Shawn Rashid: Success!
This past weekend was the BRSCC Formula Ford National race at Brands Hatch Indy. We started the weekend with a test day on Friday consisting of four 25-minute sessions. The weather was clear with scattered clouds. It was forecasted to be a light shower on Friday and possibly rain Sunday. After lunch, we did manage to get some much-needed practice in the rain after what has been a parched summer. Unfortunately, the rain session was cut short after two red flags. Nevertheless, I was consistently among the top 3 fastest cars on track in all but one test session. I worked on set-up with the team and felt confident that we had an extremely competitive car for the weekend.
The schedule was hectic Saturday with qualifying and two races. The sun was out early and warmed the track up reasonably quickly. The 15-minute qualifying was a scramble, but I put several great laps together. In the end, I qualified P4, only 7.5 hundredths off the front row. Considering my fastest lap was without a tow, I was pleased with the result.
Race 1 began only 2 hours later. Moving onto the line, I was starting on the outside with Rory Smith (2020 Formula Ford Festival Champion and almost a decade of experience in the FF) in P3, Colin Queen (Currently 2nd in the championship and second year in FF) in P2, and Jordan Dempsey (Championship leader and almost eight years of experience in the FF) in P1. Needless to say, I was in the company of some great drivers with tons of experience. I got out to an excellent start, passing Rory before turn 1. For the rest of the race, I pushed to keep up with the lead two until Rory and I began to battle hard. He tried several different moves on me, but I stayed ice cool under pressure and successfully defended my position corner after corner, lap after lap. It was an extremely tough and mentally draining race, but in the end, I took the checkered in P3! I couldn't be happier with the result as I successfully fended off several very experienced drivers.
For the weekend's second race, I was starting where I left off in P3. I also got off to a great start this race; however, when the tires came in at about lap 3, it was clear that track conditions were not being kind to the set-up I was running. I was fighting the rear apex out in Graham Hill and mid-corner of Surtees. At about lap 4-5, I was caught up by the driver behind going into Druids. Unfortunately, while taking Druids, the driver in P5 (Rory Smith) locked up and slammed hard into the back of the driver in P4 (Andre Lafonde), who then ran into my right rear, causing me to catch a massive slide and drop into P6. I spent the rest of the race pushing hard to get back up the order, but with the damage sustained and minimal time left, I finished in P6.
Despite my disappointment in not being able to capitalize on my P3 start, I was ecstatic to learn that I would be starting on pole for the reverse grid race 3. This was my first pole position start, and I was determined to seize the moment. Race 3 was scheduled for a noon start, and the weather played out to be overcast, but no rain. On the line with no one in front, I felt like I was where I belonged. All my dedication and hard work had prepared me well for this moment. The lights went out, and I got off to my third great start of the weekend. With a large enough gap to take the racing line into turn 1, I began getting to work and pulling a gap to the field. Jamie Sharp (last year's FF Festival champion) managed to keep with me as we broke away. Unfortunately, on lap 3, Jamie made a critical and unforced error as he plowed straight into and over the back of my car exiting Paddock. He sustained substantial front-end damage and quickly fell back, leaving me with badly damaged rear roll bars (to the point where the ordinarily vertical bars were bent 90 degrees like bananas).
Nevertheless, I pushed through and did not let my focus waver. I adjusted and adapted to the car and managed to put in lap after lap of great pace. I held a lead of around 2 seconds for almost the entirety of the race until a massive wreck in turn 1 triggered a red flag with 2 minutes left and ended the race. Luckily everyone involved in the wreck managed to walk away with no injuries, and I was able to celebrate my first victory in the formula ford!
I feel so grateful to follow my passion and continue growing and learning every race. I have been working non-stop every day to make my dream a reality, and I believe if you look at my season, you will see this reflected in the consistent progression of my results. My success only adds fuel to the fire as I immediately get back to training for the Donington National Race in 3 weeks.
Thank you for taking the time to reflect on this past weekend with me, and I look forward to keeping you up to date on future events. Until then, please take care and have a wonderful day!
- Shawn Rashid