2012 McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award

[bella]

Originally Posted by Flavio Galtieri

I suppose the year we don't start a thread about this award will be the year Kevin and Autosport get worried!

lol, seriously. it'll either mean they got it right according to us (so the 4 horsemen will be nominated), or it'll be no longer relevant to anyone (someone call simon cowell)

what about someone from outside the single seater dark side then?

[Peter Cammish]

Dominic, I agree with your finalists but forgot about Dan Wells to be honest.

[DiamondJim]

OK thanks

[EastonNeston]

People seem to have forgotten Matt Parry who has had a very strong season, and will probably clinch the Intersteps series with two races to go on Saturday afternoon.
From Barc Renault Josh Webster and David Wagner are the strongest candidates eligible for the award.
Both Jake Dennis & Jordan King from NEC should be finalists, after having excellent series and been 1-2 going into the final rounds at Spa. As the best British driver in FR Eurocup has already wont the award I c ant see there been a viable candidate from that series.
for Dan Wells & Jack Hawksworth the question to be asked is the standard of the competition they faced. I honestly feel that FFord has been so weak this year that it seriously reduces the claims of any of it's drivers to be involved.
There are some other drivers who, I feel, have done well this year, but probably need another years experience before been strong candidates of the final 6 places.

(the above is a personal opinion, based on what I have seen at the tracks)

[Flavio Galtieri]

Originally Posted by EastonNeston

People seem to have forgotten Matt Parry who has had a very strong season, and will probably clinch the Intersteps series with two races to go on Saturday afternoon.

for Dan Wells & Jack Hawksworth the question to be asked is the standard of the competition they faced. I honestly feel that FFord has been so weak this year that it seriously reduces the claims of any of it's drivers to be involved.
There are some other drivers who, I feel, have done well this year, but probably need another years experience before been strong candidates of the final 6 places.

(the above is a personal opinion, based on what I have seen at the tracks)

I'm sure Matt Parry is a very fine driver and a win is always a win but you can't on the one hand say Intersteps is a worthy championship with a handful of runners in an obsolete car and then write off the efforts of others in a far more established championship such as Formula Ford.

I agree both Championships have failed to live up to expectations but Intersteps may well be in it's final year? Anyone with any real ambition who is 16 or so and reasonably funded will be at least looking at F4 surely.

I don't know any more than anyone else about Dan Wells but I must admit I like his attitude. If he wins out in Asia then good for him.

[bella]

Originally Posted by Flavio Galtieri

I don't know any more than anyone else about Dan Wells but I must admit I like his attitude. If he wins out in Asia then good for him.

seconded on dan wells.

guys like him raise an interesting question. should nominations also seek to promote guys who might not quite have the pure outright talent, but are doing all the leg work, thinking laterally and actually going out to race? or should it just purely be about rewarding talent rather than sheer determination and hard work?

how do 'we' go about using guys like him as examples to young wannabe drivers?

(we, as in, we, the world of motorsport)

[FFfan]

Originally Posted by Flavio Galtieri

I'm sure Matt Parry is a very fine driver and a win is always a win but you can't on the one hand say Intersteps is a worthy championship with a handful of runners in an obsolete car and then write off the efforts of others in a far more established championship such as Formula Ford.

I agree both Championships have failed to live up to expectations but Intersteps may well be in it's final year? Anyone with any real ambition who is 16 or so and reasonably funded will be at least looking at F4 surely.

I don't know any more than anyone else about Dan Wells but I must admit I like his attitude. If he wins out in Asia then good for him.

There was a certainly a lot of hype about Matt Parry in his first season of car racing and I don't think this helped as it must have heaped lots of pressure on him with all the expectation. Before the season started the motorsport press were marking him out as a strong championship contender for 2011 British Formula Ford honours.

Of course he then picked up the support/mentoring agreement with Lotus development driver scheme and they have been advising him. I have to be honest I didn't think it was a particularly great move for his career to place him in Intersteps after British Formula Ford. I certainly wouldn't consider this a step up! Credit to Matt he has done what is asked of him and won but I would have liked to have seen him tested a little more and I think either staying in Formula Ford or a move to Formula Renault BARC would have been better options for him and i think he had the potential to perform well in either.

