Scott Malvern's blog

Zolder last weekend completed our back to back Belgian adventure in the Formula Ford Euro-Cup following on from Spa. This time we were supporting the spectacular Super-League Formula cars.

Once again we had a large entry combining drivers from the British, Dutch and Benelux championships. After my great results at Brands Hatch and Spa in the first two Euro-Cup events, I was naturally keen to maintain my record. Zolder is very different from Spa; it?s much tighter and much twistier so it was very important to qualify well for this one. As many of you know I suffered gearbox woes in qualifying at Spa and had to come through from the rear of the field each time. As much as I enjoyed proving to everyone that I could race through the pack as well as lead from the front I was keen to qualify well here and that is exactly what I did taking pole position for both races.

The record and race reports will show that I took lights to flag victories in both races so that may seem quite straight forward. But is it ever the way? My team mates Jeroen Slaghekke and Nick McBride definitely kept me honest over the weekend and the ever present Anti Burri was certainly very quick as well. Race two was made even more interesting by the fact that we had heavy rain which stopped shortly before the race and so we took a gamble and went for slick tyres whilst many others went for wets which were certainly quicker for the first few laps but faded from about half distance.

In the end it was a great weekend for my Jamun Racing Team locking out all three podium positions in both races so a big well done to my team mates Jeroen and Nick and another big thank you to the team for giving me a great car with a special mention for my mechanic Tom.

We have a four week sabbatical now before we complete the final installment of our 4 weekend European adventure with a great event at the Red Bull Masters at Zandvoort in Holland over the weekend of August 13-14^th. As this will also count for points for the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain it will be doubly important to get another great result.

Whilst we have a break in our schedule rest assured I will be far from idle and have a very busy few weeks ahead so will be blogging again to catch up on that in due course.

All the best for now

Scott

????????????????????????????????????????Photos by kind courtesy & permission of Jacob Ebrey Motorsport Photography

It certainly is a very busy time for me at the moment. I was off to Belgium last Wednesday for the 2^nd Formula Ford

Photo courtesy of Jacob Ebrey

Euro-Cup event at the awesome Spa circuit where I tested Thursday, qualified and raced on Friday and then raced twice more on Saturday before dashing back to England Saturday evening to be at the British Grand Prix on Sunday. I last went to Spa when I worked as a mechanic for Jamun Racing in 2008 and I remember thinking then how brilliant it would be to come back as a driver one day so I had to pinch myself a little to make sure that I wasn?t dreaming!

?I?m now back home and have just a couple of days to catch up on work etc before going back over to Belgium on Thursday for the next Euro Cup event at Zolder. But it?s certainly been an amazing past few days and although very hectic and sometimes tiring also very enjoyable.

There are already comprehensive race reports for this event on various website?s so I won?t replicate them here but as you will read Spa certainly presented us with a mountain to climb when after being very quick in testing I had a gearbox problem as I went out for qualifying and I struggled to manage three fast laps which left me with qualification positions of 14^th, 16^th and 21^st for my three races which understandably had a few people writing me off. But ?nil desperandum? I say. I?ve been in this position several times in karting where you draw a rear, a middle and a front row grid position for your three heats so am well used to coming through traffic and I have to say that I really enjoyed myself; not that I want to make it this hard every time! But to come away with two wins and 2^nd place which was the closest it could to a third win as it possibly could and to get a new lap record on top and clinch my second Euro Cup crown from two events is amazing. I also of course stretched my unbroken win tally to ten races and my overall score to twelve wins from fifteen races this season. Not too bad at all!

Being at the British Grand Prix on Sunday within the British Racing Drivers Club was also a great experience. It was actually the first time I have been lucky enough to attend an F1 GP on race day and in fact the first one I have been at since I was eight years old! Damon Hill was driving for Arrows then and was the reigning World Champion and now he is about to stand down as BRDC President after securing the future of the event and helping to turn Silverstone into a fantastic world class facility. It was just a shame that we didn?t have a British driver on the podium but congratulations to Lewis Williamson on taking the GP3 victory on Sunday morning.

