FF1600 Lap Record List

[barnettracing]

Hello all. Mods, feel free to move this into the dedicated Formula Ford section if you feel it is suitable. I've put this in here as I think there is a wider audience who can help.

Over the last few years, race day programmes have done away with the lap record listings. This has made finding out current class lap records very difficult, especially for FF1600 which has no dedicated club or website on which such a database can be found.

Using TSL and some of my race result sheets I have compiled the following list of FF1600 lap records:

FF1600 Lap Records

Circuit	Driver	Car	Lap Time	Date
Anglesey Coastal	Scott Malvern	Ray GRS08	1m11.179s	04/06/2009
Anglesey International	Scott Malvern	Ray GRS08	1m33.028s	05/06/2009
Brands Hatch Indy	Ivor McCullough	Van Diemen RF00	49.964s	17/10/2010
Brands Hatch GP	Jordan Skinner	Van Diemen RF91	1m36.735s	04/06/2011
Castle Combe	Josh Fisher	Mygale SJ03	1m10.511s	24/03/2008
Croft	-
Donington Park National	John Murphy	Van Diemen RF90	1m15.348s	15/05/2011
Donington Park International	-
Knockhill	Graham Carroll	Van Diemen RF92	54.617s	14/09/2008
Mallory Park	Jamie Spence	Swift SC92	47.78s	23/08/1992
Oulton Park Fosters	Mark Chadwick	Van Diemen RF04	1m04.570s	31/03/2007
Oulton Park Island	Jordan Skinner	Ray GRK10	1m30.594s	26/04/2010
Oulton Park International	Gavin Wills	Van Diemen RF00	1m47.327s	11/10/2008
Silverstone National	Neville Smyth	Ray GR07	1m02.305s	04/11/2007
Snetterton 200	-
Snetterton 300	-
Thruxton	Ed Moore	Van Diemen RF00	1m22.955s	28/06/2009

There are a few blanks as Snetterton and Donington have had layout changes without any FF1600 racing taking part on the new circuits. Croft, to the best of my knowledge, has only held Classic FF1600 races, which means that one of their runners must hold the overall FF1600 lap record. If anyone knows this, please add to the thread/table.

Brands GP had a race in 2005 under the MSV Midlands/South series. It contained Peter Dempsey and Ed Moore but TSL don't have the results anymore. Therefore, I don't know if a faster lap was set in this race. Does anyone know?

The same goes for Thruxton where a King of Kents race was held in 2003 featuring Mr. Moore, Pat Blakeney and Gavin Wills. Was there a sub 1m22.9s lap in that race?

I have JEB digging in his collection so I will also see what he comes up with.

For some reason, I have in my head that Neville Smyth did a lap of 1m01.9s at the WHT a few years ago, but I can't find this. Does anyone know if the time I have listed is correct. It may have been beaten during an obscure Powernights race or possibly another BRSCC race.

Thanks in advance for anyone's help. It'd be good to get a full list of UK FF1600 lap records circulating around competitors. With cars getting slightly faster in some cases there may be a few lap records broken in 2012 - I was certainly close to the (possible) Brands GP record last year; just 0.03s off

JB

[SAMD]

Originally Posted by barnettracing

I was certainly close to the (possible) Brands GP record last year; just 0.03s off

JB

That'll teach you to leave the handbrake on.

[slummingangel]

mondello's lap records in this link www.mondello.ie/car_event/records/

[kipper]

The only FF1600 to be held on the Snetterton 200 circuit was a Classic race held at May's BARC meeting. The fastest lap was set by Stuart Kestenbaum (Van Diemen RF79) with a time of 1:22.522. The only race on the 300 circuit was held at the HSCC meeting the following month where the fastest lap was set by Benn Simms (Alexis Mk. 14) with a time of 2:07.274.

Seperate to this, the first FF1600 race to be held on Silverstone's Arena circuit was held at May's HSCC meeting, meaning that the current lap record is held by David Wild (Lola T200) with a time of 2:21.901

[barnettracing]

Kipper that's brilliant! I will add those to the list. Thank you. Has anyone got the lap record for Croft? It's either from Classics or Historics. Also, Kirkistown?

Also, thanks to slummingangel.

[Ian Sowman]

Croft lap record will probably be from the NW round there in 2005(?) - not sure either they or the Scottish (the other likely option) have been there since.

You've forgotten Lydden in your list, and Rockingham.

[Ian Sowman]

Croft looks like 1m29.59s - Neil Boardman - Van Diemen RF91 - 24/9/2005.

[Ian Sowman]

Best lap at Cadwell I can see is 1m34.617s - Josh Benson - Reynard 92FF - 14/6/2008.

