Scott Malvern's blog

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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!

Well here we are approaching mid February and I?m certainly being kept busy what with helping the kart team out quite a bit and continuing my training regime which unfortunately has been interrupted by a nasty bout of lurgy (quite possibly manful!) that has seen me laid low for a week or so; still best to get these things over and done with I suppose.

However unfortunately what I cannot report on and what I’d really like to be telling you about is my race plans for this season because sadly as things stand I do not have any. As everyone knows these are really tough times for the economy and this has hit everybody really hard including most of my sponsors which is making things very uncertain at the moment. I know it?s totally not my sponsors fault, they cannot help it if they are not receiving the income they need to continue supporting me but it is so frustrating after two fantastic years which culminated with me being nominated for the highly prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award that I should find myself in this unhappy position.

Still I know I am not unique in this and rest assured that my family and I will be digging very deep to do everything we can to try to make it possible for me to continue what has been a very promising career to date. What a waste it would be of all of their hard work and that of all of my sponsors and supporters if we had to stop now!
I hope to have some news of a more positive nature to post next time I?m blogging here. In the meantime all the best to all of you and thanks for your continued interest.

Scott

I?m not long back from four very busy days at the Autosport Show at Birmingham NEC. I was there in my capacity as one of the McLaren Autosport BRDC award finalists which meant that I had to drive a Caterham Sports car in the Live Action Arena show and make appearances for interviews on the main Autosport Stage.

I have to say it was a very busy schedule as we were performing in up to five shows per day over the four days. In between my commitments I managed to fit in a few meetings with prospective team principals and other interested parties. I was surprised just how many people attended this year as it was extremely busy at times but this provided great visibility for me and my fellow Award finalists which hopefully will generate even more interest.

So the new racing season is just a few weeks away and I?ve noticed that many people are booking test dates. I?m hoping it won?t be too long before I?m back on track testing something. I?m starting to get itchy feet! But as we don?t have money to burn I think we will be waiting until we agree a race deal with a team before we commence any testing. As soon as I have something to report on that I will be blogging again!

Scott

The Autosport show is widely regarded as the curtain raiser to the new motor racing season taking place every year at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre in the middle of January. It?s nice to have something like this to look forward during these dark winter months and this year I will be taking a very active role in the show as one of the McLaren Autosport BRDC finalists which means I get to have some great fun driving in the Action Arena and I will be present for interview sessions on the main Autosport stage. I?m really looking forward to the driving part as I haven?t been behind the wheel of a racing car now for almost two months since my prize F3 test for West Tec at Rockingham back in November. I do envy drivers that are able to commit to a winter test programme or compete in a series over our winter months such as the Toyota Championship in New Zealand but time and budget unfortunately prevent this in my case so I very much welcome any seat time that I can get!

I have had a lot of interest from various race teams keen to sign me up for this season; in fact the phone seems to have hardly stopped ringing over the last week or so. It is very nice to be in demand but where, when and if I race unfortunately depends so much on what funds we have available so we are very busy trying to put something together that will enable me to have another great season. Just where that is likely to be I am keeping very open minded about at the moment but naturally I would love to pursue a single seater career for the foreseeable future and preferably in a class where I can gain experience of aero and downforce. The limited opportunity I have had to drive such cars such as the F2 car at the McLaren Autosport Award competition and the subsequent prize F3 test has convinced me that I have what it takes to do a great job in either of these and I enjoyed driving both immensely but I wouldn?t restrict my choice to just these two so other categories such as Formula Renault are also on our wish list. But as I said so much depends on what funding we can put in place.

So I better start getting packed up for my 5 days at the Autosport show and I?m sure I?ll be talking to one or two people whilst I?m there about possible future plans. If any of you are up there be sure to come and say hello! Until then; all the best for a Happy and prosperous New Year!

Scott

By now you will all no doubt know that I was unsuccessful in my quest to capture the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award and like 4 other drivers I am naturally disappointed. But let?s be honest I knew that I was an under dog here given my lack of experience up against the other finalists but am proud of what I was able to achieve in what turned out to be a hard fought close competition. Firstly I?d like to say big congratulations to Lewis Williamson who was this years winner and did a great job and secondly I?d like to add a massive thank you to the selection panel, judges and everyone connected with the competition for giving me this opportunity because it was a fantastic experience that no matter what I go on to achieve in motorsport I will always remember. I had the massive pleasure and thrill of driving the fantastic F2 car and the truly awesome Mercedes DTM car at Silverstone; I visited the very impressive McLaren Technology Centre, I had a great night at the Awards dinner and spoke to some real motorsport legends, I received to keep some great Racewear and a superb watch and I still have the Autosport show in January at the NEC in Birmingham to look forward where I will be invited onto the main Autosport stage and will be driving in the action arena. WOW! So the whole thing has been a great and very positive experience and not only that a lot more people are now aware of my achievements because of it so I feel really privileged to have been a finalist.