On the plus side though he is still very young and if he were to sign up for the new F4 next season you'd have to mark him out as a real championship contender and it has already been stated that the winner if eligible will be in line to be a finalist in the MABA Award.

I too like Dan Wells attitude. He has made the best of a difficult situation though I don't know how Formula Pilota rates in the great scheme of things. Again I wonder why he didn't opt for Formula Renault BARC which has been a strong series this year and would have kept him on the radar a little more but I am speaking without knowledge of his circumstances & I have already put him down as one of my six fancied finalists.

Jack Hawksworth definitely desrves a place in my book. Star Mazda is a highly credible championship and the competition against the likes of Gabby Chaves and Connor De Phillippi shouldn't be underestimated.

As far BARC FR goes I cannot see them selecting more than one candidate. It created a bit of controversy last year when Dino was selected as many regarded it inappropropriate to choose a driver from what is regarded as a club championship. Of course with the demise of FRUK the status of BARC FR has this year been elevated (if not officially) and now only two drivers are mathematically capable of winning the championship and one of them (my son) and current championship leader Scott Malvern has been ruled ineligible on grounds of age which means by default Josh Webster is the only candidate. For the record, given the standard of competition in this championship this season I hope that the selectors agree that it desrves a place among the six finalists.

DM

[EastonNeston]

I agree, this is probably the final year for Intersteps, a shame as the cars and teams are good. In my opinion, it does provide a good, and safe, first step into racing cars.

As for Matt P, like any driver he can only beat the opposition that are there on the track with him. The fact that Fortec have had him working from engineers from other parts of the team suggests that as a team they a talent that is worth developing. Also he was up against a 'known quantity' in MGR's Matt Mason, so we have a valid point of comparison for both Matt's against each other, and indeed, the other drivers in the series?

Life would be much simpler if all the FFord & Intersteps drivers were competing against each other in one class, but that is not the case, and I believe that EU competition rules would prevent the MSA from introducing such a regulation. Even if it was introduced, there would be someone complaining that thIngs were unfair!

Whoever the final 6 are, I hope that they are able to give their best at the finals and that the judges have a really difficult decision to decide the winner.

[EastonNeston]

I agree, this is probably the final year for Intersteps, a shame as the cars and teams are good. In my opinion, it does provide a good, and safe, first step into racing cars.

As for Matt P, like any driver he can only beat the opposition that are there on the track with him. The fact that Fortec have had him working from engineers from other parts of the team suggests that as a team they a talent that is worth developing. Also he was up against a 'known quantity' in MGR's Matt Mason, so we have a valid point of comparison for both Matt's against each other, and indeed, the other drivers in the series?

Life would be much simpler if all the FFord & Intersteps drivers were competing against each other in one class, but that is not the case, and I believe that EU competition rules would prevent the MSA from introducing such a regulation. Even if it was introduced, there would be someone complaining that thIngs were unfair!

Whoever the final 6 are, I hope that they are able to give their best at the finals and that the judges have a really difficult decision to decide the winner.

[Flavio Galtieri]

Finalists announced: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102887

No surprises, no underfunded drivers, Dan Wells ignored. Situation normal.

How come Jordan King can be a contender? He's already raced in F2 or 6 occasions. I thought the rules were you needed to have not participated in anything other than below F3? Not only that but the tests are conducted on F2 cars........

Who's your pick then?

[kipper]

Originally Posted by Flavio Galtieri

How come Jordan King can be a contender? He's already raced in F2 or 6 occasions. I thought the rules were you needed to have not participated in anything other than below F3?

I think the qualification is that they have to have competed in sub F3 championship in the year of their nomination. Their previous history isn't a factor and can be demonstrated by Nigel Moore's nomination in 2010 (with a factory Le Mans start to his name), whilst Tim Bridgman was a nominee in '07 (although not a finalist) on the basis of his FPA exploits despite having previously raced in British F3 and Toyota Altantic.

