F2 Test Barcelona, James Bearne Photography

Well this is going to be my final blog of the year and what a year! Firstly I cannot believe how quickly it has passed by; but that is just a sign of being incredibly busy I guess. It really doesn’t seem that long ago that I was at the Autosport Show in a cold dark January and here we are again just a couple of days to go to Christmas. I have to admit that when I was at the show I was incredibly uncertain about what my plans were going to be for the year. Due to the economic climate it had been very difficult to secure any funding and the prospect of doing not very much at all loomed large!

But then Jamun Racing offered me a lifeline and the return to Formula Ford proved to be a very good move as we swept the board and more than achieved our targets for the season. And although nothing is definitely in place yet for 2012 I am feeling a lot more positive about the following season than I was this time last year. I have been able to test GP3 and Formula 2 machinery in Barcelona which is not something that I was doing last year and we are making good progress with sorting out our plans for next season.

Last week I took part in the two day FIA Formula 2 test at Circuit De Catalunya Barcelona and was very pleased with how the test went and my progress in the car. Of course the car wasn’t completely new to me. I had already driven it in the 2010 and 2011 McLaren AUTOPSPORT BRDC Young driver competitions and had a brief run in the car at a promo day for MSV & Comma Oils on May Bank Holiday Monday. But believe it or not this was the first time I was really able to drive the car for any length of time in dry conditions so it was almost like beginning again. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and was pleased that I was able to set competitive times on both days against several championship regulars running as high as third in the overall order of over 20 drivers and down to a quickest time of just three tenths off of the pace. The only disappointment was, just due to circumstances such as red flags at the wrong time, that I was not able to make the most of my turbo boost runs at the end of the day on new rubber. But this wasn’t my fault or indeed anybody else’s. It was just plain bad luck. But I know that I had already done enough to show that the times were there.

Since returning I have been busy with the Project One Kart Team. As those of you who are involved in karting will know there isn’t really any sort of winter break; it just carries on right the way through weather permitting. So the day after returning from a mild & sunny Barcelona I found myself putting up an awning in the snow at Buckmore Park!

We now of course have Christmas to look forward to and then the New Year and the Autosport Show again in January which is where I came in! Once again I will be on the main stage at regular intervals with the other five McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC finalists and taking part in the show in the Live Action Arena. It’s actually quite hard work but a lot of fun as well.

The only remaining thing I would like to do now is say a very big thank you to everyone that has supported me in anyway at all this year. It’s actually a very long list but I think it’s very important to acknowledge everyone, because without your help I wouldn’t have been able to have had the absolutely incredible and fantastic year that I have. So a massive thank you in no particular order to: Allied Finance, Allied Tanks & Fabrications, SCANDOC Document Management (now Fortrus Ltd.), ncpi solutions, HW Baines Industrial Units, Harriott Plumbing Services, Johal Regan Property Services, Noel Scholey, Stratos Marcom, Paul Spensley, Essex Gas Utilities, The Selby family, The Baker Family, The Craig’s, Vanquish Developments, Lamberhurst Corporation, Adam Dennehey, Motors TV, Jacob Ebrey, Driver Database, BRSCC, BRDC, Jamun Racing Services, Scholar Engines, Racing Line, Ford Motorsport, Stephen Colbert, my brother Jon & everyone else that has wished me good luck through the year. I really hope that I haven’t missed anyone!

In closing I would just like to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a safe Happy & Prosperous New Year. See you all in 2012!

Scott

 

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