Silverstone National circuit was the venue for this season’s Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship opener, where Dan made a return to the series for his third successive season, running with JTR Racing under the guidance of Nick Tandy.
Dan got off to a flying start in this highly competitive setting, qualifying 5th for Race 1, and 4th for Races 2 and 3, with the top 5 cars all within three-tenths of each other.
In race 1, Dan quickly got up to 3rd position before getting squeezed into a corner, causing contact and a spin. He recovered to finish 11th overall.
In Race 2 Dan dropped a few places at the start, but quickly recovered back to his 4th place grid slot. He picked up 3rd on lap 7 before losing it again, then on lap 13 his rival Malvern got in a tangle with Uhrhane, gifting Dan 2nd overall which he held onto till the finish.
Dan put in a superior drive in Race 3 and didn’t make a single mistake. Front running Malvern spun off on the first lap, elevating everyone up a place, and Dan then expertly passed Slagkekke on lap 13 to take 2nd behind team mate Uhrhane, resulting in a great one-two finish for team JTR.
At the end of the Championship’s first weekend Dan lies 3rd in the overall driver rankings with 62 points, behind Australian teammate Geoff Uhrhane (68) and Dutchman Jeroen Slagkekke (75).
JTR Team manager Nick Tandy said: “It’s been a fantastic weekend for the team! I am delighted with all three of our drivers picking up a total of 5 out of the possible 9 podiums; we have definitely got the pace and we seem to be consistent, and I can’t wait for the rest of the season!”
Dan remarked: “I thought it was going to take a few rounds to settle in to the new set-up. It’s a shame about the Race 1 result, but I am over the moon to be up there on the podium on the first weekend. I’ve come away with far more than I expected, sitting 3rd in the Championship standings - this gives us a good shot at going for the overall Championship!”
The next round is at Oulton Park on 23 - 25th April.