Louise Richardson fights for a good result at the MSA Formula Finale

Louise pushed as hard as ever (photo by Marc Waller)

Louise pushed as hard as ever (photo by Marc Waller)Louise Richardson and her family team made the long trip south from their Grantham base to compete in the final rounds of the inaugural MSA Formula season at Brands Hatch in Kent.

Louise was hoping for a positive end to her year after a difficult season with just the one podium at Croft.

Sadly she ran into problems early on when an overheating engine saw her not able to go as quick as possible and leaving her in sixteenth on the grid.

However when the lights went out for race one she managed to battle her way up the field, passing five cars to end up eleventh as she passed the chequered flag.

Louise qualified 16th on the grid for the opening race of the weekend having been hampered by an overheating engine that prevented her from pushing for a quicker lap, although she battled her way forwards when the lights went out to cross the line just outside the top ten.

Race two was looking even better for Louise but disaster struck when she accidentally caught the kill switch which briefly cut the engine. Louise quickly got things sorted and fought her way back to thirteenth.

And so she reached the thirtieth and final race of the season. She got a good start and fund herself in fifteenth at the end of the first lap and she was looking to move higher. But disaster struck yet again when she was caught up in an incident with Ameya Vaidyanathan which caused her to spin off. She recovered as quickly as she could but found that her car had damage which was negatively affecting it’s performance. She wisely chose to back off rather than risk another spin and possible further damage or retirement from the race. She finished the race in seventeenth, a disappointing end to her season.

Louise in qualifying (photo by Marc Waller)But she ends the championship in 16th place despite all her bad luck she is only 30 points off a top ten championship position.

Louise was philosophical about her difficult weekend and the 2015 season;

“Well I went out with a bit of a bang in race three, but it wasn’t the kind of bang I was hoping for!” she said. “In truth, it’s been a difficult weekend where we didn’t quite have the pace to challenge for the results we hoped for, but that is the nature of motorsport and things don’t always go your way.

“The opening race went okay and eleventh wasn’t a bad start to the weekend but in race two, I have to hold my hands up and admit it was my mistake that caused the car to cut out and it cost me some time.

“In race three, I was side-by-side with Vaidyanathan into Druids and he ran wide out of my vision and I thought he’d gone off. As I moved across, he suddenly reappeared next to me and next thing I knew, my car was in the air and I was going backwards down the hill towards Graham Hill Bend. From then on, there was a vibration with the car and I just backed off to make sure I brought it to the finish.

“Overall, it’s been a tough season but there have been highs along the way – most notably the podium at Croft. Obviously I’d have preferred more highs, but I’m happy to have completed my first full season since 2010 and there is a lot that me and the team can take away from this year.

“We’ll certainly be in a much stronger position at the start of next season based on everything we have learned this year.” By Marc Waller

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