Saturday and round one was held of the Coastal circuit – the shorter of the two layouts for the meeting. I was surprised at how slow the Coastal layout is and with an average lap speed amongst the slowest in the country, a significant proportion of the lap is spent in second and third gears.

I think it is fair to say we were struggled to get the car balanced and handling well. I was having difficulty with corner entry oversteer which manifested itself at both high speed corners (Turn 1 and Turn 3) and also through the slower complex (including the infamous Corkscrew). Interestingly, this was not so much of a problem at Snetterton and I suspect that the unusually high grip surface at Anglesey was exacerbating the situation.

We qualified 12th for the first race on Saturday and after a decent start finished 10th. Again, not exactly the result I would have wanted but considering we were still experiencing cooling (the water temperature reached 100c during the race), braking and handling problems it certainly could have been worse. None the less, after a debrief on Saturday night we made a fundamental suspension change on Sunday morning ahead of qualification for round two.

The second day was held on the longer (2.1 mile) International circuit. Our changes did indeed improve the handling of the car and I lined up 9th on the grid for race two.

After another decent start, I was quickly up to 5th position and felt faster than the cars ahead of me. I didn’t take an opportunity to make a move on Benji Hetherington for 4th position and as I struggled with my tyres going off (we have a better idea of what tyre pressures to start on now), I lost ground and finally finished 6th.

So we made a step forward on Sunday with the car and with the 4th fastest race lap, it was a shame not to have finished 4th on the road. However, ultimately it is more important that we continued to make progress with the car throughout the weekend and I have to admit that after finishing two races (my first since winning Formula Vee in 2007!), I feel more bullish about my performance next time out.

Upon reflection, turning up to a circuit you have never seen before, running the car out of a trailer with your father and a friend and with no real experience of the formula is not an easy task. Transforming a car with no previous pedigree into a race winner is an evolutionary process which will take time to achieve. And whilst I am eager to get to the front, impatience is unlikely to yield results.

I would like to thank everybody involved for their super hard work this weekend (my Dad and Paxo!).

Earlier today I submitted a late entry into round one of the Midland South Formula Ford 1600 championship at Silverstone for this weekend (12/04/09). Ironically, despite being a Silverstone ARDS instructor, I have never been on the International circuit. I cannot afford to test this Friday before the race and so I will consider it an extension to the Anglesey weekend and continue to learn from the experience. In the meantime we will try to resolve as many of the problems from Anglesey (cooling and brakes) before Sunday and ahead of the next National championship meeting at Snetterton.

Related posts:

1. Formula Ford: Anglesey Preview
2. Formula Ford: Silverstone Review
3. Formula Ford: Brands Hatch Review

When I first saw the calendar for the National Formula Ford 1600 championship, that was the impression I got. It is a true championship of the British Isles with two rounds in Wales (Anglesey, Pembrey), one round in Scotland (Knockhill), one round in Ireland (Mondello Park) and the other five in England (Snetterton, Silverstone and Castle Combe).

And for me at least, that means a lot of travel.

Nobody really wants to race at the same circuit every weekend and in having a diverse calendar not only gives a championship more credibility but in theory, it also gives itself the widest possible audience of competitors (the likely case in National Formula Ford 1600). But the question is this: does there come a point in which the sheer amount of traveling involved in a championship undermines the motivation to compete?

I decided I’d take a look at the other single seater championships in Britain and see how they compare.

Calculate your own season travel costs using this tool

To collect this data I have created a simple tool that given a post code and a calendar of races, gives an estimate to the likely travel costs. You can find this tool (and try it for yourself) here: Link to Calculate Season Travel Cost Tool.

Comparing the Data

So, from the six main single seater championships this year, National Formula Ford 1600, for me at least, involves the most significant amount of travel, from the second smallest number of meetings. In fact, if I was to substitute my home address for say, Manchester, there would be no difference in outcome (4169 miles).

What’s more, in National Formula Ford 1600, trips to Ireland, Scotland and Wales generally mean three day weekends and therefore, hotels. And so the real figure is actually likely to be much higher indeed.

You might be thinking that £751.79 doesn’t seem that much money, especially considering how much it costs to compete in motorsport in the first place. But it isn’t the amount itself that is important, it is the number relative to other series.

In a year in which the UK economy is officially in recession, is it sensible that the National Formula Ford 1600 championship has 35% more travel than its British Formula Ford counterpart (bearing in mind that National Formula Ford is supposedly an affordable “club” championship)?

Either way: right or wrong, smart or dumb, that’s how it is and as I’d like to challenge for the title, I will have to find a way. But it does make you wonder, doesn’t it?

Related posts:

1. Tools
2. Formula Ford: About Pembrey
3. Who is the most successful country in motorsport and F1?