Five Questions with Marc Hynes

After a tough weekend at Oulton Park, I caught up with Quantel Bifold driver Marc Hynes and what his thoughts of the weekend were.

AF: Marc, how do you feel the weekend has gone for you?

MH: I think we stepped forward on Saturday; the wet practice times were quite good, 4^th and 6^th. We qualified 8^th in the dry which is a step forward, as I’m still trying to get used to front wheel drive so that was positive. Sunday we had a pretty poor start in the first race and dropped a couple of places and ended up finishing tenth. I got punted off on the first lap of the second race and the same happened again later on which was a bit frustrating, then in the last race in the wet we had a bit of a tangle down the escape road in the first lap and caught back up a little bit, so in the end a frustrating race day but a positive Saturday.

AF: The car is starting to show some good pace, you must be happy with that?

MH:  Yeah the pace is getting better, Saturday proved that. The rear wheel drives looked quite fast from the off this week so I think all in all we’ve stepped forward on pace so happy enough but frustrated with the results, not good enough really.

AF: How have you found racing at Oulton Park this weekend?

MH: Well it’s the first time I’ve been here in 15 years; it’s always a great circuit but it’s not the easiest place to pass in one of these and it definitely requires a bit of contact and nudging people out the way but as I say it’s a brilliant circuit. I think if you go to most paddocks in the world people have raced around here from Jim Clark to Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton, whoever they are they’ve all cut their teeth around this track and I bet it ranks up in the top 6 of everybody’s tracks worldwide, it’s a real great place to come

AF: How have you found the transition from what you’ve been doing in the past to BTCC?

MH: Well I’ve been out of racing for 6 years so it’s been a long time, so firstly I’ve got to get to grips with coming back into racing again. I think I’ve picked a year which is probably the hardest ever in touring cars, well certainly the hardest since the 90s. Front wheel drive definitely takes some getting used to, there’s very little grip compared to what I’ve done in the past, it’s very easy to overdrive and if you get power understeer in a front wheel drive car it starts taking you off away from where you want to be going whereas rear wheel drive are pointing you in the right direction so there’s a lot to learn, a lot to get back in to but slowly but surely getting back into a bit of form and hopefully just keep improving the pace.

AF: What are your predictions for Croft?

MH: Croft’s a track that I’ve always loved, the last time I ever raced there was F3 and I won the race there which was a good memory and it’s a great circuit, great fun so we’ll see what the touring cars are like around there.                 

Mealin bounces back at Oulton Park

Falcon Motorsport's Chris Mealin returned to racing at Oulton Park this weekend in the Formula Ford championship in style, finishing on the podium in all three races in the Scholarship class, and also claiming his maiden overall podium in round 11, finishing third and also taking his second Scholarship win so far this season.

The Manx man, who raced at Oulton Park for the first time this weekend, was hoping for strong results after a huge accident at Thruxton five weeks ago had hampered his progress in the championship, and Chris was clearly delighted with how the weekend had gone after I talked to him at the end of the weekend.
"Saturday was brilliant to be honest, a great comeback after Thruxton, I have to say a huge thank you to Falcon for giving me a great car and putting it back where it’s meant to be. Today (Sunday) was interesting, I had a good feeling this morning and I just tried to keep as calm as I could all morning really and not rush around or get too panicky about anything. When the start came we weren't too sure what the weather was going to be like because suddenly before we left parc ferme they came on the radio and told us that there was rain at the back of the circuit, but thankfully it stayed off and I just had to bring her home. I didn't know what place I was to be honest, I had brake failure most of the race. The safety car played into my hands a little bit, and I knew my chance for Richardson was going to be at the hairpin and I just lunged it up the inside, it was a good move".

Chris was also ecstatic with claiming his maiden overall podium finish, adding: "At the start of the year we set the goal of getting an overall podium before the summer break and we've been able to achieve that. That was the main aim for this year after the scholarship and I'm just so happy to be honest, now we've just got to keep this momentum up onto Croft and then have a good summer break so that we can come back stronger in the second half of the season".

