A year ago things looked pretty bleak. Funding was not forthcoming despite a very successful 2010 and it looked as though I may not be racing. But then I had the opportunity to return to British Formula Ford with the Jamun Racing Services Team  and as you know we enjoyed unprecedented success together, breaking many records and culminating with me receiving a 2^nd consecutive nomination for the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award. Things were looking pretty good just before Christmas. I performed well at the FIA Formula Two test at Barcelona and to be honest we looked set to secure a deal to run in that championship this year. But nothing is ever certain in motorsport and unfortunately we lost that deal through circumstances entirely beyond our control. We did everything in our power to save the deal but in the end we just weren’t able to.

So as you can imagine it is incredibly frustrating to find myself in this position once again after what I achieved last year and after all of the success I have had in my relatively short motor racing career. I suppose what makes it worse is when I see drivers that have achieved far less than me able to progress without having to put any effort in because they come from far more fortunate circumstances. Please don’t get me wrong, I really don’t begrudge anyone else their chance but surely it is wrong when proven talent (& I know I am sadly not the only one in this position) cannot progress and I plead with the motorsport governing bodies, manufacturers, teams and championship co-ordinators to do everything in their power to redress this situation.

Derek Warwick, the President of the BRDC, made the point on stage at the Autosport International show, when all six McLaren Autosport BRDC finalists were called up, that all six of us were winners and I applaud him very much for saying so. He rightly stated that being selected as a finalist for the award, in my case two years in a row, should be capitalised on when seeking partners and investors and believe you me I do but we are going through such austere times at the moment that even with this to back you up its very difficult to convert it into tangible help.

However difficult times or not I’m certainly not sitting around feeling sorry for myself. In fact since the turn of the year I’ve barely had a day off. There is lots to do with the kart team, as I’ve said before karting doesn’t really have an off season, and of course I had four very busy but enjoyable days at the Autosport Show in Birmingham where I was part of the show in the All Action Arena, appearing on the main stage with the other five McLaren AUTOPSORT BRDC Award finalists and took part in the charity kart race and of course did lots of networking.

I have some good friends and partners who are working hard on my behalf at the moment to try and create opportunities for me and I can’t thank them enough for their faith in me and their efforts. I sincerely hope I have some better news to report next time around.

All the best

Scott

Photo by Sarah Jane Berry. I'm 3rd from the left!

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

It really has been a rollercoaster ride for the past few weeks and I haven’t yet found the time to get off. After returning from Barcelona where I took part in the official GP3 test I took part in a couple of charity karting events and more testing and development work on behalf of Ford with their new ECOboost car. I was also invited to be a guest in a radio chat show which Scott Stringfellow hosts for Radio Silverstone and once getting over my initial nerves I really enjoyed this. Finally I had the little matter of the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC competition to take part in where I was selected as one of the six finalists for the 2^nd year in succession. This took place over a number of different days in November firstly with time on a race simulator (at Banbury) then a day at the Porsche Fitness Centre at Silverstone, followed of course by the two driving assessment days on the Silverstone circuit where we all drove our Formula 2 car as well as the new McLaren GT car and a Mercedes DTM. Finally a couple of weeks later we were all interviewed at the McLaren Technology Centre at Woking.

As you will no doubt all now know unfortunately for the 2^nd year running I missed out on the big prize of the young driver of the year on what will almost certainly be my final opportunity to win it. Naturally I am very disappointed but then as with last year so are 4 other drivers. There can only be one winner and its winner takes all so congratulations and well done to Oliver Rowland who I am sure will go on to have a great career as nearly all of the previous award winners have done especially with the help of the Racing Steps Organisation behind him.

However let me say I wouldn’t have missed it all for the world and 2^nd time around I enjoyed it even more than last year. It’s a great honour to be selected twice and I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say that I couldn’t have done any more in my efforts to claim the big prize. Obviously coming from a non-aero class of racing I was still something of an underdog but it didn’t feel like that at all and I was very satisfied with my performance in all aspects of the competition. I had a great time throughout the whole event and then again at the Autosport Awards Dinner in London last Sunday. In fact I didn’t really have time to dwell on the disappointment of missing out on the Award too long as I was straight into a couple of meetings after the dinner and then following a very late night had to head back into London for mid-day the following day to attend the BRDC Awards lunch. It’s tough at the top!

