Luke Cooper wins heat one at the Formula Ford Festival

Photo: Ida Wood

Luke Cooper made a strong start to his 2023 Formula Ford Festival attack as he won the opening heat from pole.

Team Dolan driver Chris Middlehurst was his strongest rival from the off, while Team Canada scholar Logan Pacza bogged down from third on the grid as he was doing his first standing start in car racing. Team USA scholar Jack Sullivan briefly benefited to take third, but by the exit of Paddock Hill Bend it was Niall Murray who had got himelf into a podium position.

The top three broke away, and although Middlehurst kept close to Cooper it was never close enough to think about making a move on what was a very wet track despite the sun coming out for the race.

Sullivan ended lap one in fifth behind Team Dolan’s Jason Smyth, and he and Pacza pent the opening laps trying to pressure Smyth into a mistake so they could pass him.

On lap five Pacza went for the outside line at Paddock Hill Bend and ended up going off track, which dropped him to eighth behind Felix Fisher and Samuel Harrison.

He gained back one place by passing Harrison the inside of Paddock Hill Bend next time around, and made up more ground on lap eight as Smyth finally made a mistake at Clark Curve after laps of pressure from Sullivan and then Fisher retired on the pit staight after puncturing his front-left tyre by hitting Smyth.

Cooper and Middlehurst finished a second apart, with Murray a further 1.5s behind in third an then a gap of 5.2s to Sullivan in fourth. Pacza finished a lonely fifth and Smyth recovered from his Clark Curve off to finish sixth.

Race result (12 laps)