Josh Green: A New Beginning

Written by Team USA. Posted in Driver Blogs, Feature, Josh Green

Published on October 14, 2019 with No Comments

BRIGSTOCK, England – And so we begin our journey to England! Scott (Huffaker) and I  met up with Michelle Dempsey Wednesday when she was kind enough to meet us at the airport and then made our way to the Cliff Dempsey Racing shop. It was a wonderful feeling weaving our way through the green English countryside on our way to meet Cliff. We began fitting the cars with our brand new gear from Sparco and Bell Helmets. It was quick and easy with the form fitting apparel we were given, and Cliff was very quick to get us going.

We left early Thursday to a wet Oulton Park and did all of the usual pre weekend preparations. We were first in the cars on Friday for our first shakedown test, for which we had a mix of conditions which was useful. The CDR prepared Ray chassis danced around a slick Oulton Park with ease. The track itself is one of the most daunting in the country. With undulating hills and all nature of high and low speed corners, it’s unlike anything Scott and I had visited in the USA. The cars is a stiff and stable platform, and dances left and right at the limit, especially in the wet. It’s really a nice car to drive. We acclimated quickly to the team and it was a great environment to be in. Michelle’s wonderful cooking paired with Cliff’s dialed-in cars made for an unbeatable experience at the track.

Setting up at Oulton Park.

Saturday morning brought our first timed sessions and our first opportunity to see where we stacked up against the new European competition. The weekend was seen as more of a test as it was a small regional championship, the BRSCC Avon Tyre Formula Ford 1600 Northern Championship, but there were several drivers there who will be racing against in the coming weeks so it was a great opportunity to acclimate ourselves. The primary focus was track time but we were happy to learn we had both done well when I qualified on pole with a half-second gap on the rest of the field with Scott a close third to round our a great first session.

My first taste of the Ray GR19 (photo courtesy of Alan Auto).

Race one was similar. Cliff requested us to start from pit lane – to gain a better understanding of how to work through slower cars – and Scott and I found our way to eighth and ninth respectively, setting the first and second fastest laps, with one thousandth between us and nearly a second clear of the field. The same followed in race two, finding our way to fourth and fifth, first and third quickest.

We then headed back to the Dempsey abode with our heads held high to prepare for our trip to Italy to meet a number of new faces. Once again, from both Scott and I, a huge thank-you to all those at the Team USA Scholarship and everyone who is behind it. This has and will continue to be a memorable experience and we are honored to have been given the chance to show our hand.

Until next time,
-Josh

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