This Classic Formula Ford newcomer finally got to make a proper debut at Snetterton and he’s hoping for many more outings to come.
“I think Richard and I have got over that,” says Philip Senior of the crash that ended his Formula Ford debut last year before it even started. His Royale RP24 had a coming-together with Richard Yeomans’s Crossle at the Silverstone Finals, but the two now share paddock space happily.
Senior was a relatively late starter in motorsport, having only ever done arrive and drive karting before his 2021 debut, and he got support from another late starter via a coincidence.
“I work with Sophia, Jordan Harrison’s wife,” he explains.
“She overheard a chance conversation saying that I was going to do my ARDS test, and I should talk to Jordan. He convinced me to do a test, which turned into a race and buying my own car.
“For years, I’d talked about going up into cars from karts. I thought about doing the Ford Ka endurance series.”
As a London dweller, Senior had a logistical problem with beginning a career as an owner-driver.
“I’d got nowhere to store a car and nowhere to work on it. But I decided to do my ARDS test and get it over with.”
His goals for the season are modest: top-ten finishes would represent a goal achieved.
He will not be out at Silverstone, as he is expecting to become a father very soon, but he will be back later in the year.
Vintage Formula Ford 