Meridian Racing and Connor Mills collected silverware at the end of a trying weekend in the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain at North Yorkshire’s Croft Circuit (28-29 June).
Friday’s Formula Ford GB practice sessions were a frustrating affair for Mills, who was severely compromised by a profound straight-line speed deficiency, as well as a minor overheating issue, to the bemusement of the Meridian Racing team.
The Essex-based racer, a master of adaption, quickly found the sweet spot on Croft’s varied confines and was unfazed by the drops of rain hitting his visor, but his problems left him trailing his rivals through the speedtraps and on the timesheets by some three seconds.
Karting graduate Connor Jupp had a relatively trouble-free Friday and felt his pace on severely worn slick tyres boded well for the rest of the weekend, although the young Brentwood racer was unable to utilise his speed in Saturday’s qualifying.
A short, sharp rain shower moistened the track surface ahead of Saturday morning’s qualifying session (28 June).
Mills’ initial run was carried out on wet weather tyres and he appeared to be back on the pace, although the gap increased again as the water subsided when a minor technical issue in the dying moments of qualifying cost him a final run on fresh slick rubber when the track was at its driest.
The eighth fastest time – 1m22.523s – was all Mills could muster after only two clean laps on fresh Dunlop rubber, while teammate Jupp was only 11th fastest having been unable to make hay while the sun shone due to a debilitating electrical issue on his car’s Montune engine.
Spots of rain began to fall again on the circuit during the weekend’s opening race, Round 13, as the drivers headed into Clervaux for the first time.
Mills and Jupp contested much of the 14-lap race in Scholarship podium-paying positions, before an unfortunate three-way collision between the Meridian pairing and Collard in the dying few laps brought a premature end to all three drivers’ races.
Seeking to regain lost ground from the previous day’s events, both Mills and Jupp started Sunday’s (29 June) final race, Round 15, ninth and 12th respectively with a focused mindset.
As the five red lights went out, Mills bolted off the line and had climbed to seventh onto the Scholarship class podium at the close of the second lap, while Jupp also leaped three places to ninth.
As the race progressed, Mills ran nose-to-gearbox with Scholarship rival Chris Mealin for several laps, and as the duo entered the final Hairpin, a spin for the Falcon Motorsport driver promoted Mills up to sixth overall and second in the Scholarship standings.
The Upminster-domiciled driver battled valiantly for the remainder of the race before crossing the line seventh overall and second in the Scholarship class to end his weekend on a high.
Jupp, meanwhile, has shown great promise in his two championship appearances and continued to lap solidly while battling with the most experienced drivers in the field.
“Yesterday wasn’t great, to be honest,” said Mills. “We had the collision in race one, which meant we weren’t able to compete in race two, but today was a lot stronger. Coming home seventh is a great way to end the weekend. It could have been sixth had I not made too many minor errors, which allowed Max (Marshall) to edge his way through, but I have really enjoyed this weekend. The car feels a lot stronger and the circuit is great fun to drive, so there are many positives to take away.
“We now pack up and go on our summer break before heading to Snetterton, which is where I made my Formula Ford debut last year. I was fairly quick round there and, considering it was my first time, I head to Norfolk in a confident mood. I’m already looking forward to getting back in the car.”
After collecting the Formula Ford GB ‘Motorsport Spirit’ award for showing outstanding teamwork throughout the weekend, Meridian Racing Team Manager, Matt Davies, said: “This weekend has been one in a million. We ran faultlessly throughout Friday’s two free practice sessions, before encountering technical issues in qualifying with one of the cars, which we managed to rectify before the start of the first race. After spending a lot of time working on both cars, overcoming various issues, we thought we had it nailed, but an unfortunate incident left us with two cars in several bits.
“We worked tirelessly late into the night to get the cars ready for race three, where not only did both drivers finish, but also did quite well, which was great way to round off the weekend. Plus we collected the Motorsport Spirit award, which I feel is quite well deserved.”
The Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain now embarks on a six-week hiatus before resuming at Snetterton (2-3 August).
For more information on Meridian Racing, please visit the official www.meridianmotorsport.com website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @MeridianMSport on Twitter and Instagram.