Ayrton Houk: In the swing of things

I’ve now had a few weeks under my belt in the UK, and I’ve enjoyed every minute! The time has been packed with racing, exploring and meeting some exceptional individuals. Andy Low, owner of Ammonite Motorsport, has been an amazing host to me and Jack. From picking us up from the airport to finding us housing, it has been great having someone like Andy to help us get our bearings.

Our adventure began just after landing at Heathrow International, navigating through the airport to find Jack, being picked up, and heading straight to the Ammonite shop to meet the team. Immediately, we were in the cars being fitted for our seats in preparation for our first test at Llandow circuit in southern Wales. The following day I had my first taste of racing in the UK when Jack and I, along with 2022 Team USA Scholarship winner Elliot Budzinski, went to spectate the British Touring Car race at Silverstone. It was a great opportunity to watch a race on the same track we would be competing at in a week for the National Formula Ford Championship. I was even able to tour the Museum and see some amazing vintage Formula One cars! I especially appreciated the opportunity to see the car that Ayrton Senna won his final World Drivers Championship in, the MP 4/6.

Since then I have begun adjusting to life in the UK. Jack and I have been sharing an AirBnB and we are getting along quite nicely. I have had to start thinking about groceries and planning meals as opposed to the strict takeout-and-fast-food diet I followed at Purdue. Something new to me is the supermarket meal deals. I can go in and get a main food, snack and drink for three UK pounds! I had never seen this before, yet it comes in quite handy when I need a quick lunch while we are on the go or at the race shop. When Jack and I aren’t grabbing meal deals, I usually will cook lunch and dinner for us. I have made us various chicken and steak meals over the last week or so, and I am starting to teach Jack a little bit about cooking as well.

I got my first taste of a race in the UK on September 30 at Silverstone. We competed on the National layout, the same configuration we will run during the Walter Hayes Trophy. The weekend was full of learning and adjusting to the car. We were given six test sessions on Friday and those came in extremely useful; I need some getting used to the extended slip angle on the Avon tires. Qualifying brought another learning opportunity – the importance of a draft at Silverstone. I had gone out for qualifying and ran alone for it which secured me a P14 starting position for the first of two 20-lap races. I also got to experience my first standing start! The races went relatively smoothly, just still learning how to get this car rotated before the apex of corners to maximize the drive off onto such long straights. Race one brought a P14 finish and race two brought a P11 finish. Overall, I learned a ton about the Ray FF1600 and the Avon tires, and was exposed to the heightened level of competition over here. It was intense.