The 40th anniversary of the Formula Ford Festival held at the historic Brands Hatch circuit had both highs and lows for the Team Canada Scholarship and its driver Michael Adams. The young driver immediately made an impact with a top 5 grid spot in qualifying, which was just the beginning of a spectacular day for the 21yr old FF Champion.

Adams would be making his first ever standing start and had to do it in the tricky wet conditions that are a very common fall occurrence at the English circuit. When the red lights went out, Adams had a perfect launch and had climbed to second by the first corner. He would then take the lead before the end of the first lap when the leader found trouble and spun in the tricky conditions. It was not going to be easy for Adams though, as the pole sitter found his way past which set up a fierce battle for the lead between the two racers. With a very well planned and decisive move Adams muscled his way back out front and then was able to stretch out a slight lead to win his heat race.

It was a very strong performance and it did not go unnoticed by the large crowd who knew they had a strong competitor to deal with for the remainder of the event. Adams became the second Canadian driver to win a heat race as the Team Canada Scholarship representative and stood tall and proud with the winners wreath draped around his neck. It was a very special moment for the team as they applauded and cheered for the young racer who now looked like a threat to win it all.

Sunday dawned with cloud cover but the rains would stay away. The paddock was tense with anticipation of the semi finals which were on hand late in the morning. By virtue of the quicker heat race, Adams would start semi number 3 from pole. This would have been the stronger spot but with the right side of the track still in the shade from the control tower it was still damp. Unfortunately, this proved to be an issue getting off the line as quickly as the fully dry left side of the grid. As the field of 30 cars burst from the starting line, the damp starting spot cost Adams the lead. Adams was able to keep second as the cars exited turn one. The race would however not last long as a first lap incident brought out the red flag before the cars were half way around the opening lap.

A complete restart gave the TCS driver a second shot at trying to deal with the damp track, but it was no drier and the order was much like the first start. The 3rd place car was attacking hard as the leaders raced down the hill from Paddock Bend towards the hairpin known as Druids. Adams held the inside line with no room being given by anyone. Adams and the 3rd place driver made contact at the exit of Druids which sent him off, making contact with the barriers ending such a promising week in a blink of an eye. From the highs of a wonderful podium to the shock of being out before the first lap ended, the Formula Ford Festival showed again just how cruel it can be at times.

Despite the disappointment, the Team Canada Scholarship driver showcased once again the level of talent we have racing in Canada and made our sponsors and supporters proud. The feat of going to a foreign environment and not only having to learn a new car, new team, new tire, standing starts, and then adapt to a very different style of racing is no easy task. Yet year after year the young drivers who are selected to represent Team Canada always come through with impressive results. 2015 marked the 5th year of the sponsor driven scholarship and founder Brian Graham is proud of each and every driver who has worn the Team Canada suit.

"We couldn't be happier with the effort put forth by Michael and his heat race win was the highlight of our weekend for sure. A flawless run that came to an end early but that is the nature of the heat format at the Festival. A big thank you again has to go out to Cliff Dempsey Racing, who once again gave us all the tools we needed to be successful. They have become our family abroad as we travel to England each fall with our young protégé", comments Team Canada Scholarship founder Brian Graham.

“Representing Team Canada during an anniversary year for the Formula Ford Festival has been the highlight of my racing career to date. I think I could go on for hours talking about all the great friends and memories I made over there. Overall it was a fantastic learning experience, and I'm really glad we could bring home a win for all of the Scholarship sponsors and supporters that made all of this possible for me." reflects Michael Adams.

All of this happens only with the support of our sponsors and supporters. Aim Autosport, FELdrives (Franczak Enterprises LTD) continue as our primary sponsors. Bamford Produce, Door Doctor, Calabogie Motorsports Park, Canadian Tire Motorsports 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 DeAngelis Construction all play an integral part of the program and once again Paragon Competition provided the red and white Team Canada Scholarship race suit that Michael proudly adorned on the podium.

Planning has already begun for the 2016 edition of the Team Canada Scholarship as the plan is to have the program extending to take in the Silverstone hosted Walter Hayes Trophy which this year featured over 120 drivers all vying for glory!

To learn more about the program or get involved, visit www.teamcanadaracing.org or follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TeamCanadaScholarship