2014 British Formula Ford Championship Explained

The 2014 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain was a multi-event, open-wheel single seater motor racing championship held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers, competing in Formula Ford cars that conformed to the technical regulations for the championship. This, the 38th British Formula Ford season, was the second year of the single class format, with all drivers using the latest cars built to the Formula Ford EcoBoost specification. There was also an award for the highest placed Rookie. Part of the TOCA tour, it formed part of the extensive program of support categories built up around the BTCC centrepiece.[1] The season commenced on 30 March at Brands Hatch – on the circuit's Indy configuration – and concluded on 12 October at the same venue, utilising the Grand Prix circuit, after 30 races held at 10 meetings, all in support of the 2014 British Touring Car Championship season.

The championship was won by South African driver Jayde Kruger of the JTR team, finishing six points clear of Falcon Motorsport's Harrison Scott. Kruger won the most races during the season with 13 (to Scott's 5), but Scott's greater consistency – 24 podiums from 30 races – compared to Kruger (17 podiums) allowed him to remain in contention entering the final round at Brands Hatch, as both drivers entered the weekend with 651 points apiece. Scott won the first race to take the championship lead, before the two drivers collided on the second lap of race two. Kruger went on to win the race, while Scott failed to finish. Falcon Motorsport protested the result, before a JTR counter-appeal allowed the race result to stand as it was. Thus, Kruger's eighth place finish in the final race was enough for the championship, despite Scott winning. Falcon Motorsport again contested the result,[2] with the case being heard at the court of appeal, for the Motor Sports Association. Kruger was confirmed champion in November after Falcon's protest was rejected.[3]

The battle for third place in the championship was equally fraught, with a quartet of drivers being split by 11 points at season's end. Top Scholarship class runner Ashley Sutton, a five-time race winner for MBM Motorsport, was the victor in the battle; he finished six points clear of Radical Motorsport's Juan Rosso, who took his only win during the season at Thruxton. Rosso himself finished a point clear of Kruger's team-mate Max Marshall, who won a pair of races at Snetterton and Rockingham respectively. James Abbott, another Radical Motorsport driver, was also a two-time winner, and he finished sixth in the drivers' championship, taking wins at the opening Brands Hatch meeting and Croft. The only other winner, with two wins, was Sam Brabham for JTR, before his season was cut short due to budgetary issues; he had won two of the three races to be held at Thruxton. Sutton was a comfortable winner of the Scholarship class along with his third place overall finish, finishing almost 200 points clear of his next best class rival, Ricky Collard, Scott's team-mate at Falcon Motorsport. The Teams' Cup was won by JTR, despite Falcon Motorsport closing in at the final round; JTR were still able to finish clear by 33 points, while the Nations' Cup was won by South Africa, on the basis of Kruger's results.

Championship changes

To bring the championship into line with many other junior single seater championships, series organisers announced that the second race of each meeting would be held with a partially reversed grid.[4]

Teams and drivers

TeamDrivers/ClassRounds
JTR[5] 1 Sam BrabhamMygale M12-SJ/Mountune1–4
2 Jayde KrugerAll
18 Max MarshallAll
20 Clay MitchellS8–10
Jamun Racing[6] 4 Jack BarlowMygale M12-SJ/Scholar1
16 Ashley SuttonS3–5
MBM Motorsport4 Jack BarlowMygale M12-SJ/Scholar10
16 Ashley SuttonS6–10
79 Jessica HawkinsS9
94 Michael O'BrienS6, 8–10
Falcon Motorsport[7] 6 Harrison ScottMygale M13-SJ/SwindonAll
11 Ricky CollardMygale M12-SJ/SwindonSAll
23 Chris MealinSAll
Meridian Motorsport[8] 16 Ashley SuttonMygale M12-SJ/ScholarS1
35 Connor JuppS4–5
75 Bobby ThompsonS G2–3
82 Connor MillsS1–5
SWB17 James WebbSinter LA12/ScholarS1–2
88 Greg HollowayAll
Richardson Racing24 Ovie IroroMygale M12-SJ/ScholarS2–3, 9–10
25 Louise RichardsonS5–10
72G1
71 Ben ConstandurosS G1
76 Andy Richardson4
Radical Motorsport26 Juan RossoMygale M13-SJ/MountuneAll
74 James AbbottAll
IconClass
GGuest
SScholarship

Race calendar and results

The provisional calendar was announced on 14 September 2013, with no major changes from 2013.[9] All races were held in the United Kingdom.

