Racing, Working and Winning

Oxford, UK (September 9, 2009) – The 2009 season is closing in on the final few races for the MSA British Formula Ford Championship. So far, 21 of the 25 races are in the books and the last four will be a part of history in less than a month. Currently, I’m second in the points championship, so I’ll let you know how it all comes out in my next blog. It’s been such a great year to learn and settle into the European racing lifestyle and atmosphere. It’s important to always take something away from a situation, bad or good, and learn from it for the future.

Racing in England during my rookie season has had a mix of ups and downs, as has my personal life. In a very short time, I’ve won a lot of races, learned a lot about the business side of motorsports, and a lot about myself. At this stage of my life, what’s most important to me is developing my career as a professional race driver. What I focus on most is keeping fit through good nutrition, staying on top of a my physical training routine and keeping my mind in proper focus for everything I want to accomplish. Of course, I’m spending some time having fun as well!

On a bit more serious note, I’d like to share with everyone a great new cause which I recently joined – the “MAKE ROADS SAFE” campaign. You can learn more about it at www.makeroadssafe.org. I encourage everyone who is able to please look at what this group is doing worldwide and get involved; I think it is a tremendously worthwhile cause!

Josef
Racer of Tomorrow

Me and my Mates

Oxford, UK (July 23, 2009) – The 2009 season has just passed the halfway mark and the MSA British Formula Ford series has now completed 15 of its 25 scheduled races. I can’t say enough about my Joe Tandy Racing team or give enough credit to my primary crew guys (my best UK “mates”) for their efforts, hard work and support. Since last December during pre-season testing when I first met Guy Mcculloch and Ricky Impey, we’ve spent a lot of time together both on and off the track. We have experienced some great victories together and we all endured great sorrow together when our team owner Joe Tandy was lost. But through it all, we’ve won as a team and we’ve lost as a team.

I believe one of the biggest keys to a successful racing team is the driver and crew having confidence and respect for one another. This is one of those precious commodities in racing that you can’t just buy off the shelf; you have to earn it, and once you’ve got it you have to maintain it. I realized a long time ago that racing is not a one-man sport and no matter how big or small your team is, one weak link will impact the team’s performance. Knowing this, I never want to be perceived as the weak link! I do think being the team member that gets to drive might be just a little more fun and certainly offers more of the limelight, but it also increases the pressure to perform well whenever you’re behind the wheel. To me that’s where the toughest work of being on a race team is really done. I’ve always found it easy to try and be the kind of team member in the paddock or at the shop that others would want to have around. But when I’m on the track and I make a mistake, I know I didn’t just let my self down, I also let my team down!

At the end of the day, it’s still the business of racing cars and the most critical measurement of any team or driver is based on bottom-line performance. In this business, moving forward requires results on track. To this point in my European rookie season of open-wheel racing, I’ve competed in 18 races in two different divisions. So far “Me and my Mates” have produced seven victories, 12 podiums, and finished inside the top five 16 times.

I’m currently in second position of the 2009 MSA British Formula Ford Championship with just 10 races to go. I’ve got a few weeks off now to take a quick trip home to the USA for a little R&R. Early next month I’ll return to the UK for some valuable test days and then the season continues at the famed Silverstone Circuit for rounds 16,17 and 18. The competition here has been very tough and I know it’s going to be a great battle to the end. The most important thing I’ll be mindful of for the rest of this season – and my career – will be working as a team member and standing behind my crew and their efforts at all times. In turn I know I will be able to count on them in the same way.

When you want to be a professional race driver, you’re going to travel some long, tough roads. You’ll encounter some big obstacles and you’ll challenge your resolve for the sport you have chosen. In my mind one thing is for sure, knowing I have the respect and confidence of my team is one of the most important keys to my success!

Josef
Racer of Tomorrow

This one’s for you, Joe!

Oxford, UK (June 3, 2009) – Mostly when you hear race drivers talk about the highs and lows of racing and how much any one period of their career has been a roller coaster ride, they generally speak of a struggling performance, financial woes, or any number of other legitimate personal issues they or their team might have encountered. This May, 2009, my story is one of great progress, great success, and one of tremendous sorrow.

