SCOTT RETURNS FOR FORMULA FORD TITLE BID

Formula Ford Scholarship title winner Harrison Scott is to return with Falcon Motorsport for a full assault on the outright championship. The 17-year-old confirmed his 2014 plans and inked his deal with Falcon at the Autosport International racing car show.

Falcon also revealed the identity of one of Scott’s running mates for the coming season of Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain action: 20-year-old Manxman Chris Mealin.

Falcon principal Nick Streatfield is pleased to be welcoming Harrison back to the fold: “It’s a huge boost for Falcon to have Harrison back with us. He had a lot of options open to him and clearly we are delighted that he has decided to stay with us and with Formula Ford. He is going to be a championship contender and we are concentrating on putting together the very best package for him.

“Chris will be an asset to the team also – he tested with us in Spain in December and settled into the team very quickly and went extremely well. We are looking forward to working with him.”

The Oxfordshire team plans to run four EcoBoost Mygales in 2014. Added Streatfield: “At the moment we are in advanced negotiations with two or three drivers and hope to announce the remaining seats very soon.”

Essex-based Scott enjoyed a great maiden season of car racing in 2013: he stepped out of karting and into Formula Ford and was immediately competitive. There were 13 class wins en route to the Scholarship title, 16 appearances on the overall podium as he sped to championship second, and he scored his debut outright race victory at Silverstone towards the end of the year. Harrison was selected from championship nominees by a panel of UK and US racing experts as the Mazda Road To Indy Formula Ford Driver of the Year; his prize was a two-day Stateside test.

He says his first season taught him a lot and that he plans to use the experience gained to try to emulate the multiple race-winning exploits of 2013 Formula Ford Champion Dan Cammish. “What I gained last year was an understanding of how to drive the EcoBoost Formula Ford at high speed, and the confidence to do so, and that will be a big help – hopefully it will give me an edge over the new boys coming into the championship.

“We had a big sit-down over the winter to examine our options. I’m still only 17 and I want to learn my trade properly and get some good results, so we decided not to try to move up the ladder too quickly and that another season of Formula Ford was the best option. We are so happy with how the championship is run, and with being on the touring car package, and with all the TV time.

“My aim will be to try to go better than last year and to win the championship using everything that I have so far learned. I came on strong in the second half of the year, was challenging Dan, and if I can carry that on and win races then hopefully the championship title will follow…”

Harrison’s father, John Scott, says they were attracted to return to Formula Ford for many reasons: “It was the whole package – the car, the championship, the BTCC support status, the media, the TV – Formula Ford offers everything, whereas other championships really don’t… they have bits of it but can’t offer it all. Harrison did well last year but has lots more to learn, and Formula Ford has all the elements to help him to do that and to progress.”

Chris Mealin comes to Formula Ford having racked up considerable experience in karting, in which he started competing on the Isle of Man at the age of 13. He passed his circuit-racing ARDS test in 2012 and has since contested rounds of the 750MC’s Saxo series and has also taken part in V8 Supercup Dutch oval racing.

“Really single-seaters have always been in my heart but I didn’t have a way into it before,” said Chris. “Things got rolling last year and I first tried the Formula Ford at the Sampler Day in November and then I went down to Spain with Falcon for an extended test, and that went really well. I love the car and can’t wait to get back in it – the speed when the turbo kicks in is just unbelievable. I have a lot to learn about racing, and I’m very happy to be in a team with a second-year driver like Harrison, from whom I can learn.”

Formula Ford Championship manager Sam Roach said: “Falcon Motorsport and Harrison Scott made a big impression on the championship in their maiden season of EcoBoost racing, and I am sure that they will be among the combinations to beat… Chris Mealin will be an asset to the championship as well, and the news that Falcon is planning a four-car team is a welcome boost this early in the pre-season. All the signs are that grid numbers will be improved for the coming season and the competition no less intense.”

Formula Ford 2014 will feature 30 races at 10 rounds alongside the biggest attraction in UK motorsport, the British Touring Car Championship. The championship will boast live coverage on ITV4, as well as bumper trackside spectator attendance, and boasts a £30,000 cash prize fund.