So what now you may ask? Well we are making plans for next year and I hope to be able to speak more about those in the near future but the main issue is of course is that we need again to raise the budget to compete and unfortunately moving upwards and onwards it becomes more expensive so there is some really hard work to be done now. Not that I haven?t been working hard anyway. I have been helping my former kart team Project One Racing who are very busy at the moment as karting doesn?t really have any winter break and I am also continuing to work with my race team of the last two years Cliff Dempsey Racing in trying to help bring in new drivers for 2011 and assisting in that process. I also took part in the annual Johnny Herbert karting Challenge and with my regular team Evo 6 (who finished as runners up last year) having a break this year, organiser Roy Craig (who does a fantastic job) drafted me into Johnny Herbert?s own team, The Two Johnnies, and I was pleased to be able to assist them to victory along with Johnny Mowlem, Tiffany Chittenden, Joseph Riley and Oliver Milroy. Unfortunately I wasn?t able to stick around to collect my winner?s trophy as I had to rush off to Park lane for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Awards Dinner but I really enjoyed the event, as always and most importantly a good sum was raised for the Northamptonshire & Warwickshire Ambulance Trust.

So as we head into the Festive Season I?d like to take this opportunity to wish Seasons Greetings to all of my supporters and here?s hoping for a prosperous New Year.

Bye for now

Scott

Well my season may be complete as far as the racing goes but since my last event, which was the Formula Ford Festival back in October, I hardly seem to have had a spare moment!

There has obviously been some preparation for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young driver of the year competition including a seat fitting for the F2 car at Bedford Autodrome followed by a fantastic 40 minute installation run in the car allocated to me for the competition itself. This was a great experience; my first ever run in a car with any sort of downforce and three times the power of the Duratec Formula Ford that I have been driving this year. I thoroughly enjoyed this and everyone seemed to think that I acquitted myself very well during the test. I also enjoyed a tour of the very impressive Bedford Autodrome facility and all the team personnel there really looked after me very well for the day and I?d like to thank everyone involved for a great time.

I?ve also visited three Formula Three facilities over the last few weeks including the Motul West Tec Team at Corby where I had another seat fitting in preparation for my first ever run in an F3 car which will take place at Rockingham on the 18th of this month. This is actually my prize drive for finishing as runner up in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain and I am looking forward to it very much. Whilst at West Tec, they kindly let me have a run on their F3 simulator which many of the current F3 drivers use on a regular basis. I found this to be extremely useful and would like to thank John Miller and his team for giving me this opportunity.

In between all of this I managed to fit in charity karting event at Sandown Park where I drove for Motorsport News journalist Rob Ladbrook in a team with Peter Dempsey. We thought we had this won until Peter was dubiously black flagged for allegedly failing to slow down enough for a waved yellow with just 4 minutes of the event remaining??..hmmmm??oh well at least it was a fun evening and we helped to raise a good amount of money for a good cause.

Last weekend I was a very interested spectator, and guest of Cliff Dempsey Racing, at the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone. I had hoped to be driving in this event myself but unfortunately circumstances prevented this. However I thoroughly enjoyed myself and it was great to see Peter Dempsey win the trophy for third time so a big well done to him and I hope it leads to something good for him for next season. However given the opportunity I?ll be there next year to try to take the trophy off of him next year!

We also have a couple of awards dinners to attend in the next few weeks for both the BRSCC and the BRDC so all in all a very busy time all round with lots happening which is great. I?ll be back on here to update you all again with current events in the near future.

Bye for now

Scott

I say it time & time again but the one thing that is certain in motor racing is that you should take nothing for granted! What an eventful Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch last weekend. I suffered my first mechanical failure of the season in a race situation, there was the most spectacular of barrel rolls at Paddock Hill bend in my semi final from which the driver thankfully walked away unhurt and the event was won by an unexpected but popular winner.