Since competing for the Team USA Scholarship program in October, 2008, then relocating to the UK in early 2009 to compete in the MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain, I’ve worked very hard and have been rewarded with some huge success. Early in the year, along with some good networking and many might say a real leap of faith, I happened to stumble into a small team, JTR, run by a young man named Joe Tandy. He was the owner of his own operation at just 26 years old. His brother Nick, 24, pilots the lone JTR British F3 entry, while I proudly drive his number 21 Formula Ford (one of two they field). It’s kind of a storybook team run just like the ones you hear about in some Gordon Kirby’s stories about the 1970s.

The team is located in the countryside of central England and operated from inside one of the smaller barns on the Tandy’s family farm which consists of 200 acres. Joe’s dad, Joe Sr., works the farm all by himself except for a few times a year when he calls on his boys and a few of their friends to help with the crops. One of his biggest chores is building innovative contraptions to scare off the birds! Joe Sr. is a racer too from way back when. He gave both Joe and Nick their start in racing Ministox when they were just 11 or 12 years old. A few years back, in order to build a racing operation that would move forward, Joe decided to retire from driving himself and leave those duties to his brother Nick. They rapidly moved from a one-car Formula Ford effort to what they are today. This move is what defined Joe Tandy as an owner and earned him the respect of his competitors.

Joe’s team is just what the name indicates; it’s a TEAM where everyone works together to produce the best result. We’ve got some great cars, some great people, all the equipment that’s necessary to win, and we always try and look professional when we race. When I joined JTR, Joe never treated me like a kid and he never treated me like an “American” – he just treated me like a professional race driver. He was the first real car owner I’d ever worked with competing for a season-long championship.

During the month of May in England, I competed in six races and I won three of them. Although half of those races where in a Formula Palmer Audi car (Joe Tandy had won the FPA championship in 2005), Joe still sent along engineering help to look after me. Then, a couple of weeks later, Joe and a close friend of his were killed in a road car accident not far from his home. I, along with the rest of the team, was devastated, but we all vowed to continue his legacy.

This last weekend, our first without Joe as our leader, we had three Formula Ford races at Rockingham – and I’m very grateful that I won one of those races in his honor. The most important thing is I felt like I could have won them all. That’s how Joe Tandy always felt when we raced together and that’s why I believe we had such a strong connection. After winning at Rockingham I could only think of one thing....This one’s for you, Joe!

This picture was taken from a field at the Tandy farm which sits up high and overlooks the small village of Pavenham below. You can see the beautiful church off in the distance where Joe was laid to rest earlier this week. I know one thing for sure, from now on whenever I’m at the JTR shop, I’ll be glancing down at the church in the village below and reminding myself of how lucky I was to have a friendship with Joe.

Joe Tandy was a racer’s racer and I will never forget him. He was more than my team owner, he was my friend.

Josef

Champagne Rain

Oxford, UK (May 6, 2009) – When I hear people talk about living in the UK, they usually have more than a word or two to say about the weather. In my case I’ve been running into a lot of rain in the UK recently, but I’m not talking about your normal every day rain because this has mostly been – champagne rain!

Since my last blog I’ve battled in six races and enjoyed three wins. That will usually cause a few champagne stains on your driver’s suit but I’m not going to complain about that! I know the season is young and I’ve got to continue to get better every race and every test day, because one thing’s for sure, the competition will always be getting better too.

My 2009 racing season has so far consisted of three Formula Ford races and, surprisingly, three Formula Palmer Audi races due to an extended opening on my schedule created by the postponement of the April Formula Ford event at Donington. I managed to win one of the three races that comprised the opening round of the Formula Ford season at Oulton Park, which was great, and then I won two of the three races FPA races which shared the same weekend as the A1 Grand Prix World Cup of Motorsport on the spectacular Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. Wow, that was exciting!

Although you might think the races I’ve won are on my mind the most, it’s really the ones that I’ve lost… Every time I race I try to learn something new and every time I lose (second or worse) I try to pick out a mistake that I’ll never make again. I know I’m not perfect (who is?) but I try never to make the same mistake twice!

