2015 MSA Formula Championship explained

The 2015 MSA Formula Championship was a multi-event, Formula 4 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 4 cars that conformed to the technical regulations for the championship. This, the inaugural season, following on from the British Formula Ford Championship, was the first year that the cars conformed to the FIA's Formula 4 regulations.^[1] Part of the TOCA tour, it formed part of the extensive program of support categories built up around the British Touring Car Championship centrepiece.^[2]

The season commenced on 5 April at Brands Hatch – on the circuit's Indy configuration – and concluded on 11 October at the same venue, utilising the Grand Prix circuit, after thirty races held at ten meetings, all in support of the 2015 British Touring Car Championship.

Lando Norris won the championship with eight victories, 42 points ahead of Ricky Collard, who won six races. Third-placed Colton Herta came out victorious four times, Sennan Fielding and second-highest placed rookie Dan Ticktum won three races each, Matheus Leist and Sandy Mitchell won twice respectively, and Josh Smith and top rookie Enaam Ahmed both triumphed just once.

Championship changes

The championship adopted the technical regulations for the new FIA Formula 4 specification, becoming the official F4 championship in the United Kingdom. The championship kept the Ford EcoBoost engine but with a power reduction from 200 bhp to 160 bhp, as per the F4 regulations.^[3] The new regulations moved to a new carbon fibre monocoque chassis which met FIA F3 safety standards.^[1]

Teams and drivers

All teams were British-registered.

Team Drivers Class Rounds JHR Developments 3 Sennan Fielding^[4] 3–10 28 1–2 96 Jack Butel^[5] 5–10 MBM Motorsport 4 Jack Barlow^[6] 1–4, 6 26 Toby Sowery 8–10 Falcon Motorsport 7 Jessica Hawkins^[7] 4–8 8 Darius Karbaley nowrap 1–6, 9–10 9 Alexandra Marinescu 1 Carlin^[8] 10 Colton Herta^[9] All 21 Petru Florescu^[10] All 31 Lando Norris^[11] All TRS Arden Junior Racing Team^[12] 11 Ricky Collard^[13] All 19 Sandy Mitchell^[14] All 65 Enaam Ahmed^[15] All Joe Tandy Racing 14 Daniel Baybutt^[16] All 15 James Pull^[17] 1–6 51 nowrap Ameya Vaidyanathan^[18] 2–6, 8, 10 Double R Racing 17 Gustavo Myasava 1–2 18 Matheus Leist^[19] All 22 Tarun Reddy^[20] All Richardson Racing 23 Ollie Pidgley^[21] 2–7 25 Louise Richardson^[22] All 88 Greg Holloway 8–10 Fortec Motorsports 15 James Pull^[23] 7–10 26 Toby Sowery^[24] 4, 6 27 Dan Ticktum^[25] 1–9 59 Josh Smith^[26] All SWB Motorsport 46 Rafael Martins^[27] All 71 Jodie Hemming 9 96 Jack Butel^[28] 1–4

