On the 20th anniversary of the death of three-time Formula 1 World Champion and former-Formula Ford star Ayrton Senna, the highly competitive Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain did not disappoint in delivering yet more excitement, as Connor Mills extended his lead at the top of the Scholarship class standings.
Having topped the timesheets in the Scholarship class at Thruxton during the championship’s official test day in April, Mills again headed the timesheets in qualifying before an unfortunate driveshaft failure brought his session to a premature end. He finished the session fourth in class with a 1m13.499s.
Meanwhile, Mills’ teammate Bobby Thompson – who makes his Thruxton debut this weekend – will line-up sixth in class after completing a handful of laps of the Hampshire circuit and putting in a best time of 1m15.671s.
With only a few hours between qualifying and Round 7, Meridian Racing worked valiantly to repair Mills’ Mygale in a manner that typifies the team’s spirit and ethos.
The Essex-based team was able to get Mills out on track in time for the weekend’s opening race, which was held under glorious clear blue skies and, for the most part, behind the Safety Car following a big incident involving Chris Mealin at the final chicane.
Only six racing laps were contested and, while this hindered Mills’ progress, he still crossed the finish line second in the Scholarship Class to score his sixth podium of the season.
The day’s final race, Round 8, ran without incident, the 13-car field racing at full throttle for the whole 20-minutes and Mills yet again securing another Scholarship podium to aid his title bid.
Mills, aged 17, had overhauled Round 7 rival, James Abbott, within the opening lap and was quick to close up on the back of Jamun Racing’s newest recruit, Ashley Sutton.
The pair contested the lead for the Scholarship class, but due to limited running over the course of the day, Mills was unable to close the gap and finished third in class.
Despite two DNFs at Brands Hatch, the Upminster-domiciled driver has stood on the Scholarship podium in every race since, and in doing so, extends his lead at the top of the standings.
“It has been an up-and-down day, to be honest,” said Mills. “The second race felt a lot better and there are a few setup changes we can make to gain ground on the frontrunners, but the team and I are still on the right track.
“I’m going to be doing a rain dance tonight as I love racing in the wet, as you saw back at Donington Park a few weeks, so fingers crossed.”
Having only made his Thruxton debut today, Thompson continued to impress as he stormed to his fourth consecutive Scholarship podium in Round 7, before narrowly missing out on continuing his 100 per cent record in Round 8.
Despite having never raced at the Hampshire circuit prior to this weekend, the Hornchurch-based driver set consistent lap times throughout both races as he acquainted himself quickly with both his car’s setup and the track.
“We turned up today having never seen the track before,” said Thompson. “I had a little trouble in qualifying with an earth lead that cut out the car’s ECU system. I then finished third in the Scholarship class in the day’s first race, which I was very happy about.
“It’s very daunting racing round this track due to the high-speed nature of it. You’ve got to keep your right foot planted on the throttle for 90 per cent of the lap, which is hard to do when your brain is telling you to lift off, but you’ve got to do everything to try and blank those thoughts out.”
Meridian Racing Team Principal, Paul Abercrombie, said: “We had a short qualifying, so we were behind the curve and playing catch up with the rest of the field, which makes these Scholarship podiums even more impressive.
“I’m extremely pleased that both cars finished both races and the drivers added yet more points and silverware to their Scholarship bids. Connor (Mills) and Bobby’s (Thompson) confidence continues to grow and we are certainly looking at securing more podiums in Round 9 tomorrow.”
The Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain continues with the weekend’s final race (Round 9), which is scheduled to take place at 15.15 onSunday (4 May) and will be broadcast live and in high definition on ITV4 and ITV4HD
For more information on Meridian Racing, please visit the officialwww.meridianmotorsport.com website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow@MeridianMSport on Twitter and Instagram.