The BRDC lunch was a great occasion, far more intimate then the Autosport Awards dinner the night before but no less prestigious for that. In fact the whole event had a really nice relaxed feel about it. A lot of people that I’d not previously spoken to came up to say hello, including Tiff Needell, and of course the highlight for me was being presented with the Henry Surtees Award for outstanding achievement by a BRDC Rising Star. What made it very special was that John Surtees presented the award to me which was created to honour the memory of his son who tragically lost his life in a race accident in 2009. I knew Henry reasonably well as he and I started out in cadet karting around the same time and competed against each other so the award was particularly poignant for me especially in a year where we have been reminded that motorsport can be so cruel. Also as regular readers of this blog will know I am a big fan of John Surtees and what he achieved and the fact that he is still working tirelessly today, not just for motorsport but for many good causes. Let’s hope the Queen remembers that when she dishes out the New Year’s knighthoods!  

As well as all of this I have found the time to do a bit of coaching for prospective new drivers in Formula Ford including kart star Laura Tillet and my younger brother Jon. Jon got to drive a Formula Ford car for the first time at Silverstone last week at the regular end of season category sampler day and I have to say once he got the hang of it he was pretty impressive. Thanks to Gavin Ray & Raysport for entrusting him with their excellent GR11 charger for the morning and then in the afternoon he was in my championship winning Jamun Mygale SJ10. It was strange seeing him in this especially as he was wearing my spare helmet so it almost felt like I was watching myself in the car! Many observers were pretty impressed with what they saw so I may have to start looking over my shoulder! But it would be great if he can get a chance to show what he can do next year although of course as always this depends on budget.

So with Christmas just around the corner will I be putting my feet up? Not likely! I’m doing some development work in the kart on behalf of Project One Racing and then next week I’m delighted to say I’m off to Barcelona (again) to drive in the two day FIA Formula Two test.  I’ll let you know how that goes and how things are progressing towards the next exciting phase of my career in my next blog. But before signing off today I have so many people to thank for this year. In fact it’s a really long list and I will run through everybody that’s been part of our adventure next time out but just for now I’d like to say thank you to Sam & Penny at Racing Line & Noel at Stratos Marcomms  for arranging the F2 test which I’m really excited about. I really enjoyed driving the car for the last two years in the McLaren Autosport BRDC competition but the nature of that means you tend to run short bursts. I’m really looking to getting in some extended seat time in the car and seeing what I can do.

Onward! (KBO)

All the best for now

Scott

Jacob Ebrey Motorsport Photography

Drew Gibson /GP3 Series Media Service

Well the season may be over for me as far as racing goes but that doesn’t mean that I have been any less busy.

The week after the Formula Ford Festival I was pretty flat out with having a couple of seat fittings, taking part in the Henry Surtees Foundation Karting event at Buckmore Park, doing some more testing and development work at Silverstone with Ford on the new ECO boost FF car and then having dinner at the BRDC on Friday evening with Red Bull F1 team boss Christian Horner! Then barely a couple of days to recover before flying off first thing Monday to take part in the two day FIA GP3 test at Barcelona. It’s all go, go, go as Murray Walker would say!

I love driving karts and don’t need too much encouragement to get my backside into one so when I was invited to take part in the Henry Surtees Foundation Fundraising event I was delighted to accept especially as it was raising funds for such a worthy cause and the fact that it was taking place at Buckmore Park was a real bonus as it is a circuit that I have a great affection for and one that I had considerable success at during my karting career. I’ve probably told you all before that I had my very first race there as a young cadet back in January 1998 and have loved the place ever since and I still return there regularly in my role assisting the Project One Racing team.

The event itself was bit of a who’s who of young UK motor racing talent and although everyone of course wants to win the emphasis for me anyway was particularly on having some no pressure fun especially after such a successful season. All was going very well though. I qualified 2^nd in my group of 20 drivers just behind my old Buckmore adversary Paul Janes and this put on grid 4 for the pre-A-Final. Unfortunately this was as good as it got as I think due to some naughty  person loading further back on the grid I, along with Paul, was binned at the first corner! Welcome back to karting! By the time I got going again I was well back but did manage to pick a couple off giving me a grid 22 slot for the main A-final.

I made an excellent start and ran as high as 7^th in the early stages of the race but the kart didn’t seem to be handling particularly well as the race progressed and I slipped back to 11^th. Still that was good enough for the judges to bestow the Hard Luck Award on me which I was proud to receive and my prize? Well someone must have a sense of humour! I won a week’s unpaid work experience at the offices of Haymarket Publishers who produce many top motoring titles including Autosport, Motorsport News and F1 magazine. But they are going to let me write an article….hmmm…now let me see.