Reflecting on the weekend, Chris was impressed with his home circuit of Oulton Park. "I've loved it, it’s a lovely circuit" he told me, before adding "it's a challenging course, especially Druids the double right and there’s a few interesting corners here and there but it’s been a good day. The weather didn't hold out for us unfortunately in the first race but thankfully it held out for us, literally just, in this last race. It’s a great circuit and I’d love to come back here in the future and race again for sure".

Looking ahead to the next rounds at Croft in three weeks time, Chris is hoping for similar results to come his way. "I want to try and get an overall podium and win the scholarship again, they’re our main aims. The main thing as I said before is just to keep the momentum building into the summer break so that we can go into it on a high and we just try and test and have that good feeling that we left and take it on into the second half"

Photo credit: Alan Faulkner

Early exit for Mealin at Thruxton

Falcon Motorsport's Chris Mealin has seen his progress in the Formula Ford GB championship grind to a halt after escaping a huge crash without injury during round 7 of the season at Thruxton, the fastest track on the race calendar.

Mealin had started on the fourth row of the grid for the race after qualifying 8th, and soon climbed up to 4th position after just two laps. However, contact with another driver through Brooklands meant that the Falcon Motorsport driver was simply a passenger as his car flew into the barriers on the approach to the Club chicane at approximately 130 mph, before somersaulting and eventually coming to rest on the grass verge. Despite the huge impact, Chris was lucky enough to escape without serious injury to himself, but the crash was enough to damage the car and his race helmet beyond repair. 

He talked to me later on in the day after the dust had settled, and understandably was relieved that the crash was not as bad as it could have been, "I was very lucky today to walk away from that, God was certainly looking after me up there! I'm just very stiff and bruised at the moment; I'm definitely going to be very sore in the morning". Even though the relief was evident about walking away injury free, Chris was also very disappointed with what damage the car had sustained during the crash, which has resulted in him not being able to complete in the other two races at Thruxton, "There's no chance of getting her fixed before tomorrow (Sunday), the gearbox is completely ripped apart so need to fit a new one - plus the car will take 2 weeks to fix so I'm hoping to do a shakedown test at Snetterton before Oulton and to get my confidence back a little bit". 

It's certainly a huge dent for Chris, who has had consistent top 10 finishes in the opening rounds of the Formula Ford championship, and taken a win in the Scholarship class which he is competing for alongside the likes of team mate Ricky Collard and Meridian's Connor Mills. No doubt he will be looking to bounce back from the crash at the picturesque Oulton Park circuit in 5 weeks time. 

Photo Credit: Marc Waller 

Cook looking for more after perfect Donington weekend

SV Racing's Josh Cook is hoping for similar success this weekend at Thruxton after dominating through tricky conditions over the Easter weekend at Donington Park. 

Josh qualified on pole position for the opening race of the day, and took a lights to flag victory on a very wet track ahead of Mike Bushell and team mate Ant Whorton-Eales, who claimed 2nd and 3rd respectively in round 3. The second Clio race of the day was a similar story for Josh - despite starting 4th on the grid, he took full advantage of a coming together from the start between pole sitter Jordan Stilp and Team Pyro's Mike Bushell, with the latter crashing out of the race, and managed to avoid the contact to take an early lead, which he maintained for the duration of the race to make it two wins out of two. The elation was clear to see on the podium from Josh, and in his post race interview at the end of round 4. 

"It was brilliant weekend, obviously we didn't have that second pole position but you can’t have it all! The car’s been fantastic all weekend, a fantastic 1, 2, 3, 4 for all the KX guys, so I can’t ask for much more from the team, they've been absolutely fantastic and I just want to try and carry on this momentum into Thruxton".

