Many of New Zealand’s top drivers have used the well-worn Kiwi motorsport pathway, Karting > Formula First > Formula Ford > Toyota Oceania Regional Series, with great success.
One young driver following in their footsteps is Auckland’s Dylan Grant, who is currently competing in the National and North Island Formula Ford Championships.
We had the pleasure of catching up with Dylan as he prepares for the final two rounds of the NZ Formula Ford championship.
IN THE BEGINNING
Like so many others before him, Dylan’s motorsport journey began at the local kart track.
“I started racing karts at the Mt Wellington Kart Club when I was 6 years old, my older brother had already been racing for a year at that stage with my Dad doing everything on the karts. The SpeedSport Scholarship gave me the opportunity to move into a car as it probably wouldn’t have happened since we had a lot invested in karting and with my brother still racing karts at the time there was no time to do cars as well as karts.”
“We decided to buy our own car and do a second season in Formula First, we came away 2nd in the National Championship and set a new Manfield lap record. The extra year in the class prepared me well for moving into Formula Ford, the transition was easy, and we’ve had good pace from the start.”
“I actually won my second race in the first round of the North Island Series, but dad made a mistake on the fuel calculation, so we came in just underweight and got DQ’d. We had another couple of DNFs early on, so I’m really happy to have recovered and be leading the North Island series with one round to go.”
FROM KARTS TO CARS
2020 saw Dylan move from karts to cars, winning the SpeedSport scholarship and a season in Formula First, followed by a second season in the class driving his own car.
“The Formula First was actually quite easy to drive once I got used to shifting gears.”
“Everything happens a lot more slowly than in a kart, the racing is very close, with drafting being important, especially in qualifying to get a good lap time. As they don’t have much power, we really focussed on getting the maximum corner speed out of the car. I think this helps in Formula Ford as well.”
Preparation is a key component to on-track success, however, it’s not only the cars that need to be prepared for a race meeting, the driver must also do his homework.
“I spend a lot of time on the simulator, and am currently using it to learn the South Island tracks for the final rounds of the National Series as we’ve never been there.”
“My Dad does all the setup and preparation on the Formula First and Formula Ford which he has had to figure out, so it’s been really important to be able to work with him to get the handling where it needs to be. The Young Gun’s program at Hampton Downs has been awesome as it gives us the track time to try things and learn how to get the most out of the car.”
STEPPING STONES – Formula First // Formula Ford
Formula First is a class sometimes overlooked when moving into cars, however, the class has a lot to offer the young driver.
“Don’t be afraid to move into cars early, you can learn a lot in Formula First. I wish we’d been able to move a bit earlier but it just wasn’t possible.”
Dylan Grant
2022 saw Dylan step into the Formula Ford class, competing in the North Island and National series.
“The car is a 2003 Van Diemen RF03 which Tim Edgell used to win the championship in 2004 and Shannon O’Brien won again in 2005. The car then went to Australia until Grant Campbell purchased it in 2017 and gave it a full restoration. We purchased it last year from Grant, and have had Edgell Performance rebuild the engine.”
While Formula First and Formula Ford are very different types of cars, both have a long history of producing young motorsport talent.
“The cars are very different to drive. Formula Ford has a lot more setup options than Formula First and is sensitive to small changes but they are really fun to drive.”
“There’s lots more setup information and advice available as they’re more standardised than the Formula First which tend to be custom-built. The competition is a lot closer in Formula Ford and you have to be careful to avoid contact as they bend easily compared to a Formula First and can be expensive to repair.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Dylan has some clear goals in mind for the season and his climb up the motorsport ladder.
“We came into the season as a rookie with the aim of winning the North Island Championship and finish in the top 3 in the National Championship. We’re on track so far. My future goal is to keep racing single-seaters and hopefully find a way to race in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship.”
Motorsport is very much a team sport, it requires a team to keep the car and driver on the track.
“Mum & Dad have been my main supporters, and Mag & Turbo Mt Wellington are helping us with tyre management this year. We’ve also great support and advice from Edgell Performance, as well as other people in the North Island Formula Ford community.”
Finally, for our readers who would like to follow your progress, where can they find you?
You can find me on social media. I post on both my Instagram and my Facebook pages, to keep my fans updated along the way.
dylangrantracing on Facebook
@dylangrant.20 on Instagram
As in life, so it is in motorsport: to get to the top, you have to keep taking steps, big or small, and Dylan Grant is certainly making each step count.
“You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.” — Tom Hiddleston
