Regional Formuls Ford

[Ian Sowman]

The Kents as I suggested in my reports in both MN and Autosport! I did come and see you Matt during the morning but when I came over you weren't at your spot in the paddock and by the time it got to the afternoon I was a bit busy writing!

[Keefyboy]

Mattray,

Mate, the Combe Kents were wicked and I really enjoyed watching the racing. All three of you drove your socks off. I gotta stick up for my fellow Zetec racers though because there's a couple of very good reasons why the the Zetecs weren't quite as entertaining last weekend:

1. We haven't got track knowledge (practice days at Combe are plops, big smelly ones). It was my first time on the circuit in qualifying and it ain't easy to learn it over ten laps
2. There were only three that were on the pace that weekend and one of those spun to the back of the grid at the start of the race

With this in mind I'm sure you'll agree that a good scrap in the Zetec race was never going to be on the cards. But if one of the quicker cars stayed on it would have been a similar story as yours. Three cars battling for first.

Ian,

Thanks for the support mate, that report was spot on. Di you actually watch the race? If you did you would have seen Chris Pennington take the race to Luke Hines and actually overtake, more than once too.

David and Goliath stories are great to read about shame you didn't pick up on it. I can understand though, the MG Midget race, sorry parade laps, were well entertaining and more than deserved the four paragraphs it eventually got .

I invite you all to come along to Brands and then attempt to ask the same question. I'm certain you won't be able to.

Keith

[Ian Sowman]

Keith

Yes, the MG Midget report did go on a bit - you'll have noticed that it was a bit briefer in Autosport. Quite simply, the deadline for MN on a Monday night is 6pm (not that long after the racing has finished!). Inevitably I have to write more on the earlier races (such as the Midgets) leaving only a couple of lines for the ones at the end, like the Zetec Formula Fords, otherwise we wouldn't meet the deadlines. With Autosport it isn't quite such a problem, as that has a later deadline. In Autosport I did note that Pennington and Hines traded places until Pennington's moment. The deadlines aren't ideal, but they do mean that we get MN on a Wednesday, so we should be grateful for that. Hope that explains the 'strange' allocation of words in the report!

Ian

[mattray]

Keith,
You were definitly up against it if you didnt know the circuit, it is a hard one to learn and I understand the points you were making.

What do you prefere driving Zetecs or Kents? By prefere I mean have more fun driving, or feel able to give it large?

Matt

[Keefyboy]

Ian,

Thanks for the insight dude. Sorry for jumping the gun!

Matt,

Kents are fun. I could make a lot of mistakes in my old 95 Ray and still bounce back, just like you did at Combe in the 2nd race. In my eyes though Zetec has a different attraction and enjoyment. You can give it large if you like and have lots of fun just like a Kent but it's slow.

If I could afford it I'd do both! I'd drive a Kent for fun and use the Zetec for competition use. Why?

First of all I've enjoyed stepping into a new car. New suspension, new aerodynamics and a strong engine makes the money I've spent at it all worth while.

Secondly you can't make a mistake in a Zetec. Strange enjoyment but it's really helped me drive a consistent race mistake free. If you lose ground it's very tough to regain, especially when slipstreaming comes into effect (like at Snett).

Thirdly I can compete at the World Final aka the Formula Ford Festival this year. I know there's the King of the Kents Knockout but there isn't any works teams to upset. I want a crack at the big boys!

That's why I'm into Zetec Formula Ford and as much fun Kents are I won't be swapping championships... just yet.

Keith

[Spinner]

What happened to the reports on Monoposto, you dont ever see anything hardly on it, and they have just as good racing and just as big grids. More seems to get written about southeren ff, and they arent really even a national club championship. Hardly fair really.

[Keefyboy]

Probably because the race at Combe was about as exciting as watching paint dry, no offence like.

Southern FFord is visiting Brands, Snett, Combe, Donnington and Lydden. Sorry, we don't visit Knockhill but hat's pretty National if you ask me...

Keith

[JR Ewing]

Fair dos but the Monos are generally well worth watching and do have consistently large grids

[Keefyboy]

JR,

Large grids? You only need six quick drivers to make a race worth watching. Just because it has a grid of over twenty doesn't give it the right for extra editorial content. At Combe all I saw was parade laps with the best part of the race being the scrap for second place (featuring just three cars).

Keith

[Ian Sowman]

Spinner

I think you'll find that Mono gets just as fair a crack of the whip as any other championship. Taking the bank holidays out of it (see above), we'll generally give more space to the most entertaining races (because there's more to say!) unless there is a clear 'feature' race. Very occasionally there may be pressure to lead on a certain series, eg. Zip Formula having its own sidebar in MN at the Mallory meeting the other week, as MN support it. The race itself was pretty average...

Without checking back I can't be sure but I'm sure that I've given Mono a fair amount of space in the past.

[mattray]

The reason I asked Keith is that I feel the most important thing when racing is to enjoy yourself, and having raced Zetec I enjoy myself much more in kents! I know that I would probably have enjoyed myself more in zetecs had I had the time to test them but to justify the money spent doing that would be impossible!

Fair enough if you think you can get up their with the "big boys" good luck to you it wil be as hard as I am sure you know it is! I think I will stick with me kents until I find the money to do Zetec with plenty of testing and lots of racing so i can be one of the big boys!

[Keefyboy]

Thanks Matt,

We know its going to be hard, it already is in the Southern series! But we'll be there or there abouts at the Festival.

If you do get into Zetecs make sure you get loads of test days sorted, that seems to be the way to find time...

Keith

[mattray]

Thats the reason I am sticking with Kents! Testing costs too much with tyres etc. this is the main reason that I have been campaighning for the Kents to be maintained and helped rather then the zetec cars bought into the regional championships purely on expense!

From Working with Zetec teams I know how much it takes to get fast in a zetec as I said before noone has ever got in a zetec and been fast without loads of testing! Ant Davidson and Button both did a year testing before doing TOCA because their management knew whats its like!