Fareham’s James Wren is planning to start his second full season of racing with a points finish in the opening round of the Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 Championship on Easter Monday (April 16).

The Dalmeny Racing driver has competed irregularly since 1998, but last season was the first time he had raised the funding to enter the whole Combe championship. Despite his lack of experience, Wren was a regular top ten runner and finished 11th in the championship, out of over 50 entrants.

A year ago, the opening round saw James storm from 17th on the grid to take ninth place and his first ever points. He was ecstatic after that result, but the top ten is the minimum expectation this year.

“Anything less than a points finish is a disappointment,” he said. “If you’re not progressing then you’re regressing in this series. We have to improve at the same rate as last year, or even faster. We’ve already been to Goodwood to shake the car down and it goes and sounds like a rocket.”

One of the recurring themes of last season was the issue of driving standards. As Wren got closer and closer to the frontrunners, so he found himself being edged off the road more often by the stars of the series. With this in mind, he promises to take no prisoners in 2001.

“I intend to be as strong as I need to be to get the job done,” he declared. “I’m not going to crash for the sake of it, but I won’t be pushed around as perhaps I have been before.”

As ever, James will race a Van Diemen RF92 chassis, prepared by his Dalmeny Racing team and sponsored by Fareham Van Hire. Although he doesn’t believe his package is ready to challenge the established contenders just yet, Wren reckons he will display more of his true potential this season.

“The guys at the top can’t go much faster, they’ve nearly reached their limit,” he reasoned. “I have more room to improve because I’ve got less experience. I can move forward at a faster rate and in time I can catch and pass the top guys.”

Despite this slightly cautious optimism, James still believes that his first race victory is a real possibility in 2001.

“I can win a race this year, but I would need lady luck to be on my side in a big way!” he said. “I think a top three finish would be a fantastic achievement and we’re hoping to finish higher in the championship than we have before. That’s a pretty tough ambition when you look at the high standard of our rivals, but wait and see!”