Singe seater FF1600 Journey
Discussion
Hi All
I thought it would be interesting to document our experiences as my 16 year old lad makes his debut racing Formula Ford.
After a good few years in karts, mostly tough years, but we had some moments, we have made the jump to a Single seater.
So this weekend he races for the first time in the United Formula Ford Series in a 2010 Ray that we are buying.
I had wanted to go down the Super classic route, as it would have ideal to learn the craft in an older more forgiving car.
However the cars that we could use, all had the same issue, too cramped for my lad. He is 5ft 11 but has size 10 feet.
Not an issue I had thought about.
Now apparently back in the day, drivers used to tape up feet and cut boots apart etc, but as a Dad I was a bit uneasy about this so we went with the newer bigger Ray
My lad, Harrison, first tested at Donnington and did not get of to a great start, with dash failure indicating no oil pressure twice resulting in him pulling off the circuit, but one an old school gauge was plumbed in, he got two good sessions in. He was out on a test day with historics, which gave dad a heart attack initially. But everyone was very respectful and the sight of a Wolf F1 car blasting past my lad will stay with me for a while.
Then we tested at Brands, this time with a lot of the United cars and 2 teammates. Sadly in the afternoon sessions the engine went sick, fresh from a rebuild we think it had a ring issue. still it was seat time.
So now we go to Donnington, nervous yet excited. Still so much to learn, one key part being standing starts, something he has never really done before.
I am hoping that he can enjoy the experience and take it all in. It will certainly be a huge challenge and really all I hope for is to finish each race. we want to build up his experience this season at different tracks ready for next year.
Its all very different to karting, and after being so involved in karting, to basically just be a spectator now is taking some getting used too.
First Job really is to get off novice plates by ensuring that He does nothing daft or silly.
I will keep you updated as we go along this journey into club motorsport and see where it can take us. We dream high, but we race to a very tight budget and try to just make the most of everything we have.
I thought it would be interesting to document our experiences as my 16 year old lad makes his debut racing Formula Ford.
After a good few years in karts, mostly tough years, but we had some moments, we have made the jump to a Single seater.
So this weekend he races for the first time in the United Formula Ford Series in a 2010 Ray that we are buying.
I had wanted to go down the Super classic route, as it would have ideal to learn the craft in an older more forgiving car.
However the cars that we could use, all had the same issue, too cramped for my lad. He is 5ft 11 but has size 10 feet.
Not an issue I had thought about.
Now apparently back in the day, drivers used to tape up feet and cut boots apart etc, but as a Dad I was a bit uneasy about this so we went with the newer bigger Ray
My lad, Harrison, first tested at Donnington and did not get of to a great start, with dash failure indicating no oil pressure twice resulting in him pulling off the circuit, but one an old school gauge was plumbed in, he got two good sessions in. He was out on a test day with historics, which gave dad a heart attack initially. But everyone was very respectful and the sight of a Wolf F1 car blasting past my lad will stay with me for a while.
Then we tested at Brands, this time with a lot of the United cars and 2 teammates. Sadly in the afternoon sessions the engine went sick, fresh from a rebuild we think it had a ring issue. still it was seat time.
So now we go to Donnington, nervous yet excited. Still so much to learn, one key part being standing starts, something he has never really done before.
I am hoping that he can enjoy the experience and take it all in. It will certainly be a huge challenge and really all I hope for is to finish each race. we want to build up his experience this season at different tracks ready for next year.
Its all very different to karting, and after being so involved in karting, to basically just be a spectator now is taking some getting used too.
First Job really is to get off novice plates by ensuring that He does nothing daft or silly.
I will keep you updated as we go along this journey into club motorsport and see where it can take us. We dream high, but we race to a very tight budget and try to just make the most of everything we have.
Edited by Alwayzsidewayz2 on Tuesday 19th August 17:29
Edited by Alwayzsidewayz2 on Tuesday 19th August 17:29
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