RoundCircuitDatePole positionFastest lapWinning driverWinning team
1R1Brands Hatch
(Indy Circuit, Kent)
29 Marchnowrap Harrison Scottnowrap Jayde Krugernowrap Jayde KrugernowrapJTRnowrap Ricky Collard
R2 Max Marshall James AbbottRadical Motorsport Ricky Collard
R330 March Harrison Scott Harrison Scott Jayde KrugerJTR Chris Mealin
2R4Donington Park
(National Circuit, Leicestershire)
19 April Jayde Kruger Jayde Kruger Jayde KrugerJTR Connor Mills
R520 Aprilnowrap Harrison Scottnowrap Harrison ScottFalcon Motorsport Connor Mills
R6nowrap Harrison Scottnowrap Harrison Scott Jayde KrugerJTR Connor Mills
3R7Thruxton Circuit
(Hampshire)
3 Maynowrap Sam Brabham Max Marshallnowrap Sam BrabhamJTRnowrap Ashley Sutton
R8nowrap Sam Brabham Juan RossonowrapRadical Motorsport Ashley Sutton
R94 Maynowrap Sam Brabham Ashley Suttonnowrap Sam BrabhamJTR Ashley Sutton
4R10Oulton Park
(Island Circuit, Cheshire)
7 June Harrison Scott Jayde Kruger Harrison ScottFalcon Motorsport Ricky Collard
R11 Jayde Kruger Jayde KrugerJTR Chris Mealin
R128 June Jayde Kruger Jayde Kruger Jayde KrugerJTR Connor Mills
5R13Croft Circuit
(North Yorkshire)
28 June Harrison Scott Jayde Kruger Harrison ScottFalcon Motorsport Ashley Sutton
R14 Ashley Sutton Ashley SuttonJamun Racing Ashley Sutton
R1529 June Harrison Scott Jayde Kruger James AbbottRadical Motorsport Ashley Sutton
6R16Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit
(300 Circuit, Norfolk)
2 August Jayde Kruger Ashley Sutton Max MarshallJTR Ashley Sutton
R173 August Ashley Sutton Ashley SuttonMBM Motorsport Ashley Sutton
R18 Ashley Sutton Jayde Kruger Ashley SuttonMBM Motorsport Ashley Sutton
7R19Knockhill Racing Circuit
(Fife)
23 August Ashley Sutton Ashley Sutton Ashley SuttonMBM Motorsport Ashley Sutton
R2024 August Ashley Sutton Jayde KrugerJTR Ricky Collard
R21 Jayde Kruger Jayde Kruger Jayde KrugerJTR Ashley Sutton
8R22Rockingham Motor Speedway
(International Super Sports Car Circuit, Northamptonshire)
6 September Jayde Kruger Ashley Sutton Jayde KrugerJTR Ashley Sutton
R237 September Max Marshall Max MarshallJTR Ashley Sutton
R24 Jayde Kruger Jayde Kruger Jayde KrugerJTRnowrap Louise Richardson
9R25Silverstone Circuit
(National Circuit, Northamptonshire)
nowrap27 September Jayde Kruger Jayde Kruger Jayde KrugerJTR Ashley Sutton
R2628 September Jayde Kruger Ashley SuttonMBM Motorsport Ashley Sutton
R27 Jayde Kruger Harrison Scott Jayde KrugerJTR Ashley Sutton
10R28Brands Hatch
(Grand Prix Circuit, Kent)
11 October Ashley Sutton Ashley Sutton Harrison ScottFalcon Motorsport Ricky Collard
R2912 October Ashley Sutton Jayde KrugerJTR Ashley Sutton
R30 Ashley Sutton Ashley Sutton Harrison ScottFalcon Motorsport Ashley Sutton

