Thruxton Racing Circuit
Andover, Hampshire
Formula Renault track day experience, Thruxton. Unfamiliar to the format, I arrive in full racewear and a sports bag to full effect - everyone else dressed casual. Nevertheless, a mechanic notices the attire and asks into my racing experience. Outdoor electric go-karting, Daytona championships. They replied by translating a Formula Renault as driving "a big go-kart" with gears. So prep done, I stuck the car into first gear, fully excited by the engine coursing its power through the vehicle, and exited pit lane.
I could insert every superlative possible into this piece and still not fully describe how at one I felt driving the car. They're restricted for the customer experience, sure. Yet, after getting a feel for its behaviour on lap 1, by end of lap 2, I developed the confidence to go for it. See lap 3, I was munching up Club chicane, shifting through the gears with vigour ... then had to correct a slide into Campbell!
They said, in briefing, these cars are sensitive to spinning. I got too confident, arriving at Campbell much faster than the previous laps, and had oversteer mid-corner. I caught it, though! Applied opposite lock and carried the momentum into Cobb. Okay, that's your personal limit - respect it. Having this realised, I knew where to explore the fast-flowing sections flat-out, which spurred on new curiosity into how much more dynamic this drive would be de-restricted ... but, you get what you're given!
Laps 4 and 5, I was living the experience. What a machine. I was tempted to stay out, forever - no flag was actually waved to bring me back in. But I brought it back to pit lane after my 5 laps, jumped off and expressed appreciation to the mechanics. What a day!
I had just driven a formula racing car for the first time. Yet I left this experience rather frustrated. Why is it relatively simple to gain access to these cars for a track day, but so much more difficult to realise in a competitive format? I invested into this Formula Renault experience to see, within the means available, if I could command a single-seater formula with the same racers' inclination as any other racing context. No spins, an audacity to push and most importantly the confidence to enjoy, I exceeded what I set out to do that day.
Confirming to myself the possibility that good coaching and valuable track time, like the guys at Revolution Karting provided me, would pay dividends for nurturing my abilities on a formula racing platform. After all, the adversity I've overcome and accomplishments enjoyed, independently, as a late-bloomer in competitive racing, proves my potential to race in a professional capacity, once nourished with the same active support.
Not long after driving Formula Renault, I discovered the ERA Championship. In development, they pledge to become the first entry-level electric formula racing series in the world. Ever since, I have been driven to secure a seat with an electric racing team. As I started in electric karts in the early 2010s, joining an enterprise like the Electric Racing Academy would be the natural evolution of my racing background.
Either way, establishing the most cost-effective racing pathway supports my primary focus to realise new progressive possibilities in motorsport. An ethos I'm working to realise alongside like-minded partners.