Race calendar and results

The calendar for the 2015 TOCA package was announced on 14 September 2014. The Oulton Park round reverted to the Island layout, after using the International circuit in 2014.^[29] All races were held in the United Kingdom.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team
1	R1	Brands Hatch (Indy Circuit, Kent)	4 April	Daniel Baybutt	Dan Ticktum	Lando Norris	Carlin	Dan Ticktum
	R2		5 April		Dan Ticktum	Ricky Collard	nowrap	TRS Arden Junior Racing Team	Dan Ticktum
	R3			Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Carlin	Dan Ticktum
2	R4	Donington Park (National Circuit, Leicestershire)	18 April	Dan Ticktum	James Pull	Dan Ticktum	Fortec Motorsports	Dan Ticktum
	R5		19 April		Jack Barlow	Matheus Leist	Double R Racing	Dan Ticktum
	R6			nowrap	Dan Ticktum	nowrap	Dan Ticktum	nowrap	Dan Ticktum	Fortec Motorsports	nowrap	Dan Ticktum
3	R7	Thruxton Circuit (Hampshire)	9 May	nowrap	Sandy Mitchell	nowrap	Sandy Mitchell	nowrap	Sandy Mitchell	TRS Arden Junior Racing Team	nowrap	Sandy Mitchell
	R8		10 May		Sandy Mitchell	Lando Norris	Carlin	Sandy Mitchell
	R9			Sandy Mitchell	Ricky Collard	Sandy Mitchell	TRS Arden Junior Racing Team	Sandy Mitchell
4	R10	Oulton Park (Island Circuit, Cheshire)	6 June	Lando Norris	Colton Herta	Ricky Collard	TRS Arden Junior Racing Team	Rafael Martins
	R11				Matheus Leist	nowrap	Sennan Fielding	JHR Developments	Dan Ticktum
	R12		7 June	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Carlin	Dan Ticktum
5	R13	Croft Circuit (North Yorkshire)	27 June	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Sennan Fielding	JHR Developments	Josh Smith
	R14				Colton Herta	Josh Smith	Fortec Motorsports	Josh Smith
	R15		28 June	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Ricky Collard	TRS Arden Junior Racing Team	Petru Florescu
6	R16	Snetterton Circuit (300 Circuit, Norfolk)	8 August	Colton Herta	Colton Herta	Dan Ticktum	Fortec Motorsports	Dan Ticktum
	R17		9 August		Dan Ticktum	Colton Herta	Carlin	Dan Ticktum
	R18			Colton Herta	Colton Herta	Colton Herta	Carlin	Dan Ticktum
7	R19	Knockhill Racing Circuit (Fife)	22 August	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Carlin	nowrap	Enaam Ahmed
	R20		23 August		Dan Ticktum	Sennan Fielding	JHR Developments	Josh Smith
	R21			Dan Ticktum	Colton Herta	Ricky Collard	TRS Arden Junior Racing Team	Enaam Ahmed
8	R22	Rockingham Motor Speedway (International Super Sports Car Circuit, Northamptonshire)	5 September	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Carlin	Dan Ticktum
	R23	6 September		nowrap	Sennan Fielding	Ricky Collard	TRS Arden Junior Racing Team	Sandy Mitchell
	R24		Colton Herta	Lando Norris	Colton Herta	Carlin	Dan Ticktum
9	R25	Silverstone Circuit (National Circuit, Northamptonshire)	26 September	Matheus Leist	Colton Herta	Lando Norris	Carlin	Daniel Baybutt
	R26		27 September		Ricky Collard	Ricky Collard	TRS Arden Junior Racing Team	Daniel Baybutt
	R27		Lando Norris	Colton Herta	Matheus Leist	Double R Racing	Enaam Ahmed
10	R28	Brands Hatch (Grand Prix Circuit, Kent)	10 October	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Lando Norris	Carlin	Enaam Ahmed
	R29				Lando Norris	Enaam Ahmed	TRS Arden Junior Racing Team	Enaam Ahmed
	R30		11 October	Lando Norris	Colton Herta	Colton Herta	Carlin	Enaam Ahmed

Championship standings

Points were awarded as follows:

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th+
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1	5	1