So now we have to prepare for Zolder at the weekend and rest assured we will be working really hard to continue our successful run. Just in closing I?d like to say a really big thank you to my supporters Lynne Baines and Shane Harriot of Baines Leasing and Harriot Plumbing for all their very valuable help at Spa not least actually giving me a lift there and back which was brilliant! Also thank you to all my other loyal supporters but particularly ScanDoc Document Management Services and Allied Tanks & Fabrications and Allied Financial Services for your great assistance that made it possible for me to go to Spa.

Bye for now. I?ll be blogging again soon.

All the best

Scott

www.scottmalvern.com

Photo courtesy of Adam Fill

Well what can I say? For once I?m almost lost for words by what we?ve managed to achieve so far this season. Getting a

Extremely wet on the Grand Prix Loop!

clean sweep of three race wins at Oulton Park at Easter was amazing. Repeating it just a few weeks later at Snetterton was incredible and now to do the same thing for the third meeting in a row at Brands Hatch & also take the lead of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain and win the first Formula Ford Euro-Cup Trophy all in the same weekend is just unbelievable!

The incredible thing is that just a few months ago things were looking pretty bleak for this season and it was a real possibility that I would be sitting on the sidelines so right now all I want to do is thank everybody that has made this possible for me and that is Jamun Racing Services of course for giving me this opportunity, my great mechanic and friend Tom Huxtable, and all of my wonderful supporters and partners who make it possible for me to compete such as Allied Commercial Finance & Allied Tanks & Fabrications, ScanDoc, Essex Gas Utilities, ncpi solutions, Baines Leasing, Johal Regan Property Surveyors, P&S Harriot Plumbing & Heating, Roy & Brenda Craig, Rod & Jude Selby, David & Pam Baker & Vanquish Developments & Associates. And there are of course lots of other people without whom I wouldn?t have been able to make it this far and I thank them all very much as well.

It was certainly an eventful weekend and there are several excellent reports of the action and drama that occurred on the news pages of the many great websites that I cannot possible better so I won?t rewrite them here. But I will say that it was a weekend full of drama for one reason or another not least because of the very changeable weather and the problems associated with it. Luckily as a young 8 year old go-karter learning my trade at the Brentwood Raceway I spent the first few months of my fledgling driving career driving a kart in the wet on slicks! I knew it would come in handy one day!

I also want to say how much I enjoyed driving the Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch. It?s not a circuit that we get a chance to drive on very often and although conditions were quite treacherous in the wet it was still enormous fun.

Now it?s back down to earth and to the day job and to the ongoing challenge of trying to ensure that we can continue this great season. The next scheduled event is the next Eurocup meeting at Spa and I very hope that I am able to compete there.

Great weekend at Brands Hatch

We may have a five week lull between rounds of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain but that doesn?t mean things have been quiet for me; in fact just the opposite, but I?m certainly not complaining!

Just two days after our great weekend at Snetterton on the 17^th May I was privileged, as a BRDC Rising Star, to be an invited guest at the official opening of the new wing complex at Silverstone. This really is a state of the art facility that puts Silverstone right up there with the best motorsport venues in the world and combined with the great improvements made to the track it?s arguably the top purpose built motor racing circuit out there right now. I love the connection with the past though as Silverstone being a former aerodrome the ?wing? is obviously very appropriate. The legendary Murray Walker who was also in attendance on the day affectionately described it as corrugated Concorde Airplane. Murray was just one of the VIP guests that we were able to rub Shoulders with. Five of Britain?s former F1 World Champions were also in attendance these being Jenson Button, Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell, Sir Jackie Stewart and John Surtees (who I? think should also be knighted!) as well other great drivers like Sir Stirling Moss, Derek Warwick and Mark Webber. ?In the afternoon we were treated to watching Valentino Rossi lapping the circuit on a Ducati Superbike. What an amazing day!

