Meridian Racing has confirmed that Connor Mills and Ashley Sutton will front its assault on the 2014 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain, which kicks off at Kent’s globally-renowned Brands Hatch circuit this weekend (29-30 March).
After switching its focus from sportscars to single-seaters in 2013, the newly-renamed Meridian Racing team will be looking to its exciting young driver line-up to help build on its impressive maiden Formula Ford campaign during the 30-race 2014 season.
Connor Mills is an exciting young talent from Essex who has several prestigious championship titles to his name, including the 2012 Super One Winter Championship, 2012 British Open Championship and 2012 British MiniMax crown.
The 17-year old from Upminster is about to embark on his first full campaign in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship-supporting Formula Ford series, after playing a bit-part in 2013.
Having joined Meridian Racing late last year when he switched from the Ginetta Junior Championship to contest the final four Formula Ford race meetings, Mills went on to secure two podium finishes that propelled him to an impressive sixth place in the Scholarship Class.
“The main goal for this weekend is to finish in the top three in one of the races and hopefully in the top five in the championship come the end of the weekend,” said Mills. “A Scholarship Class win would be nice as well. This weekend will be very insightful to see how we compare to everyone else, especially Friday as it’s the first time you can judge how fast you are and who your main rivals are going to be.
“Brands Hatch is my home circuit and I have raced there several times in various disciplines including Ginetta Juniors, Formula Ford and Team Legends in different weather conditions, so I hope I have enough experience to propel myself to the top of the standings this weekend.
Mills continued: “Having Ashley (Sutton) as my teammate is a huge boost to myself and the team as he is a very experienced driver in karts and single-seaters and helps a lot with on-track data. Everyone wants to beat their teammate, so to have such a great driver alongside me has spurred me on.”
Lining-up alongside Mills is 20-year old Ashley Sutton. Introduced to motorsport by his parents, who were both prominent figures in the drag racing scene, the young gun from the Essex-Hertfordshire border made his single-seater debut in the 2010 Formula Vee Championship.
Sutton surpassed all expectations by finishing fourth overall from over 40 entrants and will graduate to the Dunlop-backed British Formula Ford series in 2014, where he hopes to hit the ground running at Brands Hatch’s season-opener (29-30 March) as he bids for the title.
“I have not raced for a long time so I’m really excited to get out on the track with other drivers and dip my toes in the water,” said Sutton. “Realistically, I’m hoping to get in the top five in qualifying and even higher in the race.
“The car has been great, but we’ve yet to run with the correct suspension and setup, so my testing so far has been getting a feel for the power and response, but I have yet to get an accurate impression of the steering. Nevertheless, I have been putting in some very quick times and if we get the correct setup there’s no reason why we can’t go further and fight for the title.
Sutton added: “I, like everyone else, want to win the championship and if we dial everything in and get the pace from the car, we should be able to reach the top, which would be fantastic. We won’t know for sure until after the first meeting where we can then set ourselves goals and strive to match or even beat them.”
Paul Abercrombie, Meridian Racing Team Principal, said: “The team’s aim for the season is to do as well as possible, but being realistic, our drivers were quick in testing and have shown great promise. However, as it’s the first weekend of racing, we will only know for sure when the lights go out for race one. Connor (Mills) and Ashley (Sutton) are fantastic drivers and are both British Champions so that gives us the upper-hand over the other teams.
“Mills only took his first single-seater steps last year when he competed in four rounds of the series with us, but he is a superb driver with natural skill. Sutton is slightly older and wiser, plus he has a strong background in single-seaters and has a great understanding of car setup.”
Dunlop MSA Formula Ford of Great Britain qualifying will take place at 9.10 on Saturday (29 March), with Rounds 1 and 2 scheduled at 14.15 and 17.05 respectively.
The final race of the weekend – Round 3 – will get underway on Sunday (30 March) at 13.30.
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.