Drivers' championship

Pos Driver BHI DON THR OUL CRO SNE KNO ROC SIL BHGP Points R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 1 Lando Norris 1 9 1 4 6 10 10 1 3 2 8 1 Ret 12 2 2 8 2 1 Ret 7 1 8 2 1 7 10 1 7 2 413 2 Ricky Collard 5 1 6 6 2 2 4 4 2 1 9 2 2 11 1 3 6 9 Ret 7 1 8 1 8 5 1 Ret 3 6 8 371 3 Colton Herta 12 4 14 15 9 4 5 6 9 3 6 Ret 6 2 14 9 1 1 5 2 2 3 7 1 2 5 2 2 5 1 355 4 4 Ret 10 5 3 Ret Ret 10 8 8 1 3 1 4 3 4 3 4 3 1 3 6 2 Ret 6 2 Ret Ret 8 5 300 5 Matheus Leist 3 8 3 7 1 Ret 2 5 4 5 2 DSQ 5 5 6 7 Ret DNS 9 6 11 5 4 6 4 3 1 Ret 14 7 273 6 Dan Ticktum 2 2 5 1 5 1 7 Ret Ret 9 3 4 DSQ DSQ DSQ 1 2 3 8 Ret 8 2 5 3 DSQ DSQ DSQ 242 7 Sandy Mitchell 14 6 12 13 Ret Ret 1 2 1 13 11 12 8 7 7 15 Ret 20 4 4 5 9 3 15 8 9 Ret 6 2 9 193 8 Enaam Ahmed 9 Ret 7 11 19 8 8 7 10 15 20 11 9 8 11 6 7 7 2 5 4 4 6 13 11 11 3 4 1 3 176 9 Rafael Martins 6 Ret 9 Ret 15 Ret 6 3 7 4 7 14 14 15 10 13 12 10 Ret 8 6 12 Ret 18 10 6 Ret 5 3 10 114 10 James Pull 8 3 2 2 7 3 Ret 11 Ret Ret 13 8 11 10 12 18 16 13 6 Ret Ret 16 14 7 9 17 Ret 10 9 6 104 11 Petru Florescu 13 10 11 10 18 15 Ret 14 5 7 15 5 Ret 13 4 5 11 5 14 11 Ret 7 11 5 13 10 7 9 11 12 99 12 Daniel Baybutt 7 14 8 9 10 7 3 19 Ret 10 4 9 10 9 9 21 13 12 11 Ret Ret 17 13 11 7 4 8 7 10 11 98 13 Josh Smith 11 5 15 Ret 13 9 15 16 13 12 Ret 10 7 1 Ret 20 10 19 7 3 10 13 15 10 16 15 Ret 14 12 19 84 14 Toby Sowery Ret 14 6 11 4 Ret Ret 9 4 3 12 Ret 8 4 4 80 15 Tarun Reddy 10 Ret Ret Ret 16 6 Ret 8 6 11 10 7 3 6 8 8 5 6 10 Ret Ret 10 NC Ret Ret 14 Ret Ret Ret 14 77 16 Louise Richardson Ret 12 Ret 12 11 16 12 12 12 14 17 13 4 3 5 12 14 14 15 12 9 14 Ret 9 14 16 5 11 13 17 72 17 Jack Barlow Ret 7 4 8 4 5 11 15 11 6 5 Ret 10 18 8 72 18 Jack Butel 15 11 Ret 14 12 13 13 13 Ret 18 18 16 Ret 16 16 17 9 16 16 9 13 Ret 12 14 12 8 6 12 17 14 38 19 Darius Karbaley 16 13 13 Ret Ret 12 9 9 14 16 12 18 Ret DNS Ret 16 15 17 15 13 4 Ret 15 16 31 20 Gustavo Myasava Ret Ret Ret 3 8 Ret 19 21 Ollie Pidgley 16 17 14 14 18 16 17 16 17 13 17 15 Ret 19 15 13 10 12 17 22 17 14 11 Ret 17 15 20 DNS Ret 12 Ret 17 19 Ret 18 15 10 16 Ret 16 15 15 23 Jessica Hawkins 19 19 15 15 14 13 14 17 11 12 Ret 14 11 Ret 12 13 24 Greg Holloway 18 16 17 17 18 9 13 18 18 10  – Alexandra Marinescu DNS DNS DNS 0  – Jodie Hemming DNS DNS DNS 0 Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 Points BHI DON THR OUL CRO SNE KNO ROC SIL BHGP

Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap † — Did not finish, but classified

