Walter Hayes Trophy Result

In a Royale RP21 with Shaws Motorsport.

We started the weekend on Thursday as i had paid for Thursday Friday testing for the race weekend. Hitting the track for the first time ever on Thursday morning in damp conditions proved difficult as i had to get to grips with a new track again in tricky conditions. Yet the week before i had completed some critical sim work that allowed me to get to grips with the circuit quickly.

The track slowly dried throughout the day ending in a dry last session which was critical as it gave me the time to get to grips with the circuit in the dry. Moving onto Friday was more of the same testing yet the weather hampered us slightly by raining overnight leaving the track wet for the morning and then later in the day my final session became a wet practice session as dark clouds covered the circuit and it started heavily raining. Nevertheless this helped me acclimatise to the circuit as i had driven it in many different conditions before the weekend had even began.

Starting Saturday we had Qualifying for the heats, my qualifying was the first out of the rest of formula ford grids which meant we had the track in its worst conditions as it had yet again rained overnight. Nevertheless i was able to get my head down and push in the hair raising conditions qualifying 14th out of 25 cars including modern cars.

Next i was out in my first race in the knock out heats for the Walter Hayes Trophy. Starting 14th i had a rough race and was fighting in the pack struggling with the car i finished 17th. Disappointed with the result i brushed it aside and focused on making setup changes as i wasn't happy with the car handling.

My final outing for Saturday was in the Carl Hamer pre final which was exclusive to cars pre 1982. Starting 17th and happy with the setup changes i was optimistic going into the race believing i had the pace to push through the pack. I had an excellent race moving up to 8th and closing up on the pack ahead. Unfortunately the race was capped at 8 laps which stopped me from moving even further up the pack. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gbEDWNtA1k&t=4s

Moving onto Sunday my disappointing heat result from Saturday meant i was put in the last chance race. Nevertheless i kept my head up and focused on getting the optimal result to make it into the semi finals. Starting 13th i had to stay in the top 20 to qualify into the semi finals. Luckily i was able to move through the pack Infront quickly to make my way into the top 10 and eventually being able to finish 9th, securing me a place in a semi final.

Starting 30th in the 1st semi final i had to make up 12 places to qualify for the Grand Final, sadly it was a tough race and i wasn't able to make all 12 places up finishing 24th in the end. It was a high ask as the modern cars were much more suited to the slipstream nature of the track leaving the classic cars vulnerable on straights which made racing them very difficult.

My last race for the weekend was the Carl Hamer Trophy final where i started 8th. Optimistic with my pace i was looking forward to seeing how far i could get and see if a possible top 5 was on the cars. Yet it was a slow burner of a race leaving all the action to the final few laps where i found myself up to 6th and battling for 5th just clutching it on the line. I was most certainly happy with a top 5 result as it proved that the car and i had the pace to be at the Walter Hayes trophy and nearly contend for a classic win. Watch it here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb-TAX-Y6Gs&t=5s

Overall it was a good weekend, felt more of a smooth ride that the Festival but still needed more seat time in the car and at the track to be right at the top 3 in the Carl Hamer Trophy. Yet it definitely proved we have the pace and sets an exciting tone for next year in Formula Ford for what could be achieved.