Despite it looking easy from where the spectators were sitting over the weekend, he admitted that it didn't seem that way inside the car, "It was a weird one really, I wanted to try and maintain a gap but I didn’t want my tyres to go off so I had to push a couple of times just to try and get it back, and I think I put one of my fastest laps towards the last lap - it was good fun but it looked like there were a lot of exciting things going on behind me!" 

When asked about how the new generation Clio manages it tyres to the older model, Josh told me "To be honest, it completely depends on the style of driver you are. The new generation car does have a lot more torque than the previous model, so it is really important that you are progressive when applying the power. The new generation car is of a very similar weight to its older brother, so that is not a massive issue. Donington was a strange race because I had a clear gap behind me, which I'm sure you will agree is rare in Clio Cup! I just had to ensure that I didn't push too hard on the tyres to allow me to have something left in the tanks should I need to put in a few flyers!"

Looking ahead to the next rounds of the Clio Cup at Thruxton, Josh had admitted that he is quietly confident of similar results for him and the other drivers in the SV Racing team: "In the official tests there we were top of the time sheets, and it’s one of my more favourable circuits so we’ll have to see how it goes there". He also added "With it being such a competitive grid this year, and being so early on in the season I think it is difficult to tell currently who will be my biggest rival, however there are a number of people who have shown pace throughout the races that it could be anyone! You can bet your bottom dollar that Paul Rivett will be in the mix come the final rounds! I just think it is important to concentrate on doing the best job I can do and with a fantastic team of Cooksport and SVR guys behind me, I couldn't be in a better place".

With Thruxton being around the corner, Josh will be hoping to build on the momentum from Donington and will be pushing for more podiums at the fastest circuit on the race calendar, and will also be looking for strong results for the SV Racing team. 

Photo credit: Alan Faulkner

Mealin makes fantastic start to Formula Ford campaign

Chris Mealin had a strong start to his debut season in the Formula Ford championship at Brands Hatch, with the 20 year old taking his first Scholarship class win in round 3.

Saturday proved to be an action packed day for Chris, after he qualified in 10th place for the opening round of the season. Retirements for Connor Mills and Sam Brabham in the first round of the season meant that Chris finished 7th overall and 2nd in class behind team mate Ricky Collard, son of BTCC driver Rob Collard. Chris maintained good pace in round 2, being on the podium once more to claim the third place trophy in the scholarship class after rounding out the top 10 in the overall standings.

The action kicked off once again on Sunday, with Chris starting on the fifth row once again on a bright morning. Once again, he maintained a strong, clean drive throughout the duration of the race, although his team mate Collard was unable to do the same, after a clash with Max Marshall forced the fellow Falcon Motorsport driver into an early retirement on lap 13. Chris managed to avoid further incidents after a brief safety car period, and held off Meridian Racing duo Connor Mills and Ashley Sutton to finish 8th in the main standings, but more importantly claimed his first ever win in the Scholarship class.

With three consistent top 10 finishes and three Scholarship podiums, Chris was evidently delighted with the opening rounds of what will prove to be a tough contested season. "I am very, very pleased. The car was great and I have to say a huge thank you to the team" said Chris at the end of proceedings at Brands Hatch. He added "As it was my first race weekend in Formula Ford it was all about learning; how the tyres degrade over time, how I look after them for the following day’s race, maintaining consistency and trying to score two Scholarship podiums - which I couldn't have been happier on accomplishing on my first day!" 

Chris also reflected on events in the final race of the day, saying "I had to give it my all in race three. It was eventful out there and the last five minutes seemed to take forever, but I just had to keep calm and carry on. I was losing grip rapidly, but in the end we had another great result and I scored my first Scholarship class win to cap the weekend with a 1-2-3. It has been an incredibly productive and exciting opening round for me, and I cannot wait to go over everything with the team and head for round two at Donington.” 

After such a strong performance, Chris and the Falcon Motorsport team will be knuckling down looking at ways to improve ahead of next weekend's racing at Donington Park

Introducing Chris Mealin

During the course of the 2014 season, alongside giving my thoughts on proceedings of the BTCC season, I will also be writing for Chris Mealin, who is entering the Formula Ford Championship for Falcon Motorsport as part of the ToCA support package. 