I’m still testing frequently (two days just this week) and for the next few weeks plan to visit the U.S. for a little R&R, a lot of family time and even a trip to the Indy 500. There’s only one thing I like better than going to see a big time auto race (in this case the greatest spectacle on earth), and that would be competing in it! If things continue to go really well for me, this may be the last break I get in my schedule until November. I’ll keep you posted on a few other exciting events that may find there way onto my racing schedule in 2009.

You can expect to catch me back in action again in the MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain on May 30-31 at Rockingham. I’ve tested at this track twice now, and it’s really fast and flowing. I’m no professional weather man but I am expecting it to rain the next time I race at Rockingham, if you know what I mean..........

Josef
Racer of Tomorrow

Ready to Rumble!

Oxford, England (April 10, 2009) – My off-season this year has been a lot of fun, a lot of work and a lot of learning. Last October, after coming off the biggest race win of my career at the famed Formula Ford Festival, I returned to England six weeks later to try and put together a plan and a deal for racing in 2009. Four months and 10 test days later, here I am living and racing in England full-time!

This month I thought I could share how it all came together as well as a recap of the pre-season test days I have been able to complete while preparing for the 2009 MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain.

It was late November when I returned to England, scheduled to test four days with three different teams before negotiating a deal for the 2009 racing season. Weather conditions were very challenging the whole time. Although in just the few months prior I had raced FF1600 cars three times – one race weekend in Canada and the two in England with Team USA – this would be my first taste of the FF Duratec.

Test Day 1, November 26, 2008 - Snetterton/JTR (100 Laps) Conditions were very cold, 34F degrees and it rained off and on all day. We were really fast in the wet and I had a lot of fun while making a good connection with the guys Joe Tandy has working with his team. It was a good situation to evaluate a team that you might be racing with and maybe even going to war with all season long.

Test Day 2, November 27, 2008 - Donington/Raysport (75 Laps) Conditions were cool and dry until 1:00 pm, then we got washed out by rain. We were fast but brake complications cost us some of our lap times. This team would have been a collaboration of Cliff Dempsey and Raysport and would have been partially based in Ireland. After much thought and effort on everyone’s part, this deal was just not in the cards. It’s a shame because I really bonded with Cliff Dempsey and my mechanic, Francis, from my Festival win just one month before. I’d love to race with these guys again sometime in the future.

Test Day 3, November 28, 2008 - Silverstone/Jamun (100 Laps) Conditions were wet and very cold all day. The Jamun car was very fast and the team was tip-top in the wet conditions. I felt like I was on a rail, lapping 1-2 seconds quicker than the other FF drivers. This was a full day test, I did a lot of laps and I knew I had another half day with these guys the following week.

Test Day 4, December 2, 2008 - Silverstone/Jamun (80 Laps) Conditions were foggy but dry at 8:50 am. By 9:01 it started to rain lightly and then began to drizzle non-stop with a mix of sleet from the bitterly cold wind. The fog barely lifted but we finally got on track at about 11:00 am. My test was scheduled for just a half-day and it was also the series’ rookie media day. I knew the track well by now, especially in the wet. My test the week before was in the wet and I had also raced three days at Silverstone during the Walter Hayes Trophy for Team USA. On this day again I was fast-fast but today some of the other guys were running closer to my times, especially the guys testing Formula Renaults – ha, ha! Everyone knew this was the last chance we had to impress anyone before the Holiday break so I think a lot of us were laying everything on the line. I know I was! The Jamun car and team were very good. They even let me run as long as I wanted late into the afternoon. It was a good day for all of us because we learned a lot about the wet set up while being asked by Cooper Tire to test the new Avon rains that were to be introduced in 2009. I also believe the Jamun team was working very hard to help me make my decision as to which team I was going to go with for the next year. It was a good test day all around.

Now it was decision time! We let all the teams know we wanted to but couldn’t decide right away. But I must admit that was just a stall because at that point no plan was in place to finance a year of racing in England, let alone a full-time relocation for me. All we knew for sure was we were going to find a way to make it happen!