I then had a couple of busy weekends helping the kart team and the younger drivers including Sam Brabham who is the son of former F1 driver, Le Mans winner and current GT star David Brabham . While we were at the Three Sisters circuit Wigan at a Kart Stars event we had news that Sam?s cousin Matthew had won two Australian Formula Ford events and may now look to follow many of his other countrymen to race in the UK. I will have to keep an eye on him!

Last week my other Jamun Team mates and I made a quick trip over the channel to Spa to test in preparation for the forthcoming Formula Ford Euro Cup round in July. What a fantastic venue Spa is! I had of course been there before in 2008 but unfortunately not as a driver but a mechanic when I was working for Jamun Team driver Tim Blanchard (another Australian!). It was great to finally get to drive this awesome circuit and I am really looking forward to the races there in July which take place on the Friday and Saturday before the British F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone so I will be having an extremely busy weekend as I will be attending the Grand Prix on the Sunday as well.

I also had a brilliant day last Monday at Bedford Autodrome. Motorsport News asked me if I could attend a media launch day for a new product and ticket promotion between MSV circuits and Comma Oils. As the day would involve me having to give hot rides in a new Caterham Supersport, do some demo laps in the MSV Formula Two car, which of course Comma are?championship sponsors for and have a ride and drive in a 1000bhp race truck who was I to say no? Yes I know it?s a tough job but someone has to do it!

Although the weather wasn?t very kind to us on the day it was still very enjoyable. It was great to get reacquainted with the F2 car which of course I last drove at the McLaren Autosport BRDC competition at Silverstone last November. Although it was only ten laps and it was very wet I was still able to put on a show and keep it pointing in the right direction. Great Fun!

I also did quite a few passenger rides in the Caterham Super Sport which is great to drive and had a ride as a passenger myself in the truck which was surprisingly nimble. The only sad thing was I didn?t get to drive the truck myself as planned as the run had to be curtailed due to noise restrictions. But still a very enjoyable day and I met some very nice people as well including Mike and Noel from Comma. Thank you very much to Motorsport News, MSVR, Comma and all the guys at Bedford Autodrome who it was great to see again.

We still have just over two weeks until my next Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain rounds at Brands Hatch but I don?t have to wait that long for my next race action. I have actually secured a late entry to this weekend?s Champion of Brands Bert Ray Trophy event on the Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch and I am really looking forward to it and want to say a very big thank you to Andrew Jones for making his Ray GR07 available to me.

This will be the first time I have driven a Kent engine Formula Ford car since the 2009 Festival and it?s appropriate that I am back in a Ray for the Bert Ray Trophy. I really wanted to do this event last year but circumstances prevented it in the end so I am very happy to have a chance now. But it?s also great because as a non championship race there is no pressure on me so it is just pure enjoyment and what will be will be! We are not doing any pre-event testing we are just turning up and going for it in qualifying so as long as the car starts (& I?m sure it will) we are in business! But it?s also brilliant because it?s on the rarely used Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit so it?s great to get the opportunity to experience that. James Beckett is to be commended for reviving the Champion of Brands series and I hope it?s a success. If you are reading this and you have a car or access to one, ?and you fancy giving me and the other entrants, including former winner Jordan Skinner, some competition then it will be great to see you and it?s not too late. Just get in touch with James Becket and he will get the ball rolling! He will even put you in touch with people that have cars available to hire if you have a current competition license. ?There James; that?s my plug for you!

I look forward to blogging again soon!

All the best

Scott

www.scottmalvern.com

Well after the great weekend I had at Oulton Park three weeks ago where I achieved the perfect score with three pole positions, three wins and three fastest laps I expected the opposition to fight back. That?s exactly what they did! Australian driver Geoff Uhrhane took a clean sweep of three pole positions after recording the three fastest laps in qualifying but I was happy to be alongside him on the front row on grid two for all three rounds with my team mate and championship leader Jeroen Slaghekke just behind in third place.

