Autosport – 25 July 2019

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25 JULY 2019 AUTOSPORT.COM 55

NATIONAL NEWS CLUB AUTOSPORT

IN THE HEADLINES

SMRC

The Scottish Motor Racing Club remains

optimistic about the future of Scottish

Formula Ford 1600 despite failing to

bolster the grid for the David Leslie

Trophy last weekend.

Plans to boost grid numbers included

a pubic invitation to past FF1600 champions

to take part in the meeting, which pays

tribute to the late Leslie, himself a British

Formula Ford champion in 1977.

A calendar clash with Champion of

Brands last weekend was one of the reasons

some teams did not enter the Knockhill

round, while car issues forced others out

as just eight drivers took part.

“It is a shame that we couldn’t get

the grid size up for this weekend, but the

racing has been absolutely sensational

in the three races, so on that front we’re

happy,” the SMRC’s Rory Bryant said.

“I think David would have been proud

of those races and we’re really delighted to

have brought back some past champions

to be part of the weekend too.”

Trophy winner Jordan Gronkowski echoed

Bryant’s claims and believes that the quality

in Scottish FF1600 remains as good as ever.

“We’d have liked to have had more cars

on the grid but certainly the race that Matt

[Cowley] and I put on in those races showed

how good the racing has been,” he said.

STEPHEN BRUNSDON

Disappointing entry for David

Leslie Trophy FF1600 contest

LIDSEY BROTHERS UNITE

Renault UK Clio Cup podium

finisher Brett Lidsey will be joined

by his younger brother Tyler at the

MRM team for the rest of the season.

Lidsey Jr has been a regular in the

Michelin Clio Series in recent years

but Snetterton next weekend will

be the first time he has competed

in the TOCA support category.

GLOBAL GT LIGHTS AWAY TRIP

The Global GT Lights series made

its Knockhill debut last weekend

when it joined the Scottish Saloons

and Sports grid, with 11 drivers

heading to Scotland. Although the

circuit was a hit, there were several

safety complaints, particularly

regarding the speed differential

between cars. Race winner Jake

Byrne said: “I love the track but the

racing is just crazy, in a bad way.”

FROM OVALS TO MINIS

Short oval convert Lee Pearce

scored a hat-trick of wins in the Mini

Challenge Cooper class at Brands

Hatch last weekend in his first full

season of circuit racing. Pearce, the

English champion in 1300cc stock

cars, made a one-off appearance

at last year’s Mini Festival before

joining the series full-time in 2019.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted

to do,” said Pearce. “I like the way

you have to come into the corner,

changing gears and the high speeds

you overtake at – it’s brilliant.”

MORENO ON THE PODIUM

Renowned Formula 1 and Indycar

super-sub Roberto Moreno (below)

made a surprise appearance in the

BRDC British Formula 3 paddock

at Spa, where he was coaching

Lanan Racing’s Josh Mason. The

60-year-old Brazilian, who revealed

he was offered a GT4 drive by an

undisclosed British GT team, got to

present Mason with the trophy for

second in the reversed-grid race.

WINTON FESTIVAL OF SPEED

Formula Ford racer Richard Tarling will fly

to Australia next week to race the ex-Gary

Ayles Quest FF86 for the Ecurie Australie

team at the Winton Festival of Speed.

Car owner Chris Davison has invited

2017 Historic FF1600 champion Tarling

to drive the car.

“I struck up a friendship with Richard

when we met at the 2014 Walter Hayes

Trophy and we have always discussed him

coming to Australia,” said Davison. “Having

someone of Richard’s driving experience

in the Quest is a perfect fit for us.”

The car is chassis MT86001, which

was the first production car from Quest

after Johnny Herbert’s victory in the 1985

Formula Ford Festival. It has not done

much racing since that period and was

stored for 20 years before being rebuilt.

“Chris invited to me to go out there

and it’s nice to be asked. We’ll just see

how the car is and if we can make it work

on the tyres,” said Tarling of the short-

wheelbase car. “I can’t turn down an

opportunity to race.”

Tarling has tied the Winton races in

with a three-week business trip to China

and Japan. He will arrive in Australia on

Wednesday, test on Thursday, qualify on

Friday and race on Saturday and Sunday.

The Winton Festival is one of the

largest historic race meetings in Australia.

This year’s feature category is Historic

Formula Ford, and a grid of more than

40 pre-1990 cars is expected.

PAUL LAWRENCE

Tarling’s Quest to race

FF1600 down under

P66 KNOCKHILL REPORT