As push came to shove it took two more months to secure the financing and negotiate a signed deal. Actually we made the commitment to JTR in January before we even had a commitment for the money, but I can’t imagine I’m the first race car driver to ever do that.

In the end, we chose Joe Tandy Racing because the negotiations came down to which team we felt would be able to give me the best training for my future career in racing as well as the cost. Joe Tandy made the biggest effort to get me on his team both with a racing plan and the financial offer. The money was important but not the primary issue. We had already planned on running a Skunk Works-like operation for 2009, so this decision mostly hinged on putting together a championship-winning car, team and effort.

Once I settled in at my flat in Oxford and secured all the other creature comforts and necessities any 18-year-old American race driver living in Europe would want (or could afford), it was time to get down to some serious testing. This was the time I was really waiting for: I’d never had my own race car – at least not the same car for a whole season – and my own crew of guys doing everything they can to make my car go as fast as possible every time I’m on track. Wow, what a luxury!

I always wondered what it would feel like to be a real-life professional race driver: At this point, once I moved to England, I felt like I really knew! I may not have joined the biggest or most experienced race team, and FF may not be the most prestigious racing series in the world, but it’s very rich in history and every one of the competitors wants to win, just like me. The cars are very fast and have no wings – hence minimal drag, which actually gives us better straight line speed than an F3. This year the FF series also comes with a full-season TV package that shows the events at 7:00 pm on Saturday nights with just a two-week delay. One thing is for sure, this summer if you’re in England watching Motors TV on a Saturday night, you will probably see me trying to drive the wheels off my Robo-Pong/JTR FF Mygale!

Here’s how the rest of my testing went after I arrived in England at the end of February:

Test Day 5, March 13, 2009 – Snetterton/JTR (100 Laps) Conditions were dry and cool all day. This would be my first laps for shaking down the car that I had seen sitting in pieces at the shop just one week before. Plus, this was going to my first time on a dry track in quite a while. What a great job the team did and although I kind of treated it like a new street car at first, once I was sure it was all in one piece and no wheels were going to fly off, I ran it for all it was worth. At that point there was plenty to do. The car was fast but I wasn’t fully comfortable in the cockpit and our setup plans still needed some adjusting. I ran solid lap times for our first outing, but the real achievement was the car’s excellent reliability.

Test Day 6, March 18, 2009 – Rockingham/JTR (75) Laps) Conditions were dry and mild all day. This is a very cool track. Rockingham is fast and I found it pretty easy to learn. The team and I made many progressive changes to the car, and I was much more comfortable in the seat. Damper issues we experienced the first time out had been improved, thanks to a quick re-valve to our Penske dampers. Pace was once again solidly there, and the entire team felt great about the progress so far. I know I’m going to enjoy our race meeting at Rockingham during the season.

Test Day 7, March 19, 2009 – Donington/JTR (85) Laps) Conditions were again dry and mild all day. This was a track I already knew and liked from testing in November. I felt I would go well on this day and I had a lot of confidence going in. It was my third day in a brand-new race car that just seemed to get better and better. We did a lot of work, I did a lot of laps, and it seemed like I could go just about as fast as I wanted at all points on the track. My lap time reflected this with a fast lap that day of 1:09.9 with the lap record standing at 1:10.8. At the end of that day, everyone went home with a big smile!

Test Day 8, March 25, 2009 – Oulton Park/JTR (40 Laps) Conditions were wet and pretty cool. It was my first visit to Oulton Park, in the north-west of England, and although I had heard about the track and even been told it gives a lot of guys trouble, I thought I would have no problems. At end of this day I was certainly no master of this place. I don’t know what it was but it turned out to be a weird day for the whole team. It started out with a long drive (200 miles) to Oulton, and when I left after testing, I knew we had a lot of work to do at the track which would hold the first race meeting of the 2009 season in just a few weeks’ time. It was a wet test with constant red flags which made for a long and tedious day.