To be honest while disappointed to miss out on pole I wasn?t too concerned as I knew that it wasn?t as critical as Oulton Park where overtaking is much harder. I was confident that as long as I made a good start I would be able to challenge for wins in the races and make a good start I did in all three races although there was still some excitement in all three. Goff and I had a good battle at the start of race one. I made the better start and took the lead but he overtook at the end of the start finish straight with me managing to repay the compliment at the end of the back straight; both of us demonstrating what a great new circuit for racing the Snetterton 300 layout is. In fact there were some very good battles throughout the field which I hope was captured by the TV cameras.

I began to edge away from Geoff setting a number of fastest laps including the new lap record but Geoff in turn was also edging away from my team mates Jeroen Slaghekke and Nick McBride who were having a fair old tussle for third place; no team orders at Jamun Racing unlike another well-known single seater team that also has red cars!

In the end the race one win was by a very comfortable margin. I managed to pull almost a two second gap on Geoff by the penultimate lap when all of a sudden he unfortunately slowed with an ignition problem leaving me to take a five second win over Jeroen and Nick for a Jamun Racing clean sweep. I was delighted to record a 4^th consecutive win but commiserations to Geoff Uhrhane who had driven a good race but as I know from experience motor racing can be cruel sometimes and things can just break and nobody is to blame it?s just bad luck.

Race Two was all action at the start. I led the first lap but then Anti Burri made a very daring overtaking bid at the end of lap. I think he may actually have been on the grass but the result was that we all moved out of the way to avoid any collision with the order reshuffling?? with Geoff in the lead, Jeroen 2^nd, Anti third and me down in 4^th! But I didn?t panic, I knew I had the car and the race craft and the time to fight my way back and that is exactly what I did regaining the lead a lap later and once again gradually edging away from Geoff to take another win with Jeroen taking third and fastest lap.

So onto race three; was a back to back hat trick possible? Well I certainly intended to give it my best shot but knew that it wouldn?t be easy. But I once again made a very good start and had begun to gap Geoff on lap one who had his mirrors full of my team mate Jeroen. But unfortunately the safety car was brought out to deal with an incident further down the field which to be honest was the last thing I wanted as it interrupted my flow and bunched up the field again. But luckily it only did one tour before switching off its lights and I as leader chose my moment to nail the throttle and pull away. But it was all going on behind me with Geoff Uhrhane unfortunately spinning and my team mate Jeroen taking avoiding action and dropping well down the order as a result.

To be honest from that point I was able to run a pretty untroubled race pulling away from a real battle that was going on for the other podium places although I did have a moment at Corum when a huge gust of wind caught me and the car didn?t want to seem to go in the direction that I wanted it to! I had pulled a gap of more than five seconds by the time the Safety car was called out again on the penultimate lap so as the Marshalls could deal with the fire raging in the back of Philip Layacs car who was thankfully unhurt.

So I took the chequered flag behind the Safety? car and my back to back hat trick was complete and I had the great bonus of another fastest lap so I had missed the absolute perfect score by just one point as I missed out on fastest lap in race two but one mustn?t be greedy! Well done to my team mate Nick McBride who took a great 2^nd place in race three and also to Jeroen Slaghekke for a very good recovery which enabled him to finish in 4^th place.

We have a gap of five weeks now until Brands Hatch which is also the first Euro Cup event but I will be very busy during those five weeks and I?ll be blogging again soon updating you on my activity.

All the best

Scott

Photo by kind permission and courtesy of Jacob Ebrey Motorsport Photography

?

Well they say a week is a long time in show business so what does that make a fortnight in motorsport? A fortnight ago I probably endured one of my most difficult weekends since beginning my motor racing career in 2009 recording two DNF?s at Silverstone. There was however a chink of light in this darkness as I also recorded a victory and it was that victory that I was able to build on at the weekend just gone at Oulton Park. Despite the non finishes I maintained faith in my ability, in the team capabilities and most of all my mind set and resolve stayed strong. I knew that three victories at Silverstone were possible but circumstances had conspired against us. Therefore I was determined to put things right at Oulton Park and that is exactly what I did. Not that it was completely plain sailing.