I spoken to Chris ahead of the season opener on 30th March at Brands Hatch, and have been finding out what he has been doing in preparation for the course of the season, and how he feels about the prospects of driving in the Formula Ford championship for the first time.

"This winter I have been flat out, training most days, making sure I am the best prepared mentally and physically for this tough challenge ahead, mainly in the iZone Driver Performance Centre at Silverstone where I did the winter programme which helped me a lot ahead of such a big year". Chris added "I have also been selected for the McLaren Performance Academy and the Isle of Man Sport's Aid Association this season". 

As well as this, Chris also attended a three day camp at Woking along with the other selected few drivers for this year's camp, where he learnt a lot about nutrition, sports psychology and physical training. 

"It's certainly given me a huge confidence boost ahead of the opener at Brands Hatch. I'm truly grateful for the opportunity they have given to me and I will be representing them with pride - they've all helped me tremendously with my training programme and I look forward to working closely with each and every one of them throughout the season".

Chris has also been working very closely with Falcon Motorsport during the off season break, with the team getting the car set up in preparation for the opening rounds at Brands Hatch, with him and the team testing most recently at Donington Park. "The car feels great; she's very nice to drive. After testing at Donington I've got a much better understanding of how much grip the car has, and also how she handles through flat out corners such as the Craner Curves, which will come in handy at some of the tracks on the calendar".

With it being his first season in the championship, Chris has admitted he has modest expectations for the course of the season, but his main aim for the course of the season is to try and secure the Scholarship title; "If I can get a podium before the summer break, that'd be great. I just need to be consistent and score as many points as possible each weekend, and then we'll see where we are at the end". He also added "it would be an amazing achievement to claim the Scholarship title this year in my debut season - I'm in a good place at the moment with the right people behind me and a great team supporting me too in Falcon Motorsport, I feel right at home with them already after just a few test days".

I will be keeping up to date with Chris's progress during the course of the 2014 Formula Ford season, publishing race reports and opinions from the man himself of the weekend.      

2014 starting to take shape

As the 2014 BTCC season draws ever closer, things are starting to form nicely; a number of driver announcements have been made, all of the ToCA licenses have been issued and bar a few teams, the fans have an idea of who to expect on the grid for the first round of the 2014 season at Brands Hatch in March.

After a number of rumours circulating that there could be seven BTCC champions in the series this year, Airwaves Racing have officially confirmed that double champion, Fabrizio Giovanardi, who has been away from the series since 2010, will be returning to the series, and will be lining up alongside Jason Plato, Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal, reigning champion Andrew Jordan and another returning champion, Alain Menu. 2009 champion Colin Turkington has yet to announce his plans for the season, with his team from last season eBay Motors also keeping their plans under wraps for the time being, but it is very likely that he too could be back alongside the other champions.

The only other uncertainty regarding the series so far is whether we will see Speedworks back on the grid, as well as the full driver line up for Airwaves alongside Giovanardi. There is also uncertainty regarding the future of ES Racing, despite team boss Chris James stating his intent on returning to the series in NGTC machinery. 

On the whole though, the majority of the teams have already confirmed their entries on the grid, and the cars that they will be competing in. Some of the teams have already begun pre-season testing too, with Honda Yuasa completing a five day test at Rockingham in their new Civic Tourer. Reigning champion Andrew Jordan has also been out testing in the hatchback model of the Civic along with his new team mate Martin Depper, as well as Rob Austin giving his re-shelled Audi A4, Sherman, a maiden run out.

Until media day has come and passed, it is very hard to make any predictions yet as to who will shine or fall in the upcoming season. However, with Alain Menu and Fabrizio Giovanardi returning, it is very likely that this year's BTCC season could be the most competitive yet, depending on how quickly teams get their cars set up and, of course, what incidents may occur in the 30 unpredictable races.