Rookie Cup

Pos	Driver	BHI			DON			THR			OUL			CRO			SNE			KNO			ROC			SIL			BHGP			Points
		R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3
1	Enaam Ahmed	9	Ret	7	11	19	8	8	7	10	15	20	11	9	8	11	6	7	7	2	5	4	4	6	13	11	11	3	4	1	3	440
2	Dan Ticktum	2	2	5	1	5	1	7	Ret	Ret	9	3	4	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	1	2	3	8	Ret	8	2	5	3	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ				408
3	Sandy Mitchell	14	6	12	13	Ret	Ret	1	2	1	13	11	12	8	7	7	15	Ret	20	4	4	5	9	3	15	8	9	Ret	6	2	9	401
4	Daniel Baybutt	7	14	8	9	10	7	3	19	Ret	10	4	9	10	9	9	21	13	12	11	Ret	Ret	17	13	11	7	4	8	7	10	11	363
5	Petru Florescu	13	10	11	10	18	15	Ret	14	5	7	15	5	Ret	13	4	5	11	5	14	11	Ret	7	11	5	13	10	7	9	11	12	350
6	Rafael Martins	6	Ret	9	Ret	15	Ret	6	3	7	4	7	14	14	15	10	13	12	10	Ret	8	6	12	Ret	18	10	6	Ret	5	3	10	325
7	Josh Smith	11	5	15	Ret	13	9	15	16	13	12	Ret	10	7	1	Ret	20	10	19	7	3	10	13	15	10	16	15	Ret	14	12	19	290
8	Darius Karbaley	16	13	13	Ret	Ret	12	9	9	14	16	12	18	Ret	DNS	Ret	16	15	17							15	13	4	Ret	15	16	142
9	Ameya Vaidyanathan				17	14	11	Ret	17	15	20	DNS	Ret	12	Ret	17	19	Ret	18				15	10	16				Ret	16	15	110
Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	Points
		BHI			DON			THR			OUL			CRO			SNE			KNO			ROC			SIL			BHGP

Nations Cup

Pos	Driver	BHI			DON			THR			OUL			CRO			SNE			KNO			ROC			SIL			BHGP			Points
		R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3
1		12	4	14	15	9	4	5	6	9	3	6	Ret	6	2	14	9	1	1	5	2	2	3	7	1	2	5	2	2	5	1	590
2		3	8	3	3	1	Ret	2	3	4	4	2	14	5	5	6	7	12	10	9	6	6	5	4	6	4	3	1	5	3	7	588
3		13	10	11	10	18	15	Ret	14	5	7	15	5	Ret	13	4	5	11	5	14	11	Ret	7	11	5	13	10	7	9	11	12	432
4		10	Ret	Ret	17	14	6	Ret	8	6	11	10	7	3	6	8	8	5	6	10	Ret	Ret	10	10	16	Ret	14	Ret	Ret	16	14	292
Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	Points
		BHI			DON			THR			OUL			CRO			SNE			KNO			ROC			SIL			BHGP

Teams Cup

Pos	Team	Pts
1	Carlin	712
2	TRS Arden Junior Racing Team	627
3	Double R Racing	374
4	Fortec Motorsports	360
5	JHR Developments	345
6	JTR	205
7	MBM Motorsport	144
8	SWB Motorsport	122
9	Richardson Racing	85
10	Falcon Motorsport	34

