Kieran Vernon's blog

After a strong start to the season at Oulton I was keen to prove that we are one to contend with all season, currently lying 2nd in the Scolarship class and 10th in the main championship.

Qualifying went very well, having had a hard time in qualifying at Oulton, we managed to qualify 1.2 seconds off the pace. This seemed a great achievement, however we were still only 16th on the grid, the Formula Ford grid seemingly very close this weekend!

Race one I bogged down at the start, however managed to pick a few cars off to move up the field. a safety car due to a stationary car on track, closed the field up. We had changed the setup of the car to give some more front end grip, however we seemed to go too far as we had alot of oversteer, and it was very difficult to get the power down out the the last corner onto the oval. I found it difficult to keep up with the three cars infront, as I lied in 15th position.

With the laps dying down the battle infront got more intense, and I managed to close in, and made a move down the inside into the hairpin comeing off the banking with 2 laps remaining. immediateley after, the two cars infront went wide, and I maneged to take 12th spot, however I was strggling for pace and had to hold the cars behind off for one lap!

Anti Burri was the car challenging, and he made a move on the last lap going into chapman. I managed to hold him arounf the outside, landing on the inside for the series of sweeping lefts, side by side we went until tarzan hairpin, where I managed to gain te advantage and keep 12th, this also gave me 2nd in class. this is where I stayed to my great relief to get another 2nd place and a convincing overall position of 12th.

Race two was much of the same however i managed to drive away from the pack i battled with this time, just holding station in 12th position ahead of Peter Barrable in the Fluid Van Diemen, and holding onto the back of Josh Hill?s Jamun Mygale. Another safety car was deployed, which closed us all up again. On the restart Hill didnt get a good jump and i drew alongside, aware that I could not pass before the start finish line. I had to make a decision as i was on the outside for the banking of the oval, which we take flat at around 135mph+. I could either tuck in behind, and lose ground of brave it round the outisde, not knowing how much grip there was on the ?high? line!

I decided braving it out was the option, and to give the spectators some action, went side by side with Josh through the banking and into the hairpin! I could not gain the place as Hill?s Mygale had too much traction to contend with, but I hung on to the back of him to retain an identical result to race one, with 2nd in class and 12th respectively in the main championship.

Race three was tough, I got a good start but a collision in turn 2 saw me on two wheels and a bent rear wishbone! I carried on racing, and had a thrilling battle for 14th position. I managed to get ahead of the pack, however coming into the final chicicane, the tracking of the rear of the car proving to make the car very unstable under breaking, saw me locked up and over the grass! losing a position to Phillipe Layac.

This was a crtitical moment of the race as Layac proved very difficult to pass, and cost me and others alot of time. It was the difference between finishing 15th, and 12th in the end as Alex Jones had a drive through penalty, and Pat Mekenna having an off in the latter stage of the race. The end result was 15th and 3rd in class, which was a little dissapointing as we could have done better!

However overall team Wrensport and I had a strong weekend, increasing the gap to 3rd in the scholarship class, and holding into 10th in the main championship. With out limited budget this is more than we could have hoped for after round 2 and 6 races of the championship!

Thanks again to Team Wrensport for working very hard on the car as always, David Brodie for visiting, and also Steve Wills for his help through the day on sunday.

Thanks to our new parters Millers Oils for their help and support.

We now look forward to a hopeful sunny Scottland at Knockhill!! I enjoyed a win here last year in the Ginettas and enjoy the track very much, lets be hopeful of another good result for everybody involved!

Kieran

Images courtesy of JDH Motorsport Photography

The first race of the season, new series, new car and a whole new experience! This season will see me race in the Scholarship Class in the MSA Formula Ford Championship Of Great Britain.

For 2009 I will be driving a Spirit WL06 prepared by Wrensport. The car itself has not got a good reputation, however Wrensport worked really hard over the winter to get the car up and running, and with such a small budget it was our only chance to make it on the grid for 2009.

Qualifying was tough as we had a suspension failure from use of the kerbs, somewhere we were really struggling as the car could not handle them, causing the suspension to break. The time posted was only good enough for 18th on the grid, which was not the way we wanted the start the season, however I kept my head up knowing that I had pace over the two cars in front.