Our budget was really at a stretch to compete at the Festival so we limited our pre-event testing and used just one set of brand new tyres. I was told that some of my rivals had used up to nine sets in four days of pre-event running!

Qualifying on Saturday morning was on a damp but drying track and we made a last minute switch from worn wets to slicks. The track got quicker and quicker throughout the fifteen minute session. For a while I held provisional pole position for my heat, then slipped to 2nd when Scott Pye went quicker but I was on a real flyer on the last lap of the session and was well up on my 1st and 2nd sector times and hopeful of regaining pole but frustratingly was baulked in the final sector by one of the visiting Dutch drivers. Worse still Tio Ellinas and Peter Dempsey bettered their own times so I slipped to 4th.

That said I wasn?t too unhappy to be starting 4th in my qualifying heat on Saturday afternoon and was confident that I could move forward. So much for confidence! On the green flag lap my car coasted to a halt as I approached Surtees bend with driveshaft failure! I know that mechanical failures are part of the game and that I have been extremely fortunate to have started and finished all twenty five races that I have previously competed in this season so I suppose law of averages dictates that I was overdue a problem. I had to sit and watch from the sidelines as Scott Pye just clinched victory by the smallest of margins from Peter Dempsey (the son of my Team manager Cliff Dempsey) who heartbreakingly led the whole race except for the final few centimeters.

My failure to start my heat race consigned me to the back of the grid for my quarter final race on Sunday morning, but as I said never ever take anything for granted in motor racing! Scott Pye who started from pole was involved in a collision at Druids, on the first lap, with Roger De Wit as I worked my way up through the field. At half distance I passed old rival Rory Butcher at Paddock for 5th place and then Pier Egbert for 4th on the run up to Druids a couple of laps later. Although closing down on 3rd place the laps ran out but I was very happy with my progress and now looking forward to the semi final.
In my semi final I made a good start and quickly moved up from 4th to 2nd and onto the tail of leader Dennis Lind. But the safety car was brought out when Robert Wolk was flipped into an end over end roll at Paddock which on the replay (see You Tube) looks as though he could have leaped the crash barrier. He came to a halt upside down and thankfully walked away relatively unscathed by his experience.

On the restart Dennis and I held 1st and 2nd but his defensive driving did mean that I was caught on the last lap by Peter Dempsey who had to drive through the field after a DNF on the final lap of his quarter final.

So this result meant that I would line up 4th for the final. On pole ahead of me was Tio Ellinas with Dennis Lind on grid 2. Alongside on grid 3 was Scott Pye and Rory Butcher and Peter Dempsey were immediately behind me. Quite a line up!

I didn?t make the best of starts in that I didn?t make up any places but held my 4th. However up front both Dennis Lind and then Scott Pye passed pole man Tio Ellinas with Lind immediately making a break. I was able to get passed Ellinas for third on lap 3 and onto the gearbox of Pye but he defended resolutely leaving no room and more often than not backing me into Ellinas. The result of this was that Lind was able to maintain a gap. Frustratingly I knew that I was quicker than both Pye and Lind but with Pye defending so hard could do nothing about it. On the final lap I knew that victory was gone but I decided to have one last ditch effort at Pye because I knew that I was considerably quicker than him through Clearways. Unfortunately I got onto the power a fraction too early getting into a slide which allowed Ellinas to get through and steal third place from me at the chequered flag. I knew it was my mistake but I reasoned that settling for third at the Festival was not an option. However my disappointment at missing the podium was tempered slightly when I received both the Roger Pedrick Trophy for finishing as highest placed British driver and the John Nicol Memorial Trophy for being top Englishman. So not too bad after all. Big congratulations to Dennis Lind for a job well done & commiserations to Peter Dempsey who failed to take the start with a gearbox problem.

While that may be the final Duratec event of the season it?s far from my last on track activity. I have of course the McLaren Autosport BRDC competition to come, a test run in an F3 car with West Tec at the Formula Ford sampler day at Rockingham in November and possibly one more racing event back in an FF1600 car at Silverstone in the Sir Walter Hayes Trophy. I was disappointed not to be able to compete in this event last year and the Cliff Dempsey Race Team won it for the 2nd year in succession with USA Scholarship driver Conner Di Philippi following on from their win with Conor Daly in 2008. I?d love to have a go at it if I?m given the opportunity but I?ll keep you on posted on that if it looks like it?s definitely going to happen.
Bye for now

Scott