BRSCC has now posted the list of entrants, schedule and the final instructions for the Festival weekend. You can download these below. From Finland, as expected, we will have five entrants - three in the Duratec class, two in the Zetec.
Ville Kivinen, Oskari Kurki-Suonio and Antti Buri are racing in the Duratec class. Ville, entered by Team Söderman, is listed with a Van Diemen Duratec LA09, which constitutes the latest evolution of this manufacturer's car. The only other driver with the same latest model will be Garry Findlay. Oskari is entered with a Ray GR08. Among the dominating Mygales, followed by Van Diemen, Rays and Spectrums have several drivers each. Antti, entered by Enigma Motorsport, is racing a Mygale SJ07. While Ville and Oskari are in the Duratec/Zetec Heat 1, Antti is the only Finn in the Duratec/Zetec Heat 2.
In the Zetec class Sebastian Nummi and Per Stenius are in good company. Current lists show 12 entrants, including last year Zetec champion Neil Tofts (running a Mygale SJ04). As you may remember, Antti Buri got second last year after Neil - it will be very interesting to see what Finnish Formula Ford Championship silver medalist Sebastian Nummi can do this year! From the schedule you can also see that while Zetecs race with Duratecs in qualifying and initial heats, there will be a separate Zetec final. For the early heats, Sebastian and Per will be joining Oskari and Ville in Duratec/Zetec Heat 1 (incidentally, Neil Tofts will be racing in Heat 2...).
Overall Finns are doing very well when compared to other Scandinavian countries - the roster includes no Swedes (except one driver in Kents!) and Norwegians, however there are three Danes in the competition. Of course overall, the drivers list includes the best of the best - the key drivers from UK, Europe, Latin America, US and Australia are all there... The Festival will thus be a great test for how our drivers can do among the global competition. The roster would have been perfect if we also would have had Janne Knuutinen present to defend Finland, but unfortunately that was not possible this year due to budget constraints.
For those interested, here are the schedule, the entrants' list and final instructions. Information is also available on the BRSCC Formula Ford Festival site. For those already thinking about next year, I can say that personally I am targeting a budget around 4k€ and last year Antti's budget was around 5k€. Of course one could spend quite a bit more too...
Stay tuned for how the weekend progresses. Unfortunately I will probably not be able to provide online updates on what is going on, but will be writing at least when I am back from the weekend. Meanwhile, check for example FormulaPosti and the BRSCC site above for updates. Finally, here are some links to videos from the Brands Hatch Indy onboard a Formula Ford: Liroy Stuart in video 1, onboard video 2.