Joking apart it was a great event and a privilege to participate in it and I very much hope that it becomes an annual fixture and as always it’s great to see John Surtees who is a true legend. Congratulations to Alex Sims on winning the event.

From Buckmore it was back up to Silverstone for a day of development testing with the Ford ECOboost car which some of you may have seen me demonstrating between races at the Formula Ford Festival. I’m really enjoying this and it’s very satisfying when you are part of the process that resolves some of the inevitable problems that you have when launching a new car. But I believe that overall Ford and Mygale, who manufactured the car that I have been driving, are to be commended for their vision and hard work in trying to ensure that Formula Ford continues to develop as a place for aspiring young drivers to learn their trade.

Later the same day my 2011 race mechanic Tom Huxtable and I attended a dinner at the BRDC at Silverstone with Red Bull F1 Chief Christian Horner and this was a fascinating insight into the most successful F1 team around at the moment and their winning philosophy. It was a highly enjoyable evening and I’d like to thank the BRDC very much for arranging such events for the members of their young driver programmes.

Hardly time to catch my breath and we were flying off to Barcelona to participate in the FIA GP3 test with the Status Grand Prix Team. This came about fairly eleventh hour but it was great to be called up to do it and I’d very much like to thank Allied Commercial Finance, PL Finance & Investment & CANNONBALLTOUR.COM for making it possible.

There was certainly a lot to learn during the two day’s and I was the only one of the 26 drivers taking part that hadn’t been racing in a winged Formula. But the team and I agreed a programme to work through and I set myself some clear objectives for the test which were aimed solely at learning the circuit and gaining a greater understanding of how the car and the aero package worked and how any changes could affect the handling characteristics and I’m pleased to say that in that respect the two days were highly successful and I’d like to thank the Status Grand Prix Team and all of the mechanics and engineers for making us feel very welcome.

I very much enjoyed my GP3 experience and would like to do more if given the opportunity but at this stage it isn’t the only option that we are considering for next year. But there will be no quick decisions, a lot has to be considered and of course I have the little matter of the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Young Driver Award competition to participate in this month and I am really looking forward to it especially now that I know the great cars that I will be driving.

But before all that though I shall be getting out in another fund raising kart event tonight at Sandown Park, in aid of 21 & Co, where I will be joining the Motorsport News Team entered by Rob Ladbrook and let’s hope we are not black flagged this year eh Rob!  Actually it was certain Indy Lights driver that caused our downfall last year. You know who you are if you are reading this!  

So until next time

All the best

Scott

photo by AE Photography

Last weekend was definitely a roller coaster of emotions. I counted myself lucky to be at the Formula Ford Festival at all and it was only the fact that some of my great supporters were able to rally round at the last minute that I was able to take up the free entry I already had for winning the overall Euro-Cup honours in the summer.

Then on Friday my younger brother Jon was hospitalised with a really nasty bug that had seen him going downhill all week and this was very worrying. Although we naturally have our share of good natured sibling rivalry he is among my loyalist supporters and has worked as my kart racing mechanic and has sometimes been my no.2 Formula Ford mechanic this year giving Tom a hand. As a massive fitness fanatic and gym goer himself he is also acts as my personal fitness trainer and loves giving me a hard time! Thankfully he now seems to be slowly getting better so I suppose he will be back to giving me some grief sometime soon!

The Festival itself couldn’t have gone much better for me. I qualified on pole in my group and led all four of my races of heat, quarter final, semi- final & final from lights to flag; sounds easy doesn’t it? Well sounding easy and actually being easy are two very different things. The tight Brands Hatch Indy circuit doesn’t allow anyone to build up any significant advantage and it was extremely tight amongst the front runners. Antti Buri & Steijn Schothorst in particular enjoyed putting me under pressure but I soaked it up when I had to, stood firm and took advantage of any errors they made to give myself breathing space when I could. We had fresh tyres for the final and I have to say they didn’t seem to work as well as the set we took off that had done qualifying and the three previous races and while I out there I found myself wishing we hadn’t changed! But never mind I prevailed and made it to the chequered flag in first place and what a great feeling that was. When I worked at the Festival as a mechanic for Jamun driver Tim Blanchard in 2008 I dreamt of coming back and winning the event and now I had done it and I was very proud to receive the Neil Shanahan Trophy for my victory as well as the John Nichol and Roger Pedrick Trophies for taking the top British & English driver places. In fact I retained these last two from 2010.

