Wren charges from 17th on grid to ninth in race…

Brush with tyre wall fails to slow Dalmeny driver…

James praises "fantastic" car…

Fareham’s James Wren drove a stunning race in treacherous conditions at Castle Combe on Saturday, charging through the field to take his first ever Formula Ford 1600 points finish.

This year will be Wren’s first full season of racing, although he has completed partial programmes for the past two years. The Fareham Van Hire backed driver’s motorsport career is getting back on track after a major road accident three years ago left him temporarily confined to a wheelchair. He had already displayed stunning potential in karting before the incident, and his performances have been getting better and better since he graduated to Formula Ford, despite his lack of experience.

Conditions were wet for the Castle Combe season opener on Saturday, but James decided that there was enough of a dry line on the track to use dry settings on his Van Diemen for qualifying. He was wrong.

"The car was sliding everywhere, it was much more slippery than it looked," he said. "I nearly went off several times. The experienced guys can judge track conditions better than me, I’m still learning about these things. It was frustrating because I was hoping to be in the top ten, not 17th."

His mood was gloomy after qualifying so far back, but a change to wet settings worked wonders in the race.

"I made a bad start and lost a couple of places, but when I got to Quarry it was absolute chaos," James recalled. "We were charging in four or five abreast and there was a huge accident going on up ahead. There were cars and bits of car flying all over the place. I just committed myself to the corner and got through unscathed. I thought I’d made up a place or two but when the team told me I’d got up to 11th I was so fired up. Seeing that on the pit board was just the most motivating thing ever because there were two cars right in front of me and I knew I had a chance to score my first points."

Wren’s first target was the notoriously tough Nick Jones, a ruthless racer who edged James towards the scenery several times before succumbing on the exit of Old Paddock. Barry Wort was despatched with consummate ease a few corners later, putting Wren into ninth position, on course for a points finish for the first time.

"Once I passed them I finally had some clear road ahead of me, so I really pushed hard because I could see an opportunity to get eighth," Wren continued. "I left Barry and Nick standing, but then I misjudged my braking for the Esses. I didn’t want to turn in too fast and spin so I chose to go straight on down the escape road. I knew there was a tyre wall at the end and that you had to go through a gap between the tyres to rejoin the track, but I never realised it was that tight. I went in too fast and hit the tyres. The car seemed okay but I was back down to 11th. I wasn’t happy about that, I wanted my point back!"

There were just two laps to go, and Wren had Wort, Rob Redcliffe and four backmarkers between him and that elusive points scoring position. Passing Wort with a stunningly brave move around the outside at Foley, James dived past two of the tailenders in one corner, then found himself alongside Redcliffe and another backmarker on the way into the tight Bobbies chicane.

"We both braked stupidly late," James laughed. "Rob had to fly off down the escape road and I went over the grass, but I got the place back. It was an amazing race, the car was fantastic. John Percy has done incredible work on the engine, and the advice we got from Richard Carter (the 1999 champion) was really useful, without their help this wouldn’t have happened."

Wren and the Fareham Van Hire-backed Dalmeny Racing team were understandably delighted with the result. Had James qualified in a more representative grid position, a top six finish was clearly on the cards, but that will have to wait until round two on Easter Monday.

"It’s a great start to the season and we’re only going to get better," Wren promised. "It felt so good to see my name in the list of points scorers. Now I want more…"

Results from Castle Combe