[Ian Sowman]

In that MSV race on the GP circuit at Brands, Peter Dempsey did a lap of 1m36.542s (90.35mph) in his Swift SC92 (24/9/2005).

[Ian Sowman]

Lydden is proving more of a struggle. I don't think it has held a "contemporary" FF1600 race since a Southern round in 2004. Maybe clubff1600.co.uk's sometime Lydden correspondent, Garth Kenardington, might be able to help with results from that year - but I wouldn't guarantee that records were broken that term.

[kipper]

The Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit FF1600 lap record appears to be held by Mark Williams (Reynard 92FF) with a time of 1:29.952 set in 2007

[Ian Sowman]

Slightly surprised that the last "contemporary" FF1600 race at Rockingham I can see was a Star of the Midlands round on 31 July 2005. Can't get into the result for it though.

Is it worth me going through my Autosport collection?

Edited to say - good spot, Ben. I suspect in 2005 the race was on a previous version of the circuit. (Mark set his record on 23/6/2007, for completeness.)

[kipper]

As far as Pembrey goes; the most recent 'modern' FF1600 race I could find was an Irish Championship race held on the 20th August 2006, where the fastest lap was set by Noel Dunne (Van Diemen RF92) with a time of 1:01.536.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the FF1600 lap record is quicker than this, as I seem to recall that this meeting was somewhat damp.

[diz]

Originally Posted by Ian Sowman

Croft looks like 1m29.59s - Neil Boardman - Van Diemen RF91 - 24/9/2005.

Spot on Ian. That was in a Class B VD91
The other classes were:
Class A: Jonny Lang VD00 1m29.61s
Class C: John Loebell Reynard 88FF 1m30.85s
Class D: Andy Meyrick Reynard 84FF 1m29.94s

Timing by Smart Timing who do most Croft, Cadwell and Scotland
http://www.smart-timing.co.uk/
Their results archive goes back to 1993, so if you want to know who won and in what time at Ingliston, then this is the site for you.

[diz]

Originally Posted by Ian Sowman

Best lap at Cadwell I can see is 1m34.617s - Josh Benson - Reynard 92FF - 14/6/2008.

I think Peter Dempsey was in the low 1m32s' in 2005

[diz]

Don't forget to factor in circuit changes such as corner tightening that happen over the years. For this reason I would discount Jamie Spence at Mallory.
I recall that his Oulton International record was something like a 1m42.7s, or 1m43.7s and I feel sure that good as he was, he wasn't 5 seconds a lap more gooderer than the contemporary chargers.
And if it was set in 1992, wouldn't that have been on Dunlops?

[FFfan]

I see my son Scott still has the lap records for the two longer circuit layouts at Anglesey. What was quite amazing about this was that we consider this to be his first proper race weekend. He'd actually done one warm up race at Mondello 3 weeks before really as a test as he'd done no testing & it was the first time he'd driven the car. He qualified 3rd there quite quickly dispatching Noel Dunne for 2nd and was bearing down on leader Neville Smythe when his clutch expired. We were dreaming of a remarkable debut up until then.

When we arrived at Anglesey he loved the place instantly. I seem to remember we had about 16 cars racing that weekend in the post-90 class with some good experienced drivers amongst them. Scott just missed pole by a whisker on the shorter coastal layout but stuck to Rory Butchers gearbox like glue for the whole race. There was hardly a fag paper between them and when Butcher made a slight error Scott was actually too close to take advantage of it. No doubt he grabbed the Fastest lap in Butchers slip stream.

On Sunday Scott took pole from Butcher on the International layout and led from lights to flag soaking up all the pressure and trying to back Butcher into 3rd place man David Grady. Eventually Butcher made a tiny error; Grady pounced causing Rory to defend and Scott put the hammer down to escape taking the win, fastest lap and lap record number two in as many days. Not bad for someone with the novice cross on making his UK race debut. Happy Days

[saddelbags]

I think the track at Mallory for cars has not changed at all bigger run offs but I think the track is the same as in the 60s I may be wrong but someone will put me wright if I am.

[barnettracing]

Originally Posted by diz

Don't forget to factor in circuit changes such as corner tightening that happen over the years. For this reason I would discount Jamie Spence at Mallory.
I recall that his Oulton International record was something like a 1m42.7s, or 1m43.7s and I feel sure that good as he was, he wasn't 5 seconds a lap more gooderer than the contemporary chargers.
And if it was set in 1992, wouldn't that have been on Dunlops?

As saddlebags says, the corner radii and the layout at Mallory haven't changed. Although Spence would've run on Dunlops, it was still to FF1600 Kent regs and thus, I believe, should stand as the FF1600 lap record. Every other circuit lap record has been set on ACB10's (or ACB9's) suggesting that the Avon's are a quicker tyre. Also, it's not like the factory at Melksham hasn't changed the compound over the years; it's swung around like a yo-yo.

Spence probably had a very special works engine in his Swift. Also, the reason he was so quick at Oulton Int. would be because he circulated on the pre-Knickerbrook Chicane version. That would explain the six seconds difference (as the modern cars have probably made up some of the deficit on other parts of the track).

Does anyone have anyone proof of P.Dempsey's 1m32 at Cadwell?

[barnettracing]

Originally Posted by FFfan

I see my son Scott still has the lap records for the two longer circuit layouts at Anglesey. What was quite amazing about this was that we consider this to be his first proper race weekend. He'd actually done one warm up race at Mondello 3 weeks before really as a test as he'd done no testing & it was the first time he'd driven the car. He qualified 3rd there quite quickly dispatching Noel Dunne for 2nd and was bearing down on leader Neville Smythe when his clutch expired. We were dreaming of a remarkable debut up until then.

When we arrived at Anglesey he loved the place instantly. I seem to remember we had about 16 cars racing that weekend in the post-90 class with some good experienced drivers amongst them. Scott just missed pole by a whisker on the shorter coastal layout but stuck to Rory Butchers gearbox like glue for the whole race. There was hardly a fag paper between them and when Butcher made a slight error Scott was actually too close to take advantage of it. No doubt he grabbed the Fastest lap in Butchers slip stream.

On Sunday Scott took pole from Butcher on the International layout and led from lights to flag soaking up all the pressure and trying to back Butcher into 3rd place man David Grady. Eventually Butcher made a tiny error; Grady pounced causing Rory to defend and Scott put the hammer down to escape taking the win, fastest lap and lap record number two in as many days. Not bad for someone with the novice cross on making his UK race debut. Happy Days

Dominic, that's a great story. I haven't been to Anglesey yet, lack of budget normal stops us from paying the island a visit. I hope that Scott finds somewhere to race this year, he's certainly been one of the quickest FF1600 in recent years and deserves a decent seat (whether in GTs or single seaters). Good luck.

[barnettracing]

Formula Ford 1600 Lap Records

Circuit	Driver	Car	Lap Time	Date
Anglesey Coastal	Scott Malvern	Ray GRS08	1m11.179s	04/06/2009
Anglesey International	Scott Malvern	Ray GRS08	1m33.028s	05/06/2009
Brands Hatch Indy	Ivor McCullough	Van Diemen RF00	49.964s	17/10/2010
Brands Hatch GP	Peter Dempsey	Swift SC92	1m36.542s	24/09/2005
Cadwell Park	Peter Dempsey	Swift SC92	1m32.350s	07/08/2005
Castle Combe	Josh Fisher	Mygale SJ03	1m10.511s	24/03/2008
Croft	Neil Boardman	Van Diemen RF91	1m29.590s	24/09/2005
Croix-en-Ternois	-
Donington Park National	John Murphy	Van Diemen RF90	1m15.348s	15/05/2011
Donington Park International	-
Kirkistown	-
Knockhill	Graham Carroll	Van Diemen RF92	54.617s	14/09/2008
Lydden	-
Mallory Park	Jamie Spence	Swift SC92	47.780s	23/08/1992
Mondello Park International	Scott Malvern	Ray GRS08	1m47.495s	12/09/2009
Oulton Park Fosters	Mark Chadwick	Van Diemen RF04	1m04.570s	31/03/2007
Oulton Park Island	Jordan Skinner	Ray GRK10	1m30.594s	26/04/2010
Oulton Park International	Gavin Wills	Van Diemen RF00	1m47.327s	11/10/2008
Pembrey	-
Rockingham ISSCC	Mark Williams	Reynard 92FF	1m29.952s	23/06/2007
Silverstone National	Neville Smyth	Ray GR07	1m02.305s	04/11/2007
Silverstone Arena GP	David Wild	Lola T200	2m21.901s	15/05/2011
Snetterton 200	Stuart Kestenbaum	Van Diemen RF79	1m22.522s	07/05/2011
Snetterton 300	Benn Simms	Alexis Mk14	2m07.274s	12/06/2011
Thruxton	Ed Moore	Van Diemen RF00	1m22.955s	28/06/2009

• I'm still unsure about Thruxton. Did anyone go quicker in 2003(?) for the King of Kents race?
• Diz, you were right about Cadwell. Peter Dempsey set a 32.3s back in 2005.
• Can someone check the Oulton lap records. I think they are correct, but someone may have gone quicker a few years previous to 2006.
• I know Crois isn't in the UK, but the HSCC and BARC sporadically visit, and with JEB's series going there this year it seems right to have it in the list. The fastest I have found is Dave Lowe in Classic at around 60.65s in 2003 but I'd imagine either Neil Fowler or Nelson Rowe went quicker during the 2006 HSCC meeting.