My supporters, my family and I of course were elated with what we had achieved which was the icing on the cake of an absolutely fantastic year which has at times tested our resilience but it has all been worth it. A massive thank you to everyone and of course not least to Jamun racing for giving me a great car all year.

I haven’t quite finished working with Jamun Racing yet though. We have another project that we are now working on together which is quite exciting and I am looking forward to the next instalment of that at the end of this week and I’ll definitely be updating you about it in my next blog. My next event will be the Henry Surtees Foundation Karting event at Buckmore Park on Thursday this week. This is an extremely worthy cause and one that I am proud to take part in. I have a tremendous admiration and respect for John Surtees who I shall be seeing at the event. Why the powers that be haven’t honoured John with a knighthood is beyond me and I’d like to see this situation rectified soon.

Very sadly the joy and elation that I experienced when going to bed on Sunday evening soon disappeared early on Monday morning when I awoke to the shocking news that Dan Wheldon had lost his life in Las Vegas. Dan was somebody who was a real inspiration to me and no mean Formula Ford racer himself  having finished as runner up to Jenson Button in the 1998 Formula Ford Festival. I always found it frustrating that Dan’s great achievements were hardly reported on in the UK except in the motorsport press. To compete in the Indy 500, arguably the most famous motor race in the world is no mean achievement. To win it is amazing. To win it more than once places you among the all-time greats especially when combined with the IRL Championship title that Dan claimed in 2005. How cruel that just as Dan’s career was getting back on track after a lean period that he should lose his life in such tragic circumstances. He will be sorely missed and my deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy go to all of Dan’s family and friends.

The season may be more or less over for 2011 but I have a very busy time ahead in the coming weeks and I will be back blogging about all of that quite soon.

All the best

Scott

Before the weekend had even begun though I had another reason to celebrate when I learned that for the 2^nd year running I had been picked as a finalist for the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award. This is a great honour and vindicates my decision to return to the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain for a 2^nd season. I had to put in a dominant performance with my level of experience and I think it’s fair to say that I did with the help of a great team behind me of course. But I wasn’t taking anything for granted and knew that I was taking a big risk especially after coming very close to winning the championship in 2010. I very much put my reputation on the line and if things hadn’t gone my way this year then that reputation could now be in tatters.

I am really looking forward to the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award competition. Of course there will be pressure but also a lot of enjoyment as well. I know from last year what a great experience this was for me personally and how much I gained from it and whilst I will draw on this experience I am not complacent enough to think that I know exactly what’s coming because I am sure that the organisers will rightly have one or two surprises for us up their sleeves.

So Silverstone at the weekend very much had an end of term feel about it. With the championship won I could certainly relax a little but not too much as I still wanted to win and if possible help my Jamun team mates Nick McBride & Jeroen Slaghekke to secure 2^nd & 3^rd places in the championship for the team.

I’m sure by now you have read the race reports already published so I won’t rewrite those, but race one on Saturday produced my third DNF of the season, ironically at the same venue (but different circuit) where I had the previous two non-finishes at the start of the season. But I’m not going to get a complex about it. I love coming to Silverstone and have to accept it was one of those things.

This time my non finish occurred when my engine decided to expire on lap six which was a shame as I was in the thick of a highly enjoyable six car battle for the lead. To be honest though I can’t grumble at all. The Duratec engine is usually fantastically reliable and if I was to have some more bad luck this season then this was definitely the time to have it with the championship already won. It made for an interesting talking point for the commentary team though as the engine actually caught fire and I quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher from a marshal’s post to put out the flames.

Massive credit has to go to the Jamun Team and especially my mechanic and friend Tom Huxtable who worked late into the evening on Saturday and to Scholar engines for all their efforts to get me out for Sundays two races the first of which allowed me to record my 18^th British Championship victory of the season and my 22^nd in total. I was very pleased to rack that one up as it gives me a 75% victory ratio in the championship. Not bad by anyone’s standards. Although I led from lights to flag it was far from easy. A downpour shortly before the start of our race made it a close call between wets and slicks. I went for slicks although a couple of my team mates were on wets. Conditions were very tricky at first and my team mate Jeroen was certainly keeping me honest in his bid to secure the runner up position in the championship so it was a hard earned win.

