The tragic events in the IndyCar Series finale at Las Vegas completely overshadowed anything else that happened in motor racing last weekend, as the two-time Indy 500 winner and former series champion, Dan Wheldon, died as a result of a horrific 15-car crash.
Fortune may have smiled on Wheldon at Indianapolis in May, but it certainly turned its back on him on Sunday.
Before the tragedy in America, it had been a weekend of jubilation, as Red Bull clinched their second constructors’ championship in Korea, Matt Neal won his third British Touring Car crown, and Casey Stoner celebrated his 26th birthday by winning the MotoGP title.
Scott Malvern en route to Festival victory © www.lsphotos.co.uk
Celebrations were also in full swing at Brands Hatch, as Formula Ford ace Scott Malvern added a lucrative bullet-point to his already impressive CV in the form of a Festival win.
Winning the Formula Ford Festival is a victory that is understood by people at the very top of the sport; it is one of the most prestigious prizes in motorsport for aspiring drivers, and the Festival’s roll-call is a who’s who of racing.
With an illustrious list of previous winners that include former F1 World Champion Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Anthony Davidson – along with numerous other drivers who climbed to the top of the single-seater career ladder – it’s no wonder the Festival attracts young racers from all over the world including Australia and the USA.
And yet, despite the importance of the event, it doesn’t seem to grab the attention from the press that it once did. Gone are the days when the winner used to receive a massive amount of PR, as journalists were short of material as most other categories had already wound down by the middle of October.
Of course, this is no longer the case as the racing calendar is seemingly ever-expanding and other national events – such as this year’s BTCC finale – attract the attention of journalist and spectators alike, which was evident in the relatively small number of punters who trickled through the gates of Brands Hatch this year.
Those that did make the trip to Kent’s famous circuit were treated to an excellent days racing, as Malvern steamrollered the competition much like he has done all season.
He made light work of getting through to the blue riband Duratec Final. Beating Finland’s Antti Buri in Sunday’s curtain-raiser before putting on a masterful display in the second Semi Final by finishing 3.3 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
A fairly typical autumn evening began to draw in as the grand finale got under way – the 26-car field initially tip-toeing their way round as they struggled for grip in the chilly conditions. Inevitably there were a few early casualties in the form of Rogier de Wit, Matthew Merton and Darren Burke, who crashed out on lap three, resulting in a lengthy period under yellow flag conditions.
Malvern was able to stamp his authority on the race once it resumed after the trio of cars were removed from the exit of Paddock Hill Bend. The 22-year-old fended off advances from Dutchman Steijn Schothorst and Australian Nick McBride over the remaining eight laps to take a lights to flag victory by 0.427s, capping off what has been a superb season of racing for the series’ record breaking driver.
It was a brilliant swansong performance by Malvern for the Jamum Racing team, with whom he had already won the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Champion of Great Britain in dominant fashion.
“It couldn’t have gone any better for me,” said Malvern. “This was the one I wanted to win all year. It’s a great end to my Formula Ford season.”
His joyous mood was dampened, however, by the news from the USA of the death of Dan Wheldon. Like Malvern, Wheldon’s junior career was nutured in Formula Ford; he was Formula Ford Festival runner-up in 1998, finishing behind Jenson Button.
“I went to bed over the moon,” said Scott, “and woke up to the news about Dan. It’s very hard to take and a double blow coming so soon after the death of Martin Hines. They will both be missed by British motorsport.”
Malvern has worked hard to earn his success this year and is clearly one to watch as tries to realise his F1 ambitions.
Some may question the 104-point margin by which he clinched the British Formula Ford title, suggesting that his runaway success was due to a lack of competition from the rest of the field. But the figures speak for themselves: 18 victories from 24 races, and one important Festival win – you can’t take anything away from Malvern being good at his trade. If anything, it was up to his rivals to work harder to try and catch him, and they failed.
One hopes that he is now able to muster the necessary funds required to climb up the motorsport ladder and, as success (undoubtedly) comes his way, he begins to attract a deserving amount of recognition – something that tragically wasn’t always the case during Wheldon’s lifetime.
Hi Dan,
Excellently written and well thought out review. Thank you. So sad that Dan Wheldon, a driver who was a great inspiration to Scott, should lose his life as Scott was capping his season with maybe his greatest triumph. The sport we love can be so cruel sometimes.
Scott & I know only too well that Dan didn’t receive the recognition he deserved here in his homeland and you could argue that his achievements were just as impressive as those of Hamilton & Button, both of whom received the aclaim that was rightfully due to them. How cruel that in death Dan achieves notoriety.
Thanks for acknowledging that Scott has worked hard. He truly has and not just this year either. He has been doing so since 1998! When he gave up karting and began working as a mechanic at Jamun Racing in 2008 many scoffed at his dream to be a successful driver himself and on the face of it you wouldn’t have bet against their prognosis. But he refused to give up on his dream and didn’t just work very hard himself to achieve it but inspired others as well to work hard on his behalf such was his determination. Many of those who have helped him have witnessed his triumphs this season and at the weekend and some of them were in tears. It was wonderful and moving to witness.
Thank you very much for the write up. Real shame that it had to be tinged with the sadness of the loss of one our truly great drivers who would have gone onto even more triumphs I’m sure; but we are grateful that you have acknowledged Scott’s fine achievement.
Kindest regards
Dominic Malvern (Father of Scott)
I know I am a little late adding my feedback to this but I have only just discovered it as I read through archived items on your excellent website. I have now added you to my favourites bar!
Reading it now is all the more piognant as Scott finds himself struggling to race at all this season. As a motor racing fan I have to ask how can this be allowed to happen? How can it be right or fair that drivers who Scott solidly beat last season like Spike Goddard and Dan De Zille have now announced their progression into Formula 3 and Formula Renault respectively? No disrespect to these two, it’s not their fault this is happening, but they didn’t notch up a single race victory between them last season whilst Scott recorded 26!!
Of course the answer is money, or rather lack of it in Scott’s case. I note that Scott is also a BRDC (British Racing Drivers Club) Rising Star and therefore I have to ask why can the BRDC not do something to support Scott & others like him? Surely the great & the good that form the BRDC membership, many of whom are now successful drivers who have reached the top and wouldn’t have done so without financial support themselves, could be asked to contribute a small amount of their considrable earnings to help drivers on the way up who are struggling to keep their careers on track? Or am I just being very naive here?
On the Autosport magazine website there is a clip of BRDC President Derek Warwick at the Autosport Show this year with Scott and the other McLaren Autosport BRDC Award finalists and he publicly states that these are the best young drivers around and should be supported! Great words Derek. Now how about practicing what you preach and you yourself and your other BRDC colleagues getting behind them!
It will be a crying shame and a disgrace if Scott’s talent is allowed to go to waste!!