Championship standings

Drivers' Championship

PosDriverBHIDONTHROULCROSNEKNOROCSILBHGPvalign=middlePoints
1 Jayde Kruger161161Ret622116556424111Ret1131418717
2 Harrison Scott22431Ret2371221332342333332821Ret1711
3 Ashley Sutton981034384102123111Ret522DNS313Ret32567
4 Juan Rosso8725335153Ret3344776654109755Ret374561
5 Max Marshall5476724246Ret4566153522412RetRet4Ret25560
6 James Abbott616448676116542156Ret768778425686556
7 Ricky Collard43RetRet9Ret988787Ret9842934654Ret64DNS253436
8 Chris Mealin71088106RetDNSDNS9387799889RetRet8899Ret97119314
9align=left nowrap Louise Richardson10111188Ret10978776548765107292
10 Greg Holloway111314121391112121210Ret9101111101010899101012101291212268
11 Sam BrabhamRet9325Ret1514RetDNS186
12 Connor MillsRetRet97247991056RetRet7183
13 Michael O'Brien8Ret5RetRet5768848146
14 Jack Barlow355Ret91086
15 Clay MitchellRet6611Ret7Ret61384
16 Ovie Iroro1112Ret101111Ret911RetDNSDNS72
17 James Webb1314131011756
18 Connor JuppRet9RetRetDNS1024
Guest drivers ineligible for points
Andy Richardson5790
Bobby Thompson985810100
Jessica Hawkins1011100
Ben Constanduros1212120
PosDriverBHIDONTHROULCROSNEKNOROCSILBHGPvalign=middlePoints

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Formula Ford returns in 2013 . . . 12 October 2012 . 12 October 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130723101130/http://www.btcc.net/html/generalnews_detail.php?id=3211 . 23 July 2013 .
  2. News: British Formula Ford title battle goes to MSA court after clash. Scott. Mitchell. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 13 October 2014. 31 October 2014.
  3. News: Jayde Kruger confirmed British Formula Ford champion by MSA court. Scott. Mitchell. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 19 November 2014. 20 November 2014.
  4. Web site: Regulation stability and cash prize fund for Formula Ford 2014 . . 12 November 2013 . 17 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140306164823/http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk/regulation-stability-and-cash-prize-fund-for-formula-ford-2014/ . 6 March 2014 . dead . dmy-all .
  5. Web site: Champion team JTR to return to Formula Ford for 2014 . British Formula Ford . 10 February 2014 . 10 February 2014 . https://archive.today/20140210131427/http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk/champion-team-jtr-to-return-to-formula-ford-for-2014/ . 10 February 2014 . dead . dmy-all .
  6. Web site: TEAM NEWS: Rosso races back to Formula Ford with title win his aim. British Formula Ford. 24 January 2014. 24 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140201182436/http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk/rosso-races-back-to-formula-ford-with-title-win-his-aim/. 1 February 2014. dead. dmy-all.
  7. Web site: Successful conclusion to Falcon driver assessments . British Formula Ford . 6 December 2013 . 17 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217232117/http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk/successful-conclusion-to-falcon-driver-assessments/ . 17 December 2013 . dead . dmy-all .
  8. Web site: Meridian confirms three-car Formula Ford team for coming season . British Formula Ford . 9 January 2014 . 9 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140109232900/http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk/meridian-confirms-three-car-formula-ford-team-for-coming-season/ . 9 January 2014 . dead .
  9. News: 2014 BTCC calendar announced. British Touring Car Championship. TOCA. 14 September 2013. 23 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130928014824/http://www.btcc.net/html/generalnews_detail.php?id=3546&month=0&year=2013&form=&searchterm=. 28 September 2013. dead. dmy-all.