Scott Malvern secured the 50th victory of his career with a superb performance in the Champion of Brands Formula Ford 1600 event at Brands Hatch last weekend.
On his first outing in the category since his Walter Hayes Trophy success at Silverstone in November, Malvern converted pole position in his Kevin Mills Racing-run Spectrum 011B to a race winning margin of over 15 seconds.
It wasn’t totally plain sailing for the former Formula Ford GB and Protyre Formula Renault champion though, having come under a spell of pressure from challenge Oliver White in the early stages before he was excluded for exceeding track limits.
It was a busy Saturday at Brands for Malvern during the American Speedfest II event, who combined his Formula Ford entry with his regular outing in the Radical SR3 Challenge alongside Nick Jones in their Kevin Mills Racing S&D Sealants-backed car.
After just missing out on pole position by just four thousandths of a second, Malvern produced a spectacular move to drive around the outside of the poleman at Paddock Hill Bend to take the lead.
After building up a lead of over two seconds during his stint, Malvern handed over to Jones in the lead of the race. A safety car period soon after condensed the field though, leaving Jones to fend off a number of more experienced driver, eventually bringing the car home in sixth place.
Race two proved to be a frustrating affair meanwhile, with Jones forced to start in the car as Malvern was competing in the immediately preceding Formula Ford race. Unfortunately Jones was deemed to have pitted a lap early to hand over to Malvern, leading to a stop-go penalty and a ninth place finish.
“I was very pleased to get out in the lead in only our second event. We are still very much new kids on the block here and learning all the time,” said Malvern.
“Unfortunately we just don’t seem to be getting the breaks with the Safety Cars at the moment. This is the second time in four races we’ve lost out like this. A podium was on today for sure. But we have to look at the positives and move on.
“It’s been a very challenging and highly enjoyable weekend and I’m delighted to have notched up my 50th career victory”
Malvern is back in action this weekend at Oulton Park for the next round of the Radical SR3 Challenge, which is a longer 90 minute race rather than the usual two forty minute encounters.