[Flavio Galtieri]

Originally Posted by kipper

I think the qualification is that they have to have competed in sub F3 championship in the year of their nomination. Their previous history isn't a factor and can be demonstrated by Nigel Moore's nomination in 2010 (with a factory Le Mans start to his name), whilst Tim Bridgman was a nominee in '07 (although not a finalist) on the basis of his FPA exploits despite having previously raced in British F3 and Toyota Altantic.

OK I stand corrected.

So now they'll tell us the judges will take account of all that F2 experience I guess.

[EastonNeston]

The Finalists are
"Formula Renault NEC frontrunners Jake Dennis, Josh Hill and Jordan King, Star Mazda driver Jack Hawksworth, Formula Renault Eurocup podium finisher Melville McKee, and Formula Renault BARC title contender Josh Webster."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102887

I'm disappointed Matt Parry isn't included, as he is a race winner, and probable champion. Otherwise, there's not really anyone unexpected or undeserved.

[bella]

glad to see melville mckee nominated, purely for that nurburgring drive i mentioned earlier. 30 place improvement on a starting position is nascar stuff, it's nuts. slightly surprised to see josh hill there, but i guess i've personally not seen much of his racing so his skills and talent aren't really familiar.

[kipper]

Originally Posted by bella

slightly surprised to see josh hill there, but i guess i've personally not seen much of his racing so his skills and talent aren't really familiar.

I was found Hill's inclusion a little unexpected for whilst he has been quick in the races of his othat I've seen in Ginettas, Formula Ford and UK Formula Renault, he has never struck me as being spectacularly fast in the same way that other nominees have.

[bella]

i realised i was judging him on seeing him be spectacularly average in a couple of formula ford races a few years ago which seemed distinctly unfair, particularly since he has improved considerably since then. i think sometimes we/i tend to judge drivers by the standard that if they're quick, then they should be so immediately. not true at all. i hadn't realised he was doing so well in the nec - in fact i hadn't realised so many british drivers were doing well there full stop.

that's one of the good things about this award - it makes you familiarise yourself with young british drivers you might not have otherwise noticed.

[Flavio Galtieri]

I don't want to appear picky or anything but in his sponsorship proposal Mckee states " I have the talent and potential to fulfill (sic) my dream of becoming a Formula 1 World Champion, and of course become the first Singaporean Formula 1 driver."

How exactly does this tie in with the Autosport awards?

[Peter Cammish]

I thought he was a Scottish Lad?Singapore is a very wealthy part of the World so I think appealing to this market is sensible for his parents who are probably bank rolling his career and probably are connected to the area, I think it might be a year too soon for him but he will get other chances, I hope Jack Hawksworth wins, I spent many Karting Sundays with him and his Dad, he is genuine and talented and a from Yorkshire (Gods Country)
My predictions were pretty spot on (if I can be allowed by the good people of ten -tenths to bask in such success!) in that I said a late season push from the more high profile guys would get them in so a bit of form from Josh and Jordan was all it was ever going to take to get them into the finals. Good luck to everyone , come on Jack...

[EastonNeston]

Sorry, Peter, but I feel the winner will come from the county of the 'Bard', and also the current county cricket champions.
However, which Warwickshire driver is the question.

[SS Supporter]

Did anyone hear how the tests went ? Any clues as to who might win ?

[kipper]

Jake Dennis wins the award.

[Deemun]

Originally Posted by kipper

Jake Dennis wins the award.

Hate to brag but it's who I predicted in the opening thread back in September. It was pretty much the obvious choice. Second year running that it's gone to a Fortec & RSF backed driver. Best of luck to him.

Pleased to see Scott Malvern collect the Club Driver of the year Award. I know it's only a consolation & he wasn't even nominated for the main award this year but at last he has some recognition for his hard work.

[EastonNeston]

It was good to see Jake win the award, he's a talented driver and it also rewards the hard work put in by RSF and the Fortec team in developing the raw talent.