Meridian Racing will be aiming for more silverware when the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain returns to Hampshire’s Thruxton circuit over the Bank Holiday weekend (3-4 May).
Following a two-week break, promising young talents Connor Mills and Bobby Thompson will continue their Formula Ford campaigns at Thruxton, the fastest circuit on the calendar.
Mills concluded Thruxton’s recent official test (17 April) as the fastest of the Scholarship drivers earlier this month, before going on to erase the painful memories of Brands Hatch’s two DNFs by securing four Scholarship class podiums and finishing second overall at Donington Park less than a fortnight ago.
The Upminster-based racer’s impressive outing in the East Midlands has helped propel him to the top of the Scholarship standings and seventh overall.
The 17-year old will be targeting more outright podiums at Thruxton with the aim of stretching his Scholarship points lead over nearest rivals, Chris Mealin and Ricky Collard.
“Meridian Racing and I want to take at least one Scholarship win from this weekend and maintain the initiative in the Scholarship class standings at Thruxton,” said Mills. “But, in order to do that, we have to be consistent and finish every race, so I’d also like to score more overall podiums. After testing at Thruxton a few weeks ago, I think we have the right setup on the car to challenge for those podiums. To finish second at the last outing has given me a big confidence boost ahead of this weekend.
“I have raced at Thruxton only once prior to this weekend, which was in the Ginetta Juniors last season. I like the fast, flowing nature of this track and I’m confident I can do well.”
Hornchurch’s Thompson returns to the Formula Ford GB grid to complete Meridian Racing’s all-Essex line-up.
The ex-Fiesta racer proved his worth on his single-seater debut, qualifying and racing inside the top ten and notching up a best result of fifth place overall, as well as a hat-trick of Scholarship podiums.
Meridian Racing Team Principal, Paul Abercrombie, said: “We will be hoping for more of the same after Donington Park a couple of weeks ago. Connor (Mills) is very quick at Thruxton, which he showed in official testing recently and will be going into this weekend with bags of confidence.
“Bobby hasn’t driven Thruxton in a Formula Ford car before, as he missed out on the test day. But, as we’ve told him, use every session as a test and get acquainted with the car. He showed great promise at the last round and will certainly be looking for more Scholarship podiums.
“We have a very good setup in the wet, which both Connor and Bobby demonstrated at Donington. I’ve yet to look at the weather forecast for the weekend, but fingers crossed it’s wet and slippery!”
Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain qualifying is scheduled to take place at 9.00 on Saturday (3 May), with Rounds 7 and 8 later that same day at 14.45 and 17.05 respectively.
The third and final race of the weekend, Round 9, will take place Sunday (4 May) at 15.15.
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.