With the meeting running behind schedule race three late on Sunday afternoon was staged in twilight. We should have fitted headlights! This was a typical last race of the season with everyone just going for it which was great. I found myself shuffled back to sixth with a lot of ground to make up early in the race but make it up I did as I set fastest lap in my bid to get on terms with Geoff & Jeroen at the front. It was a great final lap and I almost stole it as the three of us were almost inseparable at the chequered flag but in the end I had to settle for third. Great drive by Jeroen to take the win and well done on securing the runner up spot in the championship and also really well done to Nick McBride for taking third place to make it a fantastic 1-2-3 in the title race for the Jamun Team.

After Silverstone we now head straight to Brands Hatch for the Formula Ford Festival and it’s very special one this year being the 40^th anniversary and one that I would definitely love to win. Whilst I would give myself a great chance I realise you also need a bit of good luck to win this type of event so I’m hoping that mine doesn’t desert me this time out. Either way I expect it to be very close and very competitive on the tight Brands Hatch Indy circuit amongst all the front runners. Bring it on!

All the best

Scott

When it does sink in properly I will tell you for sure that this will be really satisfying for a number of reasons. Firstly because after the opening rounds on the Silverstone National circuit and what happened there some people were writing me off and I’m pleased to be able to prove them wrong in the nicest possible way. Write me off at your peril because it’s been a very hard road for me to get here and I am not going to be beaten so easily by a set back or two.

In 2008 I was working as a young mechanic at Jamun Racing for my friend Tim Blanchard. I said to myself then that I would return one day and win this championship as a driver. If I had said that publicly at the time I think most people would have laughed! I certainly didn’t have the means to go car racing, even in Formula Ford, but I refused to give up on my dream and with the help of my family plus some very loyal and dear supporters and a lot of hard work here I am less than three years later having achieved my goal. But now I am not satisfied with that. I want more success and the chance to prove that I can win at any level in motor racing. And one thing is for sure, if I don’t achieve this, it won’t be for the lack of trying!

So Donington was another great weekend. I took three poles in qualifying in quite dramatic style stealing the final one from my team mate Nick McBride at the very last possible moment. I get on very well with Nick but I did slightly guilty about this; not for too long though!

But Nick had his revenge in race two when he literally stole the win from me by thousandths of a second almost at the last corner. Cheers Buddy!  Actually I was delighted for Nick. He had been very quick all weekend as he often has been this year, but so far victory had eluded him so it was great for him to finally get a win. Just don’t think you are going to go making a habit of it when I’m racing as well though matey! Seriously though he thoroughly deserved it and with less at stake than I had he was able and willing to push a bit harder than I did in the tricky conditions.

Races one and three though were relatively straight forward lights to flag wins for more me; my 20^th & 21^st wins this season. I say relatively because nothing is ever as easy as it looks and the competition has been of a very high standard this year not least from within my own team with Jeroen and Nick always very rapid and Spike improving all the time. Then elsewhere Antti  Buri has a lot of experience and is a formidable racer and of course Geoff Uhrhane like many of the Australian drivers that have come over to the UK showed immediately that he was fast.

We won’t be resting on our laurels. We have to build on this success but for now I have quite a lot in the diary over the next few weeks so I’ll be blogging about all that on here again soon.

Thank you very much to the Jamun Racing Team who have provided me with a great car all year, my ace mechanic Tom Huxtable, and to all my supporters who you can find out more about here http://www.scottmalvern.com/#!partners

All the best

Scott

Jacob Ebrey Motorsport Photography

Not that it is ever easy. Formula Ford is extremely competitive and my team mate Jeroen Slaghekke was in fine form this weekend taking three podiums including the win in race two which I congratulate him for. He also kept me very honest in race one on Saturday when I was unable to break away; that’s why I was pleased that he and rivals Geoff Uhrhane and Antti Buri got into an almighty scrap in race three which helped me to break clean away and win by almost five seconds.

A lot of people have asked me what happened in race two where I jumped the start and I have to be totally honest and say that I just misjudged the speed of the red lights going off this time. It is a very fine line between making a great start and an average one and you obviously want to be on the move as soon as you can. I was just a little too eager this time around. But there was no need to dwell on it. Once I was given the drive through penalty I let my team mate Jeroen go past as there was little point in holding him up and I then came straight into the pits. I then pushed as hard as possible, even though I came out a good half a lap down on the rest of the field, because there is an extra point for fastest lap which with a clear track ahead I knew I had a very good chance of achieving and there is always the possibility of a safety car which would have worked in my favour this time. So I was pleased to be able to score some decent points and make the best of a bad situation. Once the race was over I put it completely out of my head and concentrated on getting a great result in race three which I am pleased to say I was able to do.