In qualifying my Jamun team mate Jake Cook had unfortunately rolled his car at Island bend after setting the third fastest lap so far. This halted the session with approximately eight minutes to go and that stage I had recorded only one flying lap which was good enough to make me fastest but I need two more or I would be well down the order for races two & three. When the session was restarted the time was reduced to just six minutes. Considering my fastest lap was in the 1.40?s that didn?t give me long to bring my tyres in, find some track space among the 20 odd other cars and record two? more flying laps before the chequred flag came out. But I kept my cool and stayed focused in the knowledge of what I had to do and by the time the chequred flag was shown I had rattled off three laps all in the 1.39?s which were good enough to give the pole position for all three heats. Better still my Jamun team mates Jeroen Slaghekke and Nick McBride were 2^nd & 3^rd and Jake would have been 4^th had his car not come back on the back of a lorry in almost kit form for which you had to feel sorry for him for. Amazingly the team was able to repair this at the circuit in time for him to compete in both Monday races.

I have to say that the three races, one on Saturday and two on Monday were probably the most uneventful I have ever taken part in as I led from lights to flag in all three, winning by a comfortable margin in all three and recording the fastest lap in all three. Pretty much a perfect weekend! However there was plenty of action going on behind as the other podium places were being fiercely fought over and other battles going on all down the field. Unfortunately one of these battles resulted in Luke Williams?s car crashing heavily at Druids near the end of the final race bringing it to a slightly premature end with a red flag. It?s never nice to see a fellow driver hurt and I?m pleased to say that we heard that Luke was generally ok but very sore and bruised. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he is back out racing again soon.

So we have definitely put our season back on track and re-ignited our championship bid. But as I said a few posts ago I am not taking anything for granted or under estimating any of the opposition. They will all will re-group I?m sure but I have a point to prove and intend to go on proving it! Our next event is at the new Snetterton 300 circuit in just under three weeks time and I?m very much looking forward to it.

I?d just like to close by saying a very big thank you to the Jamun team with a special; mention for my mechanic Tom and of course to my partners ScanDoc Fortrus UK, ncpi solutions, Johal Regan, Essex Gas Utilities and Baines Leasing who make it possible for me to compete and to all of you for your continued interest.

All the Best

Scott

Photo’s by kind courtsey and permission of Ebrey Motorsport Photography

?

Well that was certainly an eventful start to the season! Not quite as planned I might add but then I have been saying all along that I am taking nothing for granted. Just when everything was looking good I suddenly started experiencing handling problems in qualifying and unfortunately despite everyone?s best efforts these were made worse for the first race. So to take the win on Saturday, all be it by the narrowest of margins, was very encouraging.

The team worked incredibly hard between the end of race one on Saturday afternoon and race two on Sunday to diagnose and cure the problems that I was having and gave me a very good car for Sunday in which I was able to record the fastest lap of the day. Unfortunately that was as good as it got because I then went on to record my first ever non-finishes ?in a British Championship Formula Ford race; bearing in mind that I finished and scored points in all 25 rounds of the same championship last season.

I?m sure you are going to read race reports and comments elsewhere about the incidents so I don?t really see the point in going over it all again here. All I will say is that some of the driving standards and tactics being deployed were not what you?d expect and hope for in a British Championship single seater event and for that reason I know that Sunday?s races are still under investigation so it would not be appropriate for me to comment any further on them here.

Congratulations to my team mate Jeroen Slaghekke on recording his first victory in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain and for a establishing a new lap record for the Silverstone National circuit. I personally will be glad to put Silverstone behind me and I look forward now to Oulton Park over the Easter weekend.

In closing I?d just like to say a very big thank you to my partners ncpi solutions, ScanDoc, Johal Regan, Essex Gas & Baines Leasing for getting me to the grid.

