“I think some people are too scared to go back.” There’s no denying that Max Esterson’s return to the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch last weekend was something of a risk, with no guarantees that the young American would even feature at the front after 12 months without racing a Kent-powered machine.
On that occasion, it was en route to victory in the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone via wins in his heat and semi-final as well as the final. Incredibly, the GB3 race winner repeated the feat at Brands last weekend, banishing the disappointment of finishing runner-up in 2021 and proving himself a worthy winner.
Sadly, and unfairly, Esterson’s achievement will be overshadowed by the fiasco that took place and the final that – officially – only ran over two laps, with proceedings halted after heavy rain and dark clouds limited visibility shortly after the start.
Let’s be clear, almost everyone this writer spoke with in the paddock afterwards agreed that the correct decision had been to stop the race and that the opportunity to restart never materialised. But the fact that the teams and drivers were put in such a situation in the first place left many angry with the organising British Racing & Sports Car Club.
As early as Sunday morning, all weather forecasts predicted heavy thunderstorms late afternoon, at approximately 5pm – just before the final was scheduled to take place. Sure enough, as the cars headed off for the formation lap, spots of rain began to fall and flashes of lightning lit up the sky.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but the BRSCC had backed itself into a corner by putting the final at the end of the schedule, the usual spiel being that it has always run at the end of the weekend as per tradition. It may have been the first time in 50 years this had happened but this day has been coming, with several finals only just taking place before sunset due to delays in the programme or restarts needed in the final itself.
How can it be that when teams have spent small fortunes testing over three days, drivers have travelled from various parts of the world, including America and Brazil, that the main event can’t take place after two full days of racing?
Don’t get me wrong. If the entire day had been a washout, it would have been different, something that couldn’t have been prevented, but there was enough warning to avoid this situation.
“I hope that everyone can learn for the future,” said 2022 runner-up and three-time winner Joey Foster. “We’ve been here for five days without having the actual race that we’re building towards – of course we’re disappointed.
"We put a lot of money in to do this right, we want to have a better service. Absolutely it needs to be looked at or else collectively as a group of professional teams we will go elsewhere" Bernard Dolan
“The final has always been run late and I don’t recall there ever being an issue, but it’s not going to be the last time it rains at the end of October so let’s perhaps have discussions about it and see what can be done.”
Niall Murray, a two-time winner, added: “I was disgusted by the end. I just don’t know who thought to put the race at 5pm at the end of October, it’s just stupid. Everybody in the paddock knew about the weather warnings – this big dark storm was coming in so I don’t know why they didn’t scrap the last-chance race or move us before another race.”
The organisers didn’t need to look far either to bring forward the final. A needless eight-lap last-chance race was once again held, the shortest scheduled race distance of the weekend, and twice it was red-flagged, which caused delays. Earlier, two progression races were held with just 15 cars in each, which could have been combined. Again, it would have saved more time on the schedule.
Some team bosses were also left angry that changes could be made to the cars during the red-flag stoppage, despite the BRSCC stating that “the cars were held in parc ferme conditions” in a statement released after the event. The changes though, according to BRSCC chairman Peter Daly, were made “completely on the grounds of safety – and safety has to be at the forefront of the sport”.
“What we are doing is looking at next year’s Festival timetable and looking at options,” added Daly. “The challenge of the Formula Ford Festival is to maintain the number of entries, maintain the competitiveness, quality, TV coverage and sponsorship opportunities to make it commercially viable.”
But unfortunately the damage might have already been done among teams and drivers.
“This is the flagship event, they [BRSCC] need to look at themselves in the mirror,” said team owner Bernard Dolan. “We put a lot of money in to do this right, we want to have a better service. Absolutely it needs to be looked at or else collectively as a group of professional teams we will go elsewhere.”
Last year, the 50th anniversary of the Festival was one of the high points in the event’s history as former winners returned and healthy crowds filled the grandstands. But last weekend’s final was almost certainly one of the lowest for the illustrious event.
