Needing to finish in at least sixth place, the Jerseyman won himself another year of racing with the Silverstone Racing School after he finished second in his Van Dieman Formula Ford Zetec.Parouty had led the championship all season, and could have made the title his a month ago, at Rockingham, but he failed to finish that race when he drove into the rear of the car ahead of him and damaged the suspension on his car so badly that he was unable to race again that weekend.But he put all that behind him this time and was second fastest in the testing on Thursday and qualified third on the grid.On the day itself, according to Silverstone Racing School’s Daniel Whittemore: ‘He got it all together.
He knew exactly what he had to do and even though he was under a lot of pressure he kept his head and drove really well.
I’ve never seen such a big smile on his face!’Parouty said today that Saturday had been a very emotional day.’It was fantastic.
There was a bit of pressure – and anything can happen in motorsport and it was all a bit tense after what happened at Rockingham.
But I had great trust in all those around me, the mechanics and the whole team were fantastic and really cheering me on.
The win means everything to me and if I never get behind the steeering wheel again, I still won the championship!’In fact, all things being equal, he will almost certainly be racing again next season as the prize for wrapping up the championship is further support from the BRDC, although final details have yet to be ironed out.Whittemore explained that the next level up is a big step and will be a steep learning curve for Parouty.’He’ll be driving a car similar to the one he raced this season, with an 1800 cc Zetec engine, but this time the car will be a year or two old at most whereas this season the cars were all 1997 models and all were set up in exactly the same way for each driver.
Ryan will have the car personally set up for him, and he will need to learn about how the set-up of the car will translate to the way it handles on the track, and will have to be able to give feedback to the mechanics.
But with his natural driving ability, we’re confident he will do well.
He came to us with relatively little experience and has won the championship in his first season.’And Parouty said: ‘I am over the moon.
This smile will be on my face for the next six months.’
