Just because I’m living in the UK for the 4th of July doesn’t mean I can’t hang out with Americans to Celebrate!
Category Archives: Racing
Jason Pribyl on The Slipstream Entrepreneurs’ Podcast
Jason discusses his career path and the challenges of moving to the UK at 19 to go racing.
Thruxton Update
Jason Pribyl to joins Hero’s of FF1600 Historic Races at Thruxton
Last minute driver ANNOUNCEMENT Jason Pribyl 2x national ff1600 winner will drive the ex Joey Foster Reynard(Reynard Motorsport) 89 at Thruxton Historic – SPRINT CUP 1 – The Ian Taylor Trophy.
Live Timing for the event can be found on TSL-Timing
June 22: Saturday Practice
3:00 CST(09:00 BST) Singles seater (Group 1) Practice
3:20 CST(09:20 BST) Singles seater (Group 2) Practice
June 23: Sunday Racing
4:20 CST(10:20 BST) Heros of FF1600 Sprint Cup Qualifying
7:10 CST(13:10 BST) Heros of FF1600 Sprint Cup Race No. 10
1:35 CST(17:35 BST) Heros of FF1600 Sprint Cup Race No. 16
The Heroes of FF1600 Sprint Cup fills a gap in the market for cars from what director Ian Temple describes as the “golden era” of Formula Ford in the ’80s and ’90s; a wide range of machinery not necessarily competitive in fully open series, as well as cars such as the Van Diemen RF82, which fall just outside the remit of the HSCC Classic championship.
The cup will run at three meetings each with three classes: Class A for pre-’93 cars, Class B for pre-’85 cars and Class C for pre-’82 (Classic) cars. Pre-’98 entries may be allowed on an invitational basis. Meetings will consist of qualifying plus two races.
The first round at Thruxton will run as the Ian Taylor Trophy in memory of Ian Taylor, the first ever winner of the Formula Ford Festival in 1972.
Jason Wins at Lydden Hill Circuit
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Jason has had a great race day at Lydden Hill. Jason started his United Formula Ford day, qualifying 5th on a damp track. It was raining during Race 1, where moved up to third on the start and finished 2nd at the checkered. By the time race 2 came around the track was dry and fast. Jason started in 2nd and jumped immediately to lead on the as the green flag waved. He held on to the lead for the entire race winning his second race in the series. In addition to winning the race he set the fastest lap of the weekend.
Congratulation to the whole team for making this possible!
Jason on the second step for Race 1
Jason winner of Race 2
Donington Race Not Quite Ready
Jason in the news, here are some recent articles about Jason’s adventures.
- 5/14/24 American teen in Bicester secures win at Silverstone
- 5/11/24 Morgan Quinn takes win and United FFord points lead at Donington Park
- 5/10/24 Glenview’s Pribyl Takes Lead In UK Car Racing Series
In racing news
How did Donington go, not as well a Silverstone. Jason and the car struggled to work together during Friday practice. The team worked on the issues overnight, but unfortunately, the problems weren’t resolved and he qualified 10th. Jason and the team studied the video and make some adjustments. As the flag dropped for the first race Jason, had found some speed and moved his way from 10th to 7th at the checkered flag. During the second race Jason started 7th and them moved his way up to 4th in the first lap. He and battled for with 5th place for a few more laps until his car lost the rear linkage and forced him to retire the car. This unfortunately moved him from first in the series to third. He is still just a few points back and can recover with some more top finishes in the next few weeks.
Coming up this weekend 6/15 is round 5 and 6 of the United Formula Ford series at Lydden Hill Circuit. Jason and the team have been hard at work preparing to fight for the Championship. You can follow along with the announcers on TSL Timing.
Building the team for Donington
Lets start with the latest Episode of Jason and Richard,(we need to find a better name). We hear about what Jason is doing to prepare for the Donington Park race, what he’s doing in Bicester, plus some thanks to a friend in Glenview.
Unfortunately, we’ve learned that the race won’t be on YouTube however we can watch live timing on the TSL Timing page for the race.
May 11th race schedule for the United Formal Ford Races.
Here’s the schedule in CST.
Qualifying: 5:45 am
Race 1: 8:35 am
Race 2: 12:20 pm
More exciting news: Jason has formed a new partnership with ADM Ltd to help him as he reach for new levels in his racing career. They are helping him prepare for the next United Formula Ford at the Historic Donington Park. Gary and the team are going to provide him the tools and training he will need to navigate the complicated but exciting new world.
Jason and Richard: First Race How it Went
Here’s the race report from Jason and Richard. The team put a car together that was just ready enough for Jason to get in and go with minimal preparation. With some more time getting used to the car and getting it tuned they should be really fast.
One of the bonuses of racing on the an international level is you get some international publicity. Here are just a few articles from round the globe that mention Jason.
- Patch Glenview, IL Jason Pribyl earns podiums and lead in UK Series
- MSVR report, International coverage
MSVR CLUB CAR CHAMPIONSHIPS SILVESTONE NATIONAL - Formula Scout, International coverage
Rackstraw wins from 16th, Prybil gets points lead - The Citizen, South Africa
South African racing talent Andrew Rackstraw shine
Thanks to the Ray Race Cars and Phil Wills Racing One. Jason and the team are getting ready for the next pair of races at Donington Park on May 11th.
Here’s the schedule in CST.
Qualifying: 5:45 am
Race 1: 8:35 am
Race 2: 12:20 pm
You will be able to watch live timing for all three at the msvr page for the event. We’re still looking for the link to the live race on YouTube.
First United Formula Ford Race Results
Prior to landing in the United Kingdom at the beginning April, the last time Jason was in a race car was October 22nd at the USF Pro Combine at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With just a week of acclimation Jason had his first experience in the his Ray Race Car F1600 at Snetterton Circuit for 3 brief test sessions where he had to shake down the car, learn the track, and then finally learn to drive it fast. That’s the only seat time he had prior to setting tires on the track a the world famous Silverstone Circuit for the first race of the United Formula Ford season.
Having arrived at Silverstone on Friday, there were only two sessions for Jason to learn the track and for the team to make sure the car was race ready. Unfortunately, due to minor car issues, his sessions where shortened. Despite that, he was able to pick up the track quickly and started showing the speed required to race well. After end of day after debriefing the team and Jason made some adjustments to prepare the card for a successful race day on Saturday.
On Saturday morning, Jason climbed into the car and drove out for his qualifying sessions with confidence, prepared to tackle more firsts, new tires and reading a pit board for communication instead of the radio. He spent a few laps gentling the tires in to readiness before running some initial push laps. Once ready to go, Jason put in a good banker lap and jumped to pole and then continued to set faster laps. Jason held the pole position for most of the session. Just prior to the session being stopped, he lost the pole by just 0.125 seconds. Jason would be starting his first race on the front row in second.
All of Jason’s previous race starts were rolling, the field makes a slow lap and the green flag starts the race. In the UK and Europe they use a standing start. The cars are stopped and wait for a light over the track to go out to start the race. Jason wasn’t able to even practice a start and with just some observation and coaching he nailed his first start, nearly taking the lead in turn one. Jason and the top 6 cars battled for the first couple of laps. During these initial laps, he dropped to third and defended and attacked every corner until 3 of the top 6 drivers crashed. Jason avoided the mayhem and moved into the lead and his first experience leading a race following the pace car and then restarting the race. Again, with no previous experience, his restart was excellent as he leapt away leaving the field behind to squabble for 2nd. He continued to lead and pull way another red flag ended the race. Due to confusion at the end of the race, redirected to scrutineering(AKA Tech) instead of the winners circle and had to run back to be interviewed and receive his champagne and trophy.
United Formula Ford Race 1(starts 2hrs 2 min)
As the winner of first race Jason started the second race on the pole. As the lights went out, he revved engine just a little to high and spun the wheels giving him a slow start. As the cars headed into turn 1 he was passed by the yellow #29. He kept his cool and was back into the lead by the turn three. 
He and the #29 swapped places a few times before Jason forced him back to defend and battle for with third. In the mean time the fast drivers began to make their way through the field and caught up to Jason and pressed him for the lead. Unfortunately, they backed off when Jason received a 5 second penalty for to many track limits violations. At the end of the race Jason finished first but was relegated to third due the time penalty.
United Formula Ford Race 1(starts 4hrs 3 min)
This what happens when Jason shows up in just about any car. He drives with passion and though, every move is calculated. Everyone had expectations that he would do well but were still surprised to see him land on the podