FIESTA JUNIOR CLASS OF 2020 PREPARES FOR FIRST RACING LESSON AT CADWELL PARK

There’s a real buzz around the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship racing with MRF Tyres as, after several months of waiting and rebuilding, the series is now finally ready to get the season underway, starting this weekend at the exceptional Cadwell Park circuit in Lincolnshire.

Recently, the class of 2020 took part in a special standalone Media Day at Croft just a couple of weeks ago, allowing all of the teams, drivers and families to meet one another for the first time this year and to get everyone on track together for some much needed pre-season mileage ahead of the opening rounds. With everyone in a positive mood and ready to race, it’s expected to be a great year for the championship despite the late start due to the coronavirus pandemic.

So, let’s take a look down the entry list to see who’s going to be competing. First off, a driver from last season is back to pick up where they left off during 2019. Joseph Loake, who debuted back at Pembrey last year, was able to get up to speed very quickly and managed to end the campaign an impressive 2nd place in points. Sticking around for a second season, Joseph will be seen by many at the championship favourite, and with the ex-Isaac Smith Fiesta ST150 underneath him once again prepared by David Ellesley and Race Car Consultants, he’s sure to be at the front straight away.

Incredibly, the rest of the entry is full of newcomers, as due to hard work and tireless efforts by both the series and the BRSCC, an influx of fresh faces grace the grid with a superb mix of experience levels and disciplines under their belt. From the karting world, Will Orton will line up for the first time in an ex-Abby Lock car run by Ali Rushforth Motorsport, a team begun by a man who has prior experience of running in the FJC paddock in previous years and makes a welcome comeback with an outfit of his own. Will begins his circuit racing career of the back of taking the Junior ROK title in Super One last season, as well as racing in X30 Senior in the IAME Euro Series and Winter Cup.

Joseph Knight joins the grid after a history of racing in Junior Subaru karting and several lap records to his name and begins his racing career in cars with the aim of reaching the World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours. Jake Triggs hails from Scotland and brings previous experience racing in Cadet karts and with clubs such as Manchester & Buxton and Cumbria as he gets set to pilot the car formerly driven by Josh Steed. Then there’s also Dylan Hotchin who has competed at various levels including IAME Cadet, X30 Junior and Junior ROK and is suitably prepared to make his leap forwards into cars for the first time. Bradley Beavers can boast Junior TKM history including making an appearance in the British Karting Championship last year, and has also been keeping his hand in with eSports during the lockdown too, so he should be able to get going fairly quickly.

It’s not just karting that has produced new drivers to the series, as we’ve also got a great influx from the short ovals scene as well. No less than four drivers move up from the world of Ministox, with the first-ever brother and sister pairing lining up on track at the same time since FJC first began in 2012. There’s sure to be some great internal competition between George and Briannie Davis as the two siblings will be battling to score more points than the other come the end of the season. Last year’s national Ministox champ Jenson Brickley has decided to put his front-wheel-drive experience to good use and will be hoping to be on the pace from the word go as he debuts on the big circuits for the first time. We can also expect to see Sid Smith make his long-awaited first appearance too, after he was due to miss the first half of the season originally due to not being 14 until this month, but having recently celebrated his birthday, he’s now ready to join his fellow FJC racers. Plus, Albert Webster can also boast a short oval background after he moves up with support from AMD Tuning after competing in Junior Hotrods. He too should be suitably experienced for this series.

One driver who sadly isn’t able to make it onto the grid this weekend is Mitch Marie, who was due to start the first-ever races of his career this weekend but was sadly unable to secure his place in time. However, we’re very much looking forward to seeing him make his first appearance at the next rounds at Anglesey later in August.

So, with lots of new faces and plenty of pre-season excitement, let’s see what the 2020 Fiesta Junior season has in store for our latest batch of rapid youngsters!

Scott Woodwiss