However in race one, a great start saw me jump from 18th to 9th by the first corner! A stalled car and an incident helped in my favour, and a safety car was deployed. I did not expect to be able to maintain this position, I had very limited testing prior to the event, and had little knowldge of the track and car combination, however when the race restarted I was able to get a good restart where I was able to keep the Jamun prepared Mygale of Patrick Makenna behind me. Half way through Daniel Ericsson in the Kevin Mills Spectrum joined the battle, which saw me holding off two top team cars, which proved very difficult. I had to put the car in the right place at all times to ensure they could not get by. Our trio had managed to break away from the cars behind, so a minimum of 11th looked certain, however I was not going to give up a top 10 finish! With the race winding down to the flag I managed to hold my position, finsihing 9th overall, and 2nd in the Scholarship class, an amazing result considering our qualifying, budget and time we had before the first race!

Race two saw another good start however I was boxed in and could not really make any ground, and finished lap one in my starting position. However I managed to work my way up then field, working my way up to 3rd in class and 11th overall. To get 10th, and 2nd in class. I had to pass Jaffer in the Ray, which was proving difficult, however by sending him the wrong way into Old Hall, I managed to switch back onto the inside on the exit, taking the 10th spot on the last lap, which is where I finished. Again another amazing result!!

The last race goes on the fastest time in race 2, which saw us start 11th! This was a great suprise, and a great starting position on merit. This is where I stayed throuout the race, being involved for the battle for 7th with Josh Hill in the Jamun Mygale and also Chrissy Palmer in the Juno, however with good efforts from Ben Barker in the Fluid Van Diemen behind to get past, it made it difficult to make up ground, I managed to hold the the Fluid car, and finish 11th which was once again a very pleasing result for us, and the best weekend for a spirit in a long time!!

Many thanks to Wrensport for their hard work in preparing the car, I now look forward to Rockingham which is at the end of May, where hopefully we can be even stronger!

Last Thursday I was invited to become a member of the BRDC Rising Star Scheme. I went for an interview with Ian Titchmarsh, David Brodie and Stuart Pringle.

The interview went very well and having had a very good talk with all three members, i am now a BRDC rising star!

I am very honoured to have been selected for the scheme, and i am very excited about being a member of the BRDC, and meeting all the other members of the club. I would like to thank everybody that has enabled me to achieve this oppurtunity!

Looking ahead to this season, we are still looking at our options for Formula Ford, we will be anouncing soon our plans and what to expect in 2009!

Having finished second in the main championship this year, I was keen to take the Walter Hayes trophy, and the Ginetta winter series titles.

Starting 3rd on the grid for both races after a very close qualifying, the wet weather at Silverstone was sure to produce some great racing, which it did!

Race one I got an average start, losing a place into the first corner, however coming back round the first lap I was back in 3rd. It was a though battle between Gary Simms, Mark Davies and myself, and coming into maggots, I was lying second, only to have a big moment, running across the grass on the inside. At the same time, Mark Davies in the lead had spun on the entry onto the back straight.

This gave Gary a big lead, which was going to be very tough to close in a very short 12 lap race round the National circuit. However I managed to close in, and on lap 10 i took the lead going into copse. I had to push very hard, my car did not seem to have the straight line speed of Gary and marks cars.

The move was done and I took the flag by about 0.7 of a second to win. A great start to the weekend and put me in a good position in race two to take the title.

However it was not over just yet. Having won the first race it put me ahead on points, however i still had to beat Gary in the second race to assure the titles, as if Gary won we would have drew on points, leaving it down to who got the fastest lap to take the titles. This was too risky to settle for 2nd position.

Race two i got a good start from 3rd to move into 2nd at the first corner, this time Gary and myself pulled well clear of the rest of the field. i was pushing very hard, but in the early stages was losing the back of Gary, as I was losing time on the straights, seemingly down on power. However as Gary’s tyres wore, I started moving back in towards him, and in the closing stages of the race, it was very close. Without the power on the straight I was not able to slipstream, and had to make the move under braking, which is very difficult when it is wet, as there is more grip on the outside.

On the final lap i went for it up the inside going into Brooklands, we came out side by side having slid all over the place with no grip on the inside line. I planned to use this to go round the outside of Luffield with better drive to take him out of Luffield however there was a car in the gravel and a yellow flag, so I had to let Gary past and then pass him on the line of the green flag.

