Spencer Pigot – The Ups and Downs

Brands Hatch, England (October 17, 2010) – The Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch is now finished. Overall it was a great experience and I really enjoyed every part of it. There were ups and downs during the weekend but in the end I learnt a lot and had fun, which is the main thing.

I knew it was going to be a tough day, starting from the back in the Semi Final and having to work my way up. There isn’t really a rule on blocking so it is much harder to pass here and I really had to fight for almost every position. I started on the outside of the grid in 22nd. At Brands Hatch starting on the outside is actually better because the straight is slightly banked so you are pointing downhill from the outside and can get a better start. Standing starts are new to me but I got a pretty good one and was able to gain a few spots before Paddock Hill Bend.

I was working my way through the field and never had any real trouble passing anyone until I was fighting for P6. He was determined not to let me by, putting my into the grass, weaving down the straight, and doing everything possible to keep me behind. Eventually I got alongside him going into Graham Hill Bend, but he still turned in on me, hit my rear tire and flew in the air. Thankfully my car was fine and I kept going but I got passed by another car behind me. I finished the Semi Final in sixth, which gave me an 11th position starting spot for the final. In the Final I was up to eight when there was a red flag about halfway through the race. After the restart I gained a few more spots but by the time I got to sixth the next few cars were about a second ahead of me. I put my head down and really pushed to catch them and when I did they were both extremely hard to pass. There are not many passing spots at Brands but after a few laps I had passed them and gotten into fourth. There were only a few laps left and I was pushing really hard to catch the leaders. I set fastest lap of the race in the process but there just wasn’t enough time and I finished fourth.

In the end it was a good result considering where I had to start and it was a lot of fun to come from the back. The car was handling fantastic and I learnt a lot about the car. We will take that information to Silverstone and try again there. I’m going to visit my grandparents in Manchester tomorrow for a few days before we are back here at Brands to test a Duratec Formula Ford, which is about four seconds quicker than the Kent! That will be very exciting!

Thanks to everyone at Cliff Dempsey Racing for the great car this weekend and all of the supporters of the Team USA Scholarship for giving me this opportunity!