All the best

Scott

?Pre-season testing in the Jamun Mygale – Photo Ebrey Motorsport Photography

So that?s it. I completed my pre-season test programme yesterday at Oulton Park and I have to say that I am verypleased with how it has gone. As I write I am at the Glan-Y-Gors kart circuit in Wales helping young Sam Brabham prepare for his UK championship karting campaign and that?s been pretty much the story of the last few weeks either testing or helping the kart team with some training fitted in in-between and very little time off! But I wouldn?t have it any other way. Its hard work and a lot of effort to do this but I know I?ll appreciate it and think that it?s all worthwhile when I?m at Silverstone next weekend for the opening rounds of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain.

As I?ve said I think it?s taken me a while to adapt to the Mygale chassis so it?s very encouraging that testing has gone so well because I know that there is more to come yet. But I also expect some stiff competition and know that as last year the racing will be very competitive here; especially on a compact track like the Silverstone National circuit where I expect times to be extremely close amongst the leading drivers. Hopefully I will be one of them although as I?ve also said already nothing is ever taken for granted.

The biggest challenge this year has been trying to raise the budget to go racing and for a while it looked as though this wasn?t going to be possible but thanks very much to my partner since 2009 ScanDoc Document Management Services and a new partner for 2011 ncpi solutions I will be on the grid for the opening three rounds at Silverstone and will be doing my very best to repay their faith in me with a good performance and some good results.

But whatever happens the championship won?t be decided next weekend and I know from my experience last year that it?s a long season and that every point counts and as long as you keep doing the best that you can then you have a chance. It couldn?t have been much closer last season when Scott Pye and I battled it out right until the final race at Brands Hatch where it could have gone either way. I was delighted to see Scott top the pre-season F3 test times at Oulton Park last week and yes of course I?m envious and would love to be joining him in F3 this year, but at least it shows how high the standard was last season in Formula Ford and how well it prepares you for higher categories. As long as I can keep racing and keep my name up there then I have a chance of progressing to a professional career and that is my ambition.

Talking of professional careers I want to add very big congratulations to Formula Ford stalwart and friend Peter Dempsey on a highly impressive debut in the Indy Lights Championship at St Petersburg USA last weekend. Like me Peter has had to endure some very tough times to keep racing so I know how much that great result will mean to him and how he will do his best to make the most of the opportunity to continue his racing career as I am doing now.

All the best to all of you and thank you for your continued interest and support and if you are racing yourself this year may I wish you a highly enjoyable campaign.

Scott

Me?congratulating Peter Dempsey – Nov 2010 Walter Hayes Trophy Winner (Tim Surman Photography)

I had a good day at the official Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain 2011 launch day at Silverstone on Monday. Twenty drivers signed on from all the leading teams plus one or two newcomers for a whole day of testing on the compact National circuit.

I have to admit I am still getting to grips with the Jamun Mygale car which is quite different from the CDR Ray that I was driving last year. I have to say that both are very good cars, but have to be driven in completely different ways to get the absolute best out of them. But that is the great thing about Formula Ford as opposed to other series that use single make cars. Formula Ford, like Formula Three and Formula One allows for individuality of design and its then up to the teams, engineers and drivers to get the very best out of the cars and long may it continue. I hope that the proposed changes to the Formula for 2012 retain the opportunity for multiple manufacturers to compete.

The national circuit at Silverstone is quite a short lap and not particularly technical so it?s difficult to have a big advantage and the quick drivers are always going to be close to each other.? So I was delighted to be the fastest driver in both the morning and afternoon sessions with my Jamun team mates Nick McBride and Jeroen Slaghekke not too far behind me. But just as pleasing as getting the fastest overall lap was the fact that I was consistently quick and was able to be so all on my own running without the aid of a tow and I know that I?m not at the top of my game yet.