With the pressure on Gary made a big mistake, and as we came out of Luffield side by side, Gary spun, and i went off to avoid his car spearing across the front of mine! i emerged out of the gravel and the grass at Woodcote to take the flag and to win both titles, crossing the line at the slowest speed ever!

It was a perfect result, Gary came home in 3rd after his spin, it was a very tense race for everyone, but at the of the day it was all fair and everyone enjoyed it. After coming 2nd in the main championship, to have the winter series title and the Walter Hayes trophy was very pleasing.

Looking ahead to next season now, Formula Ford is the plan, hopefully starting testing soon!

My first race in single seaters, came at Brands Hatch, for the Formula Ford Festival, a very special event.

Having only got in the car on thursday, I had little time to get to grips with the car, however i managed to get on the pace of the car within two sessions.

The Van Diemen, prepared by Inter Motorsport was very good all weekend, and I feel that we all got the most out of it considering my amount of time in the car, and the cars capabilities.

Qualifying on Friday saw me qualify in 9th postion, 0.900 of the fastest, Victor Correa.

The first heat was good, as I made one postion throughout the race to finish 8th, and put me in a good position to get in the top 9 in the semi final to qualify for the final.

The semi final also went very well, from 9th on the grid I made two places to finish 7th, which put me 13th on the grid for the final, and not having to contend the last chance race, which other such as Nick Tandy and David Brown had to contest.

The final was tough, i made a good start which saw me 11th, but going into Paddock a hit from the rear saw me drop down the field, then again at Druids, i recovered in about 20th place, however I managed to fight back up to 14th, which is much higher than I expected to finish, looking at who was starting behind me.

It was a huge weekend of learning, never have I had so many options of setup, data logging, left foot braking, cluthless gear changes, 135mph, and a single seater! It was very frantic, but I managed to cope, and came out with a very strong result, which left a lot of people including John Chapman of Inter Motorsport very pleased.

I would like to thank Inter Motorsport, John Chapman and Mark Davidson for the oppurtunity to race the festival, and for the their very proffesional approach and help during the weekend.

It is my goal to race in the Duratec Formula Ford Next year.

A big thanks again to TFC and Smalley for all their support.

http://www.tfc.eu.com
http://www.intermotorsport.com

My goals were very clear for this weekend, and that was to win both races and hope that the championship may luck my way!

Strong qualifying put me 2nd and 3rd on the grid for the races.

Race one was a straight battle between Julian Barrat and myself, in slippery but drying conditions on wet tyres, tactics was the key to the race. We both pulled a strong margin against 3rd place, however Julian had pulled away in the openeing laps.

I managed to start closing him down going into one quarter distance. I then managed to catch him, and with him in my sights, i made sure i kept the tyres cool for the last four minutes of the race.

Once i saw four minutes left on the pit board i started atacking, and with that, Julian went defensive into redgate, i then switched back to the inside on the exit, and ran side by side down the craner curvs, with me on the outside and on the wet line this was very tricky, but nevertheless came out in the lead!

This was a great win for me, crossing the line after a hard fought battle, but it was spencer who took the championship finishing in 4th place. however there was still one more race to go, and i was determined to come out of the season with the most wins.

A good start off the line from me saw me take Julian into the first corner, and exiting the old hairpin, Andrew Smith spun, causing havoc behind. this left me with a 3 second lead at the end of the first lap!

Having broken the tow, i managed to increase my lead by about 2 tenths every lap, back to Julian and Spencer.

But then with my lead up to 5 seconds, coming under the Dunlop Bridge, my throttle cable snapped, a certain win was gone, which would have been my eighth win of the season.

However, all was not lost as with my win on saturday, i had secured second place in the championship.

Moving on, i competed in the Formula Ford Festival, with Inter Motorsport in a Van Diemen, that post will follow shortly.

I would like to thank TFC and Smalley, my sponsors for my support this year and i hope that i can continue a deal with them for next year, in my aspirations to compete in the Formula Ford Duratec class.

Last week i got the chance to drive a Supercharged Lotus Exige around the Stowe circuit at Silverstone. This is part of my Foundation Degree that is run at Loughborough college in association with the Race Drivers Academy.

The Lotus was a great car to drive, very responsive, fast, and very manageable. In my first session, i had Alfie beside me (race instructor). He did three demonstration laps, then i took over. The car was very easy to learn, and Alfie was ery impressed, and said hed give me 95% in my assessment, however my assessment was in my next session.

