Andre Lafond: A weekend full of action, great racing and a podium!
What a weekend! Leading into the event at Croft, the huge grid and exciting track promised nothing but action from the start, with 32 Formula Fords entered!
The wind and sun was there to greet us as soon as we stepped out of the car upon arrival. After arriving mid day Thursday, it was straight out onto the track for a track walk. Croft immediately jumped out as an old school track, with little room for error, and a fast and flowy lap. While harsh drops after the curbs and encroaching tire barriers would ensure that any mistakes would be made apparent. The weather looked set to stay clear all throughout the weekend, which took the ever present variable of a wet track out of play.
Despite never having run at Croft beforehand, it felt natural right out of pitlane. Making consistent progress forwards all throughout Friday’s testing. During testing however the sheer numbers of cars, some of which with large gaps in speed, began to cause large amounts of traffic. This was an interesting challenge to work around on the relatively fast and narrow circuit. Overall testing went very well and put us in a solid position for qualifying.
Due to the traffic, our strategy was to start the session right at the front of the grid and get a lap in as soon as possible. After clearing a few cars I put in a quick lap that put me in P2! Unfortunately that lap was deleted due to a questionable track limits violation. That being my only lap in the clear meant that I had to start the race in P8. We knew that there was a lot of pace in the car. I just needed to keep my head down, move forward, and take advantage of every opportunity.
In Race 1 I got off to a great start, and maintained that momentum through the opening laps, making up spots. From then on the race was somewhat uneventful, mainly involving turning out consistent and quick laps. Until the closing stages when a large crash brought out the red flag. After the dust settled I finished the race P4! A good start to the weekend but there was still more left in the tank.
Race 2 began with another great start, exiting turn one P3! With more pace than the chasing cars I began to open up a gap with a bit of breathing room. Unfortunately I caught a few backmarkers in less than ideal places, which destroyed my momentum onto the back straight. This led to me dropping down to P4. Fortunately the pace was there and I was able to chase the car back down, regaining the podium spot after a pass around the outside into Tower Bend! From then on the lapped traffic continued to wreak havoc but I was able to hold onto the position. Until a clear track ahead allowed me to open up the gap to the chasing cars on the final lap. An action filled race ended with my first National FF1600 Podium!
For Race 3, the reverse grid meant I started P5, after an initially good start, I was boxed in with nowhere to go. This bumped me down the order a decent bit. After that I got my head down and started to make up some spots, securing one with a move around the outside into Clerveaux! After several hard fought battles, losing a position in the closing stages of the race meant I finished P6. Not the greatest but a solid spot nonetheless.
Great progress forward, and still more to come! With such a tight and talent filled grid as Formula Ford, the steps forward feel all the more rewarding. A huge thank you to Andy, Ben, and the entirety of the Ammonite Motorsports crew! I was proud to be able to represent the team and those who have helped and believed in me thus far on the podium. Great progress forward but leaving the weekend with a couple things to work on. Can’t wait to get back in the car. The next race at Anglesey is going to be a good one!
- Andre Lafond