Of course this is only testing so we have to keep our feet firmly planted on terra firma but all the signs are very encouraging. There is still a lot of work to be done and in my case the hardest task as ever is finding a way to finance my season which is far from being sorted yet. These are extremely difficult economic times and a lot of businesses are really suffering at the moment so it is very hard to raise the finance to go racing. The knock on effect is that teams will suffer and grids will be smaller which nobody wants to see. There is no magic solution but we have to find a way to make motor racing cheaper and more accessible. Otherwise it will become more of an elitist sport only for the very wealthy.

Fingers crossed I will be on the grid for the first championship round, at Silverstone, in just over three weeks on April 9^th & 10^th. In the meantime it?s back to the day job!

I’ve been mega busy the last few weeks either working or doing some testing. Many of you will no doubt have read what my plans are for the 2011 season elsewhere and whilst its not what we originally had hoped to do its certainly better than not racing at all so I am looking forward to it, keeping my fingers crossed that it all comes together and feeling quite excited by it all.

So as you can all understand how I feel about it I have done something a little different for my blog this time. I was recently interviewed for some promotional work that is being done on my behalf to help raise funds and I have a transcript of the questions and answers which were used for another purpose. However this Q&A session will not be reproduced in this format elsewhere so I thought it would be good to incorporate it into my latest blog. So here goes:

You have surprised many by considering a return to a championship that you almost won last year and with you then going on to be nominated for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Driver Award one would reasonably expect you to be progressing your career by moving up the single seater ladder?

I really had hoped to! But it comes down to finance or should I say lack of it. I rely heavily on support from backers and in the current economic climate it is extremely difficult to raise the support that I need to go racing so it was honestly looking like a year on the sidelines until Jamun and I began talking a few weeks ago.
Doesn?t returning to UK Formula Ford put a lot of pressure on you after what you achieved last year you will naturally be a championship favourite?

Yes and no. Wherever I race I have to do my very best to beat all of my rivals so this is no different. That?s exactly what I have done throughout my entire motorsport career going right back to my early karting days. The pressure has always been on me to perform to the highest level in order to keep going.

Does returning to Jamun, where you worked as a mechanic in 2008, feel like going home?

Again yes & no! I have actually known most of the personnel at Jamun, including Tony and James Mundy, for quite a long time as the (last) two teams that I drove for the majority of my karting career (Scholartech & Project One Racing) had some very strong links to the team as they were based nearby and several of the drivers went on to drive for Jamun. Scholartech owner and former Jamun driver Mark Marchant used to take me along to Jamun test days when I was a junior kart racer. It was great experience learning the other side of the business as a mechanic in 2008 before I began my own car racing career.

Will it seem strange competing against the Cliff Dempsey Racing Team that you began your career with in 2009 and had two very good seasons with?

Yes of course. Cliff and his family became like my extended family and we had two great years together. I am very grateful to Cliff for all his help and also to Gavin Ray of Raysport as well. They both did a fantastic job for me and I have nothing but the highest praise for them. I very much wish them continued success and I hope that they can build on the solid foundations that we all created together particularly last year in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain. But naturally on the track I am there to do a professional job and as I?ve already said I have to do my very best to beat all of my rivals whoever they are driving for. It?s no different to a footballer being transferred from one club to another. Likely he will still have great affection for his former team and all his friends there but it won?t stop him trying to score against them when they play each other. But I sincerely hope that Cliff, Gavin & I will all remain friends and it would be nice to think they would welcome me back one day should the opportunity arise.

What are your goals for 2011?

To win as many races as possible and to win the championship if I can. Nothing is ever a dead cert in motor racing, just look at what happened recently in the Daytona 500, there will be some very strong competition again in this championship and we saw how good last year the Ray car can be and my input will have helped to make it even better in 2011 and now I have to beat it! Fluid Van Diemen will also be full of confidence after winning the 2010 Festival and signing one of the most highly rated young drivers and of course JTR always put a good car on the track and are very quick. But that is what excites me the most about this championship; the fact that there is a lot of competition and not just between the drivers and the teams but the manufacturers as well. The racing as ever will be close and spectacular and it?s great to be part of the show so I very much hope to be there and being able to prove what I can do once again!