Baines races up to fourth place
JONATHAN Baines enjoyed successful runs at Silverstone and Donington Park to move up to fourth in the HSCC Historic Formula Ford Championship.
After a successful start to the 2015 championship, exceeding his own expectations at the double header races at Thruxton Easter Revival, Baines ventured to Round 3 at Silverstone using the historic Grand Prix Layout.
Heading into this round Baines, an ICT Teacher from Marple, sat seventh overall in the Championship standings.
With some of his fellow competitors ahead of him in the championship missing, Baines started the weekend well during the 15-minute qualifying session in his Merlyn MK20 Formula Ford.
“I knew that with only a limited number of laps in qualifying I had to go from the word go”, said Baines. “I started putting in some fast laps on cold tyres and brakes.”
The result was Baines qualifying fifth on the grid [of 36 starters], a couple of tenths of a second behind fourth, and after checking the car over and changing a broken starter motor, Baines was not looking forward to the start.
“We start using a rolling start which I am not a fan of as I tend to make up more places from a standing start” he explained.
Baines got away and maintained position, unfortunately losing a place going through Becketts only to retake it a few laps later. But he was having to defend and battle from three other drivers.
Eventually getting away from this pack, Baines had a fantastic battle with another driver, swapping places every lap and finally crossing the line in sixth place, though a 30 second penalty given to the race winner – due to a technical infringement – meant Baines was promoted back to fifth.
After an overwhelming weekend at HSCC Silverstone, sitting fifth overall in the championship, Baines went on to Round 4 of the HSCC Historic Formula Ford Championship at Donington Park in Leicestershire.
“Donington is one of my favourite race tracks”, said Baines.
“But it was also a dry race, which was the first time I have competed at Donington in the dry in the past three years I have raced there.”
Baines qualified sixth on the grid, with fourth to 11th place being split by just one second.
Baines made a fantastic start, gaining a place and got up to fifth only to lose a place round the exit of Redgate, and by the next lap Baines lost a couple of more places and was down to eighth place.
“I knew if I kept calm and didn’t make any mistakes I could make up the places very easily and very rapidly,” Baines reflected.
Gradually clawing his way back to fifth and with a clear track ahead of him, Baines eventually caught up the third and fourth place cars squabbling every lap into the Chicane and Redgate.
“I knew whilst chasing the third and fourth place Formula Fords that every time we got to the Chicane and Redgate there was a chance that they were going to take each other off”, explained Baines.
“They were leaving no space for each other and constantly tripping up over each other, so it was only a matter of time”.
With three laps to go the third and fourth place cars banged wheels into the Chicane and Baines made it through to fourth.
By now the race was coming to a conclusion so he had to make his move.
“I knew from the pit signals given by my father, Simon, that I only had two laps left,” admitted Jonathan.
Coming up to the Chicane to start the last lap Baines had a fantastic exit and got into the slipstream and drew up alongside third place, resulting in the third place driver running wide onto the grass at Redgate.
“I knew that this was my chance and I drove the wheels off the car to get to the finish, eventually getting to the chequered flag in third place, my first ever Formula Ford podium, I was ecstatic” he beamed.
Baines leaves Donington Park third in the Championship, the next round takes place at Snetterton in Norfolk on the 13th June.