Does someone have Kirkistown's LR. I vaguely remember reading that either McCullough or McMullan broke it either this year or last year, but I could be making that up!

[JNWRF01]

Being an old duffer - I seem to think Gareth Rees did a 1.31.8 around Cadwell in 1990? I remember pole for the Junior (can;t remember if it was SoT or P&O) round that year was either high 31s or low 32s - and I am pretty sure Warren took fastest lap with a low 32... The only reason I remember so well - is I was struggling to get out of the 1.34s!!

Its a LONG time ago - but I suspect that Cadwell is a bit quicker that it used to be / the Dunlops are a bit quicker than the Avons..

I will try and find an old programme to confirm.

[Nick Hewitt]

Mr Barnett ,

There are some very intriguing stories that relate to that particular day at Mallory in 1992.
Foundation Racing , who were running Jan Magnussen that year , had an exclusive test day at Mallory preceding the event , and I have it on good authority that a time in the 46 second bracket was recorded on almost" down to the canvas" Dunlop's ! , as that time was never officially replicated again during the actual race meeting one has to question the lengths to which the regulations were adhered to on that particular day !
"Heroes of FF1600" on Facebook , I believe , has the actual timesheets from the raceday when the lap record was set , it makes interesting reading.
Quite a few people were sub 48 seconds that day , and strangely enough , there was a light drizzle descending when the lap record was set if I remember correctly !
Vis a Vis , the P.Dempsey 1m 32sec lap record at Cadwell , it was done , and bizarely again , it was very hot and humid that day , not far off 30deg C , hardly lap record conditions you would think !
Brian Linley , ex of Infiniti Motorsport was there that day , so he probably still has the timesheets as proof , you can get hold of him at Andy Meyrick Motorsport.

[barnettracing]

Originally Posted by Nick Hewitt

Mr Barnett ,

There are some very intriguing stories that relate to that particular day at Mallory in 1992.
Foundation Racing , who were running Jan Magnussen that year , had an exclusive test day at Mallory preceding the event , and I have it on good authority that a time in the 46 second bracket was recorded on almost" down to the canvas" Dunlop's ! , as that time was never officially replicated again during the actual race meeting one has to question the lengths to which the regulations were adhered to on that particular day !
"Heroes of FF1600" on Facebook , I believe , has the actual timesheets from the raceday when the lap record was set , it makes interesting reading.
Quite a few people were sub 48 seconds that day , and strangely enough , there was a light drizzle descending when the lap record was set if I remember correctly !
Vis a Vis , the P.Dempsey 1m 32sec lap record at Cadwell , it was done , and bizarely again , it was very hot and humid that day , not far off 30deg C , hardly lap record conditions you would think !
Brian Linley , ex of Infiniti Motorsport was there that day , so he probably still has the timesheets as proof , you can get hold of him at Andy Meyrick Motorsport.

Considering that no-one has ever got close to the Mallory lap record, Spence's lap always seemed very fast. My dad always said that at Mallory very scrubbed tyres worked best, but recent races have been won with laps of high to low 49s. Last March during our shakedown I did a 48.7s, but I wonder how much faster you can get one to go. Engines were often 'special' for British Championship runners, so you never know what was going on back in 1992 - the Magnussen test lap is insane!

I've got proof of Dempsey's Cadwell lap through SMART Timing, but if JNWRF01 can find a faster lap from the 90s then I'm inclined to have that as the lap record (in this list), even if the Dunlops are faster tyres - modern cars are certainly faster with the number of RF00-Onwards and Ray GR06-Onwards cars that are winning and setting LRs.

[diz]

smelling pistake

Originally Posted by barnettracing

I've got proof of Dempsey's Cadwell lap through SMART Timing, but if JNWRF01 can find a faster lap from the 90s then I'm inclined to have that as the lap record (in this list), even if the Dunlops are faster tyres - modern cars are certainly faster with the number of RF00-Onwards and Ray GR06-Onwards cars that are winning and setting LRs.

I am 100% against allowing times set on Dunlops to stand. Maybe in an all time lap record list that is OK, but for a list of "current spec" records, you must limit it to Avons.

I'm also still not convinced that some circuits are exactly the same today as they were some years ago. Small changes like resurfacing, more severe / less severe kerbs, greater / lesser run offs must come into play.

As for Oulton Fosters. Raceday programmes have regulary shown the record as Mike Bennett in low 63s', but I recall that the works guys were in the 62s', or even 61s' - I stand to be corrected on this.