It was great to see so many of my friends and supporters at Brands Hatch at the weekend both in the paddock and up in the hospitality suite; thank you all ever so much for coming along, I really hope that you enjoyed yourselves. And thank you also to Paul Clark of Stopwatch Events for giving me the opportunity to be interviewed by his guests.

We have just two more events to come now in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain on the Donington Grand Prix Circuit on the 24-25^th September and then the Silverstone Arena Grand Prix Circuit on the 8-9^th October where I will be trying my best to add to my tally of wins for the season. Before that though I will be taking part, this week, in my annual go-karting event in aid of Haven House Children’s Hospice and quite a few of my Jamun Team mates and mechanics will be racing against me and I certainly don’t expect to be given an easy time there either! But I know it will be a great chance for everyone to relax and enjoy themselves in a break from the very hard work this season has been.

Will be back blogging again soon.

All the best

Scott

Once again the Jamun Racing Team did an amazing job and I’d also like to say a very big thank you for the sportsmanship of the JTR Team and my former team Cliff Dempsey Racing for the loan of various electrical parts when we were having so much trouble locating the misfire that looked set to scupper any chance of success in race three on Sunday morning.

I’ve now raced at Zandvoort twice and enjoyed it very much and have come away with great results in both 2010 and 2011. The local drivers and teams have always made me feel welcome and you have to hand it to them they certainly knew how to handle the very tricky conditions in race three when we had a wet track that was rapidly drying proving that a little local knowledge goes a long way! I really admire Michel Florie; he’s probably forgotten more about Formula Ford than most of us have ever learnt but he still gets out there and puts on a great show and obviously is still enjoying himself very much and his young Provily Racing Team mates Joey Van Splunteren and Bas Schouten look like great prospects for the future.

I’ve now notched up 17 victories from 20 races so far this season, won all 4 Euro Cups and extended my points lead in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain so I have to be delighted with how the season is going so far. But as you know I am not one to be complacent and I intend to keep pushing hard in the remaining events. I’ve said it before but there are some very good drivers in this competition and they do keep me on my toes.

A word of thanks must also go to championship organisers Racing Line for organising the Euro Cup which I think has been a great success and I hope that it continues next season. It’s been great to gain more experience of racing abroad and going to Spa was just awesome.

Thanks again to the team and all of my supporters whose help has ensured that I’ve been able to keep racing this year. It’s back to reality today and back to work at the day job and then we start preparing for our next event in just under three weeks’ time back at Brands Hatch supporting the spectacular DTM cars which if last year is anything to go by will attract a very big crowd.

I’ll be back blogging again soon

Scott

Photo by Jacob EbreyPhoto by Jacob Ebrey

So what have I been up to? Well as well as my usual day job helping out the guys at Project One Racing Kart Team, I was on duty at a BRDC track day at Silverstone, have arranged our own annual charity karting event for 2011 in aid of Haven House Children?s Hospice which is an extremely worthy cause and lot of fun as well and let me tell you it may be for charity but we have seen in previous years that everyone wants to win! We still have some places on the grid so get in touch if you are interested in entering a team. The event will be on the evening of 7^th September in Brentwood, Essex by the way.

I managed to squeeze in a very wet day of testing at Donington last week which unfortunately was interrupted by several red flags and then went straight from that to a sponsor meeting to discuss plans for next year and then straight to PF International Kart circuit in Lincolnshire to work at the prestigious Kartmasters Grand Prix Event. I returned from there late yesterday evening and am now on route to Zandvoort in Holland for our next Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain and FF Euro Cup event. We have a test day tomorrow so it?s pretty flat out at the moment one way or another!

I am really looking forward to the Zandvoort Masters event at the weekend. I participated in this event last year and achieved some very good results so will be looking to emulate that. It was very much like a Festival atmosphere with a huge sized crowd attending to witness a packed weekend of action both on and off of the track.

It?s been an amazing season so far and I have I have done exactly what I set out to do and assert myself as the driver to beat in Formula Ford. Not that I am underestimating the opposition for a minute. This is a tough class of racing and that is why it has produced so many successful and legendary names in the sport through the years. I couldn?t do what I do without having a great team like Jamun Racing providing me with the tools to do the job and the valuable help of all my supporters and partners and I am extremely grateful to them for all of their assistance.

I?ll be blogging again soon

All the best

Scott

Photo by Jacob Ebrey