AUTOSPORT gets a Formula Ford wake-up call

Competing in my first Formula Ford Festival was a humbling experience.

It was an absolute coup for organisers to return the Festival to its Kent-engined roots (giving the 1950s-developed engine top billing for the first time since 1992) and many said it was the most competitive edition in years.

The entry didn't top 50 cars, but the quality was outstanding.

Never have I started on the back row of a grid because I genuinely deserved to be there, but that's where I found myself lining up for the 42nd Formula Ford Festival Final. But for the misfortune of Zacharie Robichon and Patrick McKenna in my semi-final, I wouldn't have been there at all!

In most UK racing events, you'll find a reasonably high level of driving at the front and a dramatic tail-off as you work your way down the grid. Never before have I sat on a grid with the depth we saw in the Formula Ford Festival Final.

Anderson battles with Gaius Ghinn and Shaun Macklin at Druids © Gary Hawkins

National champions, former winners and category specialists abounded. To put things in perspective, the guy who started directly ahead of me (25th on the 28-car grid) finished sixth in last year's final...

The race itself was wild. Jordan Albert crashed trying to pass me on the outside at Paddock on the second lap (causing an early safety-car period) and I spent my race battling with Gaius Ghinn (who dropped out later) and the older cars of Luke Rosewell and ex-Formula Palmer Audi champion Richard Tarling.

I managed to fight my way ahead of both, but a misfiring engine, some missed gears, and some pretty sketchy contact left me trailing them at the flag. Tarling tried to drive me into the pitwall in defence of 21st place at the end. Twenty-first! Wild doesn't do it justice.

Teenager Niall Murray (controversially for those who alleged he passed Wayne Boyd under yellow flags; Murray was subsequently fined £1000 and banned for six months for failing to provide video evidence to officials) will stand in the record books as winner of the hardest race I've ever done

The whole purpose of doing Formula Ford (true throughout its history) is to learn how to drive a racing car properly.

I have known for some time about my deficiencies under braking. However, success in other areas and formulas breeds a false sense of security; that you may only need to make small improvements to crack the code.

How every FF1600 racer should spend autumn: under an umbrella in the Brands collecting area © Gary Hawkins

I knew joining Formula Ford would force me to raise my game and competing in such a high-calibre Festival was a big wake-up call.

There wasn't much time to re-prep before heading up the M40 to Silverstone for four more days of intense competition at the Walter Hayes Trophy. To many, this is now the 'real' Formula Ford Festival, owing to the fact it attracts more than 100 entries every year.

Unsurprisingly, it was cold and wet for most of the first three days, but no two sessions were held in similar conditions, such was the transient state of the weather.

Generally, I lapped around 1.5s off the pace, struggling with understeer. This continued into raceday, regardless of the changes we made to the car.

I almost qualified straight into the semi-finals, but fell behind 1995 Formula 3000 champion Vincenzo Sospiri (enjoying his first race for 10 years, and his first in Formula Ford since he won the Brands Festival in 1988) after running wide at Luffield chasing the former owner of my Ray GRS07, Stuart Gough.

There's a lot to learn about Anderson's Ray © Jakob Ebrey

I was still lapping 1-2s off the pace of the leaders, and beating myself up given what had occurred at Brands the previous weekend: 'it must be me'; 'I'm the weak link'.

But a heart-to-heart with my dad over dinner made me realise that it wasn't all about me. Sure I'm new to the formula and there are things I can improve upon behind the wheel, but it's also about the car and making sure it's right.

You need driver and car working together in harmony, or else it won't matter what the driver does. He needs the car to allow him to express himself.

We decided the Ray is sprung too stiffly for slippery conditions, but since we have no other options at this stage we resolved to make the best of what we had.

Then, astoundingly, the final day of the WHT was sunny and dry! Perhaps fuelled by this more optimistic outlook, Sunday proved to be probably the most enjoyable day's motorsport I've ever had.

My mistake in the heat meant that instead of starting somewhere in the pack for the semi-finals, I had to make my way through via the Last Chance repechage race.

Another Sospiri vs Anderson battle © Jakob Ebrey

For this, I started on pole. I didn't win (that honour went to new Castle Combe champion Adam Higgins), but ran a comfortable second for a long time until former Combe champ Ed Moore sailed past on the back straight.

A red flag and restart unfortunately did for him (his Van Diemen's ignition gave up the ghost at the resumption) and didn't really help me much either, though it did set up an exciting battle with multiple Formula Ford Zetec Festival winner Neil Tofts, and Pre-'90 Oulton Park frontrunner Chris Hodgen.

I ultimately finished fourth after missing a gear trying to repass Tofts. This race and the semi-final (in which I scraped home 18th after some wild battling) exposed the weaknesses of the car at the moment: understeer on corner exit, whereby applying the throttle lifts the front end too far rather than helping to maintain a drift; and a lack of straightline speed, caused, we think, by excess weight (to the tune of 10-15kg depending on fuel), drag, and (obviously) a lack of power.

Making the final was my pre-weekend aim, and I achieved it. Having made it through I was looking forward to climbing the order and trying to make more progress with the car. By now, I was much more comfortable with the way it likes to be driven into the corners and was gaining confidence with every run.

Unfortunately, a water leak in the left radiator caused the engine to overheat (exacerbated by an early red flag for a multi-car incident that wiped out several cars), lose power and misfire.

This meant I slumped gradually back to the rear of the pack (but not before another entertaining dice with my 'nemesis' Sospiri!) before pitting to retire. Despite a strong desire to finish my first Walter Hayes Trophy Final (I know how hard they are to make), I decided it wasn't worth wrecking the engine just to come home last on the road.

There's always next year. I'm looking forward to it already.