Ready to Race

West Kingsdown, Kent, England (October 25, 2013) – Preparation for the Formula Ford Festival began for Joey and I here at Brands Hatch on Wednesday. When we arrived at the track, I was amazed by how nice the facility was and even more impressed by how scenic it is. Our first session out on the track was in wet conditions and after the first lap I fell in love with Brands Hatch. The first test session went very smoothly even with the bad weather. I got the hang of the track fairly quickly and just kept building off of everything that I learned each session after. By the end of the day the track was completely dry and I felt very comfortable with my familiarization of Brands Hatch in both wet and dry conditions.

On Thursday, I was talking to my mechanic David, and we were talking about how nice the weather was. Probably the nicest that it’s been the whole time I’ve stayed here. He told me not to get used to it. I laughed a bit but knew he was right. So we made the most of the warm and dry weather on day two of testing by getting as much seat time as possible. We did a total of four sessions and each session was an improvement from the one before. The car was well balanced, and Cliff Dempsey only made a few minor changes. Most of the day was just dedicated to dialing in the track as best as I could. By the third session my lap times matched the same pace as the fastest drivers and I was very happy with my performance.

Jack Mitchell/JAM Motorsport photo

Today we finished day three of testing which included one session in wet conditions and one in damp conditions. Both outings went well but during the my second session I had a brief scare going into Clearways. I made a mistake downshifting from third to second in the bending braking zone. Once I finally got into second gear the rear end of the car snapped around and I was heading right for the wall. Fortunately I was able to get the car stopped in time and drove back to the pits. Other then that little moment the day went very well. Overall the three days of testing was very productive. I feel very confident for the Formula Ford Festival especially after having plenty of seat time in wet, damp and dry conditions. I look forward to applying everything that I’ve learned these last few days for the Formula Ford Festival. I know it’s going to be a very challenging couple days but I’m up for the task and to give everything I got for Team USA Scholarship.

Thanks for all your support!

Jake