Max Esterson: Donington Race Recap
I just wrapped up two days of testing followed by two days of racing at Donington Park, marking the start of the 2021 BRSCC National Formula Ford Championship. The sun was out for testing on Thursday and Friday, and I spent most of both days at the top of the timing charts. With rain in the forecast for Saturday, I spent the last test session on Friday scrubbing in a new set of tires so that I’d be ready to go out of the gate for qualifying in the morning.
The weather was abysmal on Saturday morning: heavy rain, high winds, and poor visibility. I worked my way through a bit of traffic at the start of the session and put in the fastest lap with around three minutes to go. Team Dolan’s Chris Middlehurst managed to sneak in a pole time under yellow flag conditions and veteran Joey Foster ended up third, followed by B-M Racing’s Rory Smith and Jamie Sharp.
The rain did not let up for Race #1, but I had a great start off the line and tried a move for the lead around the outside of the first corner, but failed to make it stick. Trying to be patient, a few laps later I got a great run out of the final chicane and passed Chris Middlehurst around the outside of Redgate (Turn 1). After several laps in the lead, a three-wide entry into Redgate was punctuated when I got tapped by Middlehurst, which caused him to spin and allowed Rory Smith to get to the lead. I hunted Rory down but was unable to get by, a bit disappointed knowing I had the potential to win, but also happy to finish second considering I sustained slight damage from the contact with Middlehurst.
A second place finish in Race #1 meant that I would start Race #2 on the front row. I got another great start and took the lead before the first corner, but made a mistake four corners later and had a big slide with a quick off track excursion dropping me down to sixth or seventh. After a safety car restart and two of my own quick trips to the gravel trap, I worked my way through the field and then made two passes on the last lap - one around the outside with three corners to go and one up the inside of the final chicane to secure third place.
The grid for Race #3 was set by reversing the top eight finishers of Race #2, so I started sixth. I had a poor start and fell back to eighth, but made a good recovery to ultimately finish fourth, less than a tenth behind third place after plenty of spirited battling.
All things considered, it was a great first weekend and I collected some solid championship points. The pace to win is there - seemingly in rain or shine. I just need to iron out a few of the small errors, especially early on in the races against some super experienced Formula Ford drivers who are ready to pounce at any second. You can watch the replays of all three races by clicking the links below; there was some brilliant racing:
I’m off to Silverstone this weekend - a nice ten minute drive from where I'm living - for a club race in preparation for the National round this summer… More exciting racing to come.
Max Esterson