Adams wins Ford Fest scholarship
A little more than five years ago, Ontario Formula 1600 team owner Brian Graham established the Team Canada Scholarship to reward a young Canadian auto racer with a ride at the Formula Ford Festival held each autumn in England at the legendary Brands Hatch circuit.
Michael Adams of Courtice, Ont., was one of three finalists that first year but didn’t make the cut. The prize went to a young Quebecer, Xavier Coupal, who shocked the racing world by going out and very nearly winning the prestigious event.
Over the years, other young Canadian speedsters — Scott Hargrove, Chase Pelletier, Zacharie Robichon and Garett Grist — have made Canada proud but to date we haven’t made it to the top step of the podium that has seen the likes of Johnny Herbert, Mark Webber, Jenson Button and (nearly) Danica Patrick up there.
On Thursday morning this week, Graham — on behalf of the Team Canada Scholarship program — announced that Adams, a mechanical engineering student at Conestoga College, would get the drive this year.
He was selected from among a group of exceptional young Canadian racers including Ontario’s Amy Castell, Quebec’s Jean-Philippe Jodoin, Parker Thompson of Alberta and Ontario’s Reid Arnold.
According to Graham, a highlight of Adams’s season this year came when he raced for the first time at Trois Rivieres, Que., in August. He proved to be a quick study — something that’s critical at a competition such as the Formula Ford Festival — and sealed the interprovincial Formula 1600 Super Series championship there in a dominant fashion.
The former karting standout also has two Toyo Tires F1600 Championships to his credit.
When Adams first wanted to go racing (he was 7 and had his eye on go-karts), his parents gave him their permission but on one condition: he had to come up with the money to help pay for his first kart.
“So I went over to the big track (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) on ALMS weekend,” Adams told me for a column I wrote on him when he was a rookie FF driver, “and I picked up empty beer bottles. I walked all around Mosport (during the American Le Mans Series races) and got enough to fill up the whole back of the van. That’s how I paid for my first go-kart: beer-bottle collecting.”
It was that dedication and determination that caught Graham’s eye.
“Michael has been on our radar for several seasons,” he said. “I really do believe he is at the top of his game right now and it’s his time to shine. We have watched him mature into not just a top competitor but a wellrespected driver among his peers. We are very pleased to have him represent Team Canada at the 2015 Formula Ford Festival.”
The festival is a favourite event for drivers from around the world. It is steeped in tradition and has a history like no other F1600 event. With several winners going on to Formula One, IndyCar and the top levels of sports car racing, it has a special place in the heart of racers.
The Team Canada Scholarship is a non-profit program that exists solely on support from individuals and companies who believe in showcasing young Canadian racers on a world stage.
According to Graham, the Team Canada Scholarship owes big thanks to its sponsors and supporters: Aim Autosport, FEL Drives, Bamford Produce, Door Doctor, Calabogie Motorsports Park, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Hallman Construction, Gary Allen Racing, BARC, Bollenbach Insurance Brokers, Ontario Formula Ford Championship, Formula Tour 1600, Britainwest Motorsport, RMB, Rod End Mechanical, Brian Graham Racing and Paragon Competition.
To learn more about the program, visit teamcanadaracing.org or follow the team on Facebook at facebook.com/TeamCanadaScholarship. nmcdonald@thestar.ca