Test Day 9, April 1, 2009 – Oulton Park/JTR (75 Laps) Conditions were slightly wet early on and then it dried out by noon. This was a good productive day for the JTR team. By this time I could really feel how we were starting to bond as one unit, even me and my teammate Liroy Stuart. We did a lot of work, running maximum laps and found what we believed is going to be a really good team rhythm. I ran on old tires to the end of testing while most of the other teams chose to make new tire runs at the end of the day; we mainly focused on setting up a balance that would stay consistent throughout the entire race weekend. The official lap time at Oulton stands at 1:40.6. Like I said, British FF is very competitive and all these guys say they want to win just as bad as me (of course, that remains to be seen!) so no doubt, at this point I knew it was going to be all elbows out in the British FF series in less than a week’s time.

Test Day 10, April 8, 2009 – Oulton Park/JTR (75 Laps) Conditions were dry and mild all day. This was a test day more to my liking. Today the team and I found some good speed, developed more positive chemistry and also a bit of luck. When I left the track at the end of this day, I knew all of our hard work had paid off and I even had one more day to rest before the first race meeting of the season. I also knew we were really well prepared!

So there you have it, my full MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain pre-season report. I must say, I really think the entire JTR crew did a great job preparing my new car and in particular preparing me for the upcoming season. They are real pros and I am going to work hard not to let them down.

I also want to thank Jeremy Shaw and all the Team USA Scholarship supporters. I know my great adventure from last fall is what led to my opportunities this year. I am committed to making sure all of my supporters past and present are very proud to be associated with me and my racing efforts.

One more thing I want people to know: I really believe if you’re a young driver just starting out and you’re very serious about making it as a big time race driver, British Formula Ford is where it’s at! These cars are fast, the tracks are cool, it’s unlimited testing and you can develop your own parts for the cars. Best of all, most people in UK are nuts about racing and the press is all over every form of motor racing.
I love it!

Josef
Racer of Tomorrow

Now I’m definitely on the inside looking out!

Oxford, UK (March 8, 2009) – What a difference a month can make. I now live in a cozy little flat less than a mile from the city center in Oxford. I have a fully funded, full-time ride signed, sealed and delivered to compete in the newly named 2009 MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain. Returning as my primary sponsor is Robo-Pong ping pong robots (robopong.com) and I will be competing for the front running JTR (Joe Tandy Racing) team. Most importantly, I know these are going to be 25 of the most memorable races I will ever contest during my entire career!

Although I just turned 18 and I will never underestimate my competition, I definitely have a very high level of confidence that I am up to the challenge and will be consistently winning races and contesting for the overall British National FF Championship during my rookie year. I don’t know if any American has ever won this series before, but I didn’t come this far just to continue some silly tradition. Besides that, backing up my win for Team USA last October at the Formula Ford Festival is one of my biggest incentives!

Over the next month I have seven test days scheduled, all of them at tracks that will be contested in the first four rounds of the championship, which begins on April 11, 2009. Yesterday, I saw my new Mygale FF for the first time, and although it was mostly in pieces at the race shop, Joe Tandy and my crew mates, Ricky and Chris, assured me it will be ready to hit the track at Snetterton this Friday for the first shakedown laps of the season. I have just as high a level of confidence in my whole crew as I do in myself. To me the chemistry between me and the team is the biggest key to having a championship-winning season.

Besides my sponsor and my race team, I’ve also been very fortunate to land in a great living situation with another race driver from Canada, Philip Major, who competes in British F3. I actually got very lucky due to someone else’s big misfortune. Another fellow race driver, Steven Guerrero, had a very bad motorcycle accident after returning home to Colombia at the end of last season. Steven had my room lined up for this year here in the UK but his injuries were too severe for him to return this season. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and made a deal for a great place. Everyone over here is wishing Steven a quick and full recovery!

Besides a great place to live, I also got a great deal on a used car. Cars, roads and driving are much different over here than in the U.S. I got a 2006 Subaru estate wagon with a 3-liter motor and an automatic transmission. It’s got plenty of torque and Bilstein suspension too! With the current conversion of dollars to pounds being so good, I got a great deal on it and it even has plenty of room in the boot [Ed: Wow, Josef is becoming Anglicized already! “Boot” means trunk to us here in the U.S.] for all my gear, plus the gear of another race driver to share the ride and expense of trips back and fourth to the circuits. Now if I can just get my UK insurance issues worked out and pay for my gasoline [Ed: It’s “petrol” over there!], I’ll be all set....