Notes and References

1. Web site: FORMULA FORD ECOBOOST ADOPTS FIA FORMULA 4 REGULATIONS FOR 2015. British Formula Ford. 23 June 2014. 8 September 2014. https://archive.today/20140908194917/http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk/formula-ford-ecoboost-adopts-fia-formula-4-regulations-for-2015/. 2014-09-08. dead.
2. 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 .
3. News: Kevin. Turner. British Formula Ford teams welcome Formula 4 news. Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 26 June 2014. 8 September 2014.
4. News: Sennan Fielding makes MSA Formula switch with JHR team. Allen. Peter. 25 February 2015. Paddock Scout. 25 February 2015.
5. News: Jack Butel teams up with JHR Developments for second half of the season. 24 June 2015. MSA Formula. Racingline. 19 August 2015.
6. News: Final drivers named for opening MSA Formula round. Allen. Peter. 30 March 2015. Paddock Scout. 30 March 2015.
7. News:
   1. RacingforHeroes driver Jessica Hawkins to contest MSA Formula
   . 1 December 2014. Formula Ford UK. 13 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141215153040/http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk/racingforheroes-driver-jessica-hawkins-to-contest-msa-formula/. 2014-12-15. dead.
8. News: Carlin announce entry to new MSA Formula series. Allen. Peter. 29 September 2014. Paddock Scout. 20 October 2014.
9. News: Carlin sign Herta for MSA Formula. 19 December 2014. Carlin. 19 December 2014. 11 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160411043705/http://www.carlin.co.uk/news/msa-formula/carlin-sign-herta-msa-formula/. dead.
10. News: Florescu completes Carlin's MSA Formula race line-up. Carlin. 5 January 2015. 6 January 2015. 7 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107024408/http://www.carlin.co.uk/news/msa-formula/florescu-completes-carlins-msa-formula-race-line/. dead.
11. News: World karting champion Lando Norris to Carlin for MSA Formula. Mitchell. Scott. 12 December 2014. Autosport. 12 December 2014.
12. News: Arden among 12 teams securing 32 cars for MSA Formula. Allen. Peter. 10 November 2014. Paddock Scout. 10 November 2014.
13. News: Ricky Collard set for second season of Ford EcoBoost power. 28 January 2015. British Formula Ford. 28 January 2015. https://archive.today/20150128133337/http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk/ricky-collard-set-for-second-season-of-ford-ecoboost-power/. 2015-01-28. dead.
14. News: Angus rising motor racing star makes step up. Brown. Graham. 6 January 2015. The Courier. D. C. Thomson & Co.. 6 January 2015.
15. News: Ahmed signs with Arden for car racing debut in MSA Formula. Allen. Peter. 21 January 2015. Paddock Scout. 21 January 2015.
16. News: JTR signs Daniel Baybutt as second MSA Formula driver. Allen. Peter. 11 February 2015. Paddock Scout. 11 February 2015.
17. News: James Pull joins Team JTR for single seater debut. 9 January 2015. The Checkered Flag. Paul. Hensby. Black Eagle Media Network. 9 January 2015.
18. News: Ameya Vaidyanathan to also race in MSA Formula for JTR. David. Gruz. 25 March 2015. Paddock Scout. 25 March 2015.
19. News: Double R sign Brazilian Leist as second driver for MSA Formula. 16 March 2015. PaddockScout. 16 March 2015. Peter. Allen.
20. News: Tarun Geared Up for Formula Four Championship. 22 January 2015. The New Indian Express. 23 January 2015.
21. News: TEAM NEWS: Richardson Racing expands for Donington Park. 15 April 2015. MSA Formula. 16 April 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150629170325/http://msaformula.com/team-news-richardson-racing-expands-for-donington-park/. 29 June 2015.
22. News: Louise Richardson secures MSA Formula seat for Brands Hatch. Khorounzhiy. Valentin. 1 April 2015. Paddock Scout. 2 April 2015.
23. News: James Pull has strong debut with new team. 25 August 2015. MSA Formula. Racingline. 27 August 2015.
24. News: Toby Sowery to make MSA Formula debut with Fortec. Allen. Peter. 2 June 2015. Paddock Scout. 3 June 2015.
25. News: Dan Ticktum to compete in MSA Formula with Fortec Motorsports. Allen. Peter. 24 February 2015. Paddock Scout. 24 February 2015.
26. News: Kart champion Josh Smith & RSF join MSA Formula with Fortec. 9 February 2015. Formula Ford UK. 9 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150209155415/http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk/kart-champion-josh-smith-rsf-join-msa-formula-with-fortec/. 2015-02-09. dead.
27. News: Brazilian karting graduate Rafa Martins enters MSA Formula. David. Gruz. 4 March 2015. Paddock Scout. 4 March 2015.
28. News: Jersey boy Jack ready for MSA Formula campaign. 18 December 2014. Formula Ford UK. 23 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150227163329/http://www.britishformulaford.co.uk/jersey-boy-jack-ready-for-msa-formula-campaign/. 2015-02-27. dead.
29. News: BTCC 2015 calendar confirmed. Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 18 August 2014. 8 September 2014.