Max Esterson: Donington Race Preview

Hello… For those who might be interested, I just wanted to provide you with a brief lead-up and a preview to this weekend’s opening rounds of the 2021 BRSCC Avon Tyres Formula Ford National Championship.

I’ve now been here in the UK with my Californian teammate Colin Queen for almost two months and been lucky to have gotten some good testing in as well as two Champion of Snetterton races and two Champion of Donington races. Both were great experiences – a couple more standing starts under my belt, poles at both events, four fastest laps, a new official track record at Donington, and two wins. Best of all the scrap at the front of the field at Donington was nonstop – “classic formula ford racing.”  Surprisingly, there was almost no crash damage amongst all of us at the front, even though it was all-out in for the entirety of each 15-minute race.

Looking forward to the first championship rounds this coming weekend, my guess is it will be more of the same with even more intensity, a bigger field and good racing. Low Dempsey will field its two cars – piloted by myself and Colin Queen. Reigning champions Kevin Mills Racing will be fielding three strong entries with Lucas Romanek, Alex Walker, and Megan Gilkes. Team Dolan’s veteran front runner Chris Middlehurst is expected compete along with teammate Morgan Quinn. Oldfield Motorsport will have one car in their stable, driven by American, Carter Williams, while undoubtedly Andy Brickles’ B-M Racing will be right at the front with his cars including Jamie Sharp and last year’s Formula Ford Festival winner, Rory Smith. Throw in Formula Ford legend, Joey Foster, and a few others who will come out of the woodwork, and the battles at the sharp end of the field will undoubtedly be fierce.

For those of you not familiar with the BRSCC Formula Ford race format for the championship, the weekends proceed as follows à Qualifying times set the grid for Race 1;  grid positions for Race 2 are determined by Race 1 finishing positions; and Round 3 grid positions based on Round 2 finishing position but with the first 6-10 spots inverted. The format is subject to change closer to the date of the event, but it should follow something similar to what I outlined. 

Personally, I can’t wait to get going. I’m hopeful to come out of the weekend with some good points and a good foundation to build on for the rest of the season, although I'm not really sure what to expect as the weather forecast looks pretty miserable!

- Max