For my second session, it rained and they very kindly turned off the traction control which was very fun, but a bit of a suprise when i accelerated out of north!

In my assesment i got 95% with straight A?s throught each aspect of driving, so it was a very good day.

During the week i also learnt a lot about race car design and setup, and we also analysed the third year students when they did their runs in a Formaula Ford.

It was a very good week, i learnt alot from it and i met alot of new people. im looking forward to my next week of the course in October.

Kieran

Heading into the penultimate round of the season, i was kean to get a few more podiums and wins under my belt. With the championship looking like an outside chance, i was keen to score as many points as i could.

Pole position in a wet qualifying session was an ideal way to start the weekend, despite problems with the car getting overloaded with water.

In race one a good start by both myself and Spencer McCarthy saw us side by side for half the lap, until i claimed the lead going into the esses. As usual, swapping positions lap after lap, we both went side by side into Gerrards, where we both breaked a little too late.

Being on the outside, i came off worse and took a trip through the gravel to rejoin in 14th place. A hard charge through the pack saw me finish just shy of the podium in 4th spot.

Race two was immediateley halted by a safety car after a first lap collision midfield, i was keen to get going after my race one mistake!

I got a good restart and stuck onto the tail of Spencer, following for roughly two laps, i made my move into the esses to take the lead. I managed to steady the gap between myself and Spencer next time round with my drive out of the hairpin. The race was then red flagged after a very heavy shunt between two cars at the esses, this was the end of the race. Both drivers involved were taken to hospital but ok.

Kicking myself for race one, but another win under my belt to take my 6th win of the season.

The last round is at Donington on the 11 and 12th of october.

With three remaining rounds left in the Ginetta G20 Championship, it was vital for me this weekend to finish ahead of Spencer McCarthy to close in on the championship lead.

Having qualified on Pole Position, i was confident in race one, and after a 1st lap safety car, the race was now underway. I managed to break the tow from Spencer, and pulled out roughly a 4.5 second lead as the trace progressed. However, on the last lap, the clutch jammed itself against the clutch stop, and i had no drive, my lead was gone as i coasted down the back straight into the abbey.

I managed to pull the clutch out and still finsih 3rd, however this is a sheer disappointment from what looked like a certain race win.

The second race was another Ginetta heated battle between myself, Spencer, Julian Barrat and Andrew Smith, I finsihed 2nd 0.03 off the winner Spencer, after a last lap move around Woodcote.

The gap has increased at the top and now it looks very difficult to close in with only four races remaining, however, it?s not over, until it?s over!

Brands Hatch is one of my favourite circuits. It?s the place where i won my first car race last year in the Junior Ginetta Championship. From that i went on to win a further five races, all of which on the Indy circuit.

Now in 2008, in the senior class, the ginettas prepare to race on the full GP circuit, something i have been waiting for, for a long time.

Having only done about 45 minutes on the track in total, qualifying went well. I managed to qualify on the front row once again, alongside Julian Barrat, an experienced Ginetta driver.

I felt confident for the race, I was only 2 tenths off Julians lap time, and had my other championship contender Spencer McCarthy back in 5th place.

Race one – A good start put me 2nd at the end of lap one, trading places with Julian. i chose to sit behind to try and pull a gap from 3rd.

Mid distance Spencer McCarthy joined the battle and the usual three way battle had started once again.

Going into the final stages, Spencer lead, a squirrel decided to join in the fun and cross the track in front of the lead trio.

On the second to last lap, Julian and i passed Spencer, dropping him down to 3rd, having peaked to early.

The last corner, with Spencer too far back to challenge, I made a move on the last corner. Julian went defensive, so I opted to switch him back on the exit, a drag race to the finish line saw us seperated by 0.029 of a second, although the winner was Julian, just!

Race two

Not as exciting as the first, I lead the first couple of laps, however Spencer lead the majority of the race. I sat behind in 2nd, trying to save the car for the end as in race one. However a clutch problem in the closing stages left me stuck in gear, but a big gap back to 4th allowed me to still being the car home in 3rd.

A good but bad weekend. points lost in the championship to Spencer and Julian, but another stong result with my 7th and 8th podiums of the year.

The next round is a Silverstone on the 16th and 17thy of August

Photo courtesy of AE Photography.