Spain or Portugal, for the end of this month, and then to get our UK test programme underway in February. I’m hopeful that we will get good results: Connor has half a season of experience under his belt and Ashley has shown great speed in karts and will adapt quickly, I am sure. Our third driver, whose identity we cannot reveal just yet, is an equally exciting prospect.

“Our major aim is to win the teams championship, and I am hoping that by securing what are technically two of the strongest cars from last season that it will give us a short-cut on development times that will put us ahead. Meridian Motorsport is delighted to be returning to Formula Ford, and I must say that the levels of interest we continue to see from young drivers gives up hope of a strong grid for 2014.”

Connor Mills turned 17 this week. The Upminster, Essex-based racer made an encouraging single-seater debut in Formula Ford in 2013, contesting four of the season’s second-half meetings with Meridian; a Scholarship class podium and overall seventh-place finish in the final round at Brands Hatch was his best result. Prior to joining Formula Ford, Connor enjoyed a successful karting career; he was the winner in 2012 of the Super One Winter, British and British Open Championships as well as the London Cup, and is supported by the Arden Young Driver development programme.

Said Connor: “Last year was like a long test session for me and the team for this coming season – I think we encountered and solved pretty much every problem that can go wrong with the car, and I learned a lot about the circuits, the aerodynamics and the slick tyres. It’s made me much more confident.” Mills is combining his racing activities with studies at Loughborough for an Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence.

Ashley Sutton, 20 next week, started in karts at the age of eight and secured several title victories on his way to a championship triple header in 2007, when he won the Minimax Super One, Formula Kart Stars and British Open titles. He made his single-seater debut in 2010 in Formula Vee, claiming three race wins on his way to the Rookie title, but has been out of the cockpit since summer 2011 after suffering injury in a road car accident.

“The car crash put me out for two seasons, and it has been a long recovery road,” said Essex-based Ashley. “I’m really looking forward to getting back to racing, and I was very impressed with the car when I tested with Meridian – I was shocked by how much grip it had and how much power; I really, really enjoyed the car.”

Championship Manager Sam Roach of RacingLine said of Meridian’s signings: “We are really pleased to see Meridian Motorsport underlining its faith in Formula Ford with a three-car team for the coming season. They are all very talented drivers and will I am sure be making a big impression from the outset.”

The opening rounds of the 2014 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain will take place at Brands Hatch, alongside the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, over the weekend of 29/30 March. There will be 30 BTCC-supporting races next season, with live coverage on ITV4. The championship boasts a £30,000 cash prize fund.