To put my current thoughts into perspective, yesterday I met up with a local photographer at Silverstone race track to take part in a media shoot for my management and promotion company. He definitely knew what he was doing and although it always makes me feel a little weird when ever I’m getting my picture taken, one of the shots he took really made me think about how I felt just a few short months ago. It was right after New Year’s and it was a cold, dark January day in Nashville, Tenn. I remember thinking about my friend Conor Daly preparing to go to Sebring for testing in his Star Mazda and the championship he will contest during 2009 via the scholarship he won from the Skip Barber National. I remember I was thinking I might not even be racing this year and how much I felt like I was on the outside looking in when it came to achieving my racing goals. Today when I looked at one of my latest media pictures taken at the famed Silverstone raceway with sun shining in the background and me showing off my new helmet colors for 2009, I realized I’m probably one of the luckiest guys in the world! I’m making real progress toward achieving my goals in big-time auto racing. Now I’m definitely on the inside looking out!

Sometimes life has a funny way of working things out and I’ll be sure to keep all of you posted as to how it all works out from over here.......

January turns into a waiting game

Hendersonville, Tenn. (January 31, 2009) - After closing out 2008 amid tremendous optimism I was surprised my January turned into such a difficult month that tested my skills of patience and focus. My plans to relocate full-time to the UK and compete in the British Formula Ford Duratec series for 2009 are still on track, just not finalized. It turns out there is a whole lot more than I ever anticipated to planning a full season of professional racing. Finalizing contract negotiations and multiple sponsor meetings on top of relocating to live on my own for the first time has definitely been a challenge. One thing I’ve learned for sure is getting a three- to five-year plan in place as well as a financial plan to make it happen is where I want to be next year at this time. In 2009, next to my goals for racing well, finishing up front consistently, winning races and staying physically and mentally fit, business and financial planning will be among my biggest priorities.

I do anticipate making an announcement in the next few weeks with a press release outlining my 2009 racing plans along with details on my UK race team and 2009 sponsors. In the meantime I plan on continuing what has occupied the majority of my time over the last two months. Finishing the last few credits of my senior year in high school which I will complete online with UMOHS (University of Miami Online High School). If things go well, I will only have two classes left by the time I leave in late February and I should be done with all my studies by the end of May. In addition to rigorous school studies, my physical workout regimen has been dramatically ramped up. I am now currently working out up to five times per week plus plenty of action on the Ping-pong court which keeps my Robo-Pong sponsor happy. Then if there’s any time left over, I try to put in some laps in on upcoming UK tracks via my racing simulator and even have a good battle now and then online. This weekend I’ll probably get some good time in watching the 43rd Super Bowl too!

One thing’s for sure, the time I spent in the UK representing the Team USA Scholarship has really opened a lot of doors for me. I’ll never forget the experience I had and I am looking forward to achieving the same kind of success that so many of my predecessors have done before me. It’s been almost two months since I’ve been in a race car and I really have a lot of desire to get back on track and do some testing, racing, or whatever it takes to get me back in the seat. I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted.
 

Winter preparations in the UK

Hendersonville, Tenn. (December 11, 2008) - My father and I have spent the last few weeks in the UK testing with various FF Duratec teams and trying to find a home and all the necessary accommodations for my return next January. It looks like moving to the UK has been confirmed and will definitely be pursued in an effort to reach my goal as an established F1 driver.

When we first arrived in the UK, we focused on establishing a place to live and finding all the proper living necessities. Oxford was the ideal choice when considering versatility, surroundings and tranquility. It is a small and quiet place that's filled with young life, thanks to its prestigious university. We found a 2-bedroom apartment that was currently being occupied by British F3 driver Philip Major. The second room in the apartment was available and provided everything and more a driver like myself would need to be comfortable and safe. The entire complex was brand new and provided parking garages, which is really helpful in Europe, considering how narrow everything is and how difficult it usually is to find parking.

After establishing a place to live, we focused on setting up a bank account and finding a company car that would be used by me when traveling around the country. The majority of work was done and the beginning of testing was right around the corner. Three days of testing were lined up with three different Duratec teams, including JTR (Joe Tandy Racing), Cliff Dempsey Racing and Jamun Racing.

Joe Tandy Racing was first up at Snetterton and I was nothing short of ecstatic to get back in a car! When we arrived at the track, it was raining and bitterly cold. As miserable as the conditions were, I was actually excited; nervous but excited. The thought of a new car, new track, new team, in treacherous conditions sounded a bit rough, but unbelievably challenging and fun. I love difficult challenges and getting the most out of them - this was going to be one of those situations. Several other cars and teams would be testing on track throughout the day, such as Formula Renault, F3 and Formula BMW. This would also make the day a bit more interesting and fun.

My first session on track went horribly wrong! I could not get the car to brake correctly and was struggling to figure out what the problem was. After completing a couple laps, the condition was getting increasingly worse and became near undriveable. When beginning to apply brake pressure into the corner, the throttle would stay open about 10 percent (which zings the motor in a FF Duratec car) and made stopping incredibly difficult. I made a pit stop and relayed the problem to the team explaining what was happening. They had told me the engine was brand new along with a brand new throttle body, which was sticking open toward the end of releasing throttle.

To make sure the problem would not persist, the team switched the throttle body with one from the previous season. After fixing the problem, running clean consistent laps became much easier. It was really fun running with all the other types of cars down the straights, as the FF Duratec had a lot more straight line speed than I expected. We were actually just as quick as the F3 cars down the straight and much quicker than the Formula BMW's - at least until we hit a brake zone or corner. The team and I were able to improve the cars overall grip but had to compromise low and high-speed grip throughout the day.

Our next test would take place at Donington Park with Gavin Ray (the man who hand builds each Ray chassis). This test was really in preparation in the event that we would run next season with Cliff Dempsey Racing. This chassis had loads more room in the cockpit compared to that of the Mygale that JTR uses. This was probably one of the toughest days of testing during our trip. The cars setup was fairly off pace and the car's brake pads were some of the hardest to use that I've come across.

The third different team we would test with was last year's championship winning team, Jamun Racing, at Silverstone. This test was run in very cold rainy conditions similar to our test with JTR earlier in the week. Again, I was excited to get out and slide the car around in the rain but was a bit disappointed that I would not be able to see the Mygale's full potential in the dry. After completing my first session on track, I found the car felt very similar to JTR's Mygale aside from some slight different characteristics due to Jamun's front mono-shock design compared to JTR's dual shocks. I found this to give the car a slightly crisper turn-in because of its stiffer front end. Surprisingly, the low speed corner grip did not seem to suffer from the stiffer front-end setup. After completing over 100 laps with Jamun, I felt like my rain ability at Silverstone had reached another level than it had been before along with feeling more comfortable in these conditions.

Over the weekend, I received an email from Chris Dredge, who is the Formula Palmer Audi championship coordinator. He informed me that they had openings for testing possibilities for the following week. Seeing as we had some free time next Monday, we decided to proceed and check out what FPA had to offer. This was by far the highlight of the trip for me! The car was brilliant to drive and was loads of fun. It was much different than the Andersen Racing Star Mazda car I had driven two weeks previously. It felt much heavier, more powerful, and surprisingly had tons of mechanical grip. Adjusting to how a turbo car works was truly fun and challenging. You had to work much harder to not get wheel spin once the turbo kicked in. Jonathan Palmer has a great facility and his staff is top notch. I enjoyed this test a lot and am glad we were able to get to know the Palmer Audi group better.

At the completion of our two weeks, my thoughts on which car and team would be the best approach for next year is still unclear. I feel that I would be comfortable with any of these teams and that a championship would be feasible with any one of them. I look forward to returning to the UK early next January and beginning my preparations for the 2009 season. I want to thank Jeremy Shaw and everyone involved in this year's Team USA Scholarship program again for helping jump-start my endeavors in the UK racing scene!