THE HARD PATH TO FESTIVAL GLORY

peak to almost anyone in the UK’S Formula Ford paddocks and they’ll state that to win the Festival you need the perfect combination of car and driver on the day, as well as a little bit of luck.

After seven years of trying Oldfield Motorsport finally put all three together in 2018 as it became the newest team to win arguably the most coveted prize in FF1600 racing.

It’s an ambition that founder James Oldfield has been striving towards since he created his team in 2012, during which time hard work and perseverance has allowed Oldfield Motorsport to already become one of the leading outfits in the FF1600 paddock.

It’s come a long way since a Van Diemen RF92 was used as its first car.

Oldfield, who was still working at Formula 3 frontrunners Team West-tec as a number one mechanic, acquired the blue car from Medina Sport in 2011 after being inspired by watching Michael Vergers drive one at the Walter Hayes Trophy.

“Vergers was running in the top three and I didn’t understand how he could stick it up there against Gavin Wills and Peter Dempsey [in newer machinery],” says Oldfield, who last season also worked for Arden’s Formula 4 team as a mechanic to Dennis Hauger. “So I decided when I got the money my first car was going to be a Van Diemen RF92 to find out why it was such a good car.”

Car acquired, he enlisted the help of Formula Ford stalwart Stuart Gough whose dad, Andy, and grandad had competed against Oldfield’s dad, Peter, and grandad for several decades in rallying.

The team’s first race was a Champion of Brands meeting in 2012, where Gough took a promising third.

“I jumped in the car at the Champion of Brands and that was just a shakedown,” recalls Gough.

“The cars don’t come with a guide on how to make them quick and the RF92 was obviously an older car but James went in with the ambition to do the Festival.”

The team ended the year with a sensational runner-up spot in that year’s Festival, but problems attracting drivers for the following season threatened to halt what had been a promising start for Oldfield Motorsport.

Oldfield says: “When I wasn’t able to get customer drivers because they think ‘who the hell is Oldfield Motorsport?’ That’s been the hardest time for me over the last six years.

“Now we have become a bit more established but I would say the winter of 2013 and a little bit of 2014 [was the hardest time].”

Gough returned to race for the squad in 2014, which soon acquired a black RF92 to run a two-car operation. Success quickly followed as they took the British Racing and Sports Car Club’s Triple Crown and Northern title, with the National crown going down to the wire.

Despite a collision with title rival James Raven at the final round at Anglesey, Gough and Oldfield Motorsport came through to win the title by just five points.

“I really wanted to have a crack at the championship so I said ‘let’s start the season and see how it goes’,” recalls Gough.

“He [Oldfield] got these cars working so they were quick everywhere. He did something that was unexpected.

“I think we probably did catch people, maybe not off guard because they knew what I was capable of, but the fact we were so fast I think.

“Our reliability and consistency were key. The car was faultless and the team was faultless. It was definitely the best season I’ve had.”

In just the team’s second full season of racing it had taken National honours, beating FF1600 veteran teams and drivers.

More wins followed over the following seasons but the coveted Festival victory still eluded the team, despite securing two third places (2014, ’15), fourth with Josh Smith (2017) and a fifth (2016) during that time.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying though as at the end of 2015 both RF92S were put up for sale and in their place eventually came the more modern Van Diemen JL16 and JL13.

“At the Festival in 2015 Stuart said the car is the best it’s ever been, and we were just running around off the front of the pack. If we had this car two or three years ago we would be winning,” remembers Oldfield.

“We both agreed the rate of development on the modern cars had moved on so much and we had pushed the RF92 to get as much as we could get out of it.”

Former Formula 4 race winner Smith also joined the squad in 2017, taking victories and the Northern title in his FF1600 rookie season, but the beginning of 2018 (when he bought Jack Wolfenden’s ex-jl13), was ‘terrible’ according to Oldfield as reliability problems plagued the car.

By Croft in September, though, those issues had been solved as Smith and the team took a brace of wins before heading to Brands Hatch a month later.

“We’d proven a point that the car was quick and we went into the Festival weekend, Josh’s level of confidence was so high and the level of the car was so high,” says Oldfield.

Despite two stoppages in the final, Smith battled for the lead throughout and past Ollie White and Niall Murray on the final lap to take an emotional victory.

It was Festival (and lucky) number seven for Oldfield Motorsport, but despite reaching the pinnacle of FF1600 racing Oldfield isn’t resting on his laurels as he looks to continue the team’s winning ways this season.

“Respect always has to be earned and now I have got the respect and appreciation of the other team owners,” admits Oldfield, when asked if he felt more respected in the paddock.

“That’s the main thing for me, they have 20 or 30 years [of experience] and we only have seven as a team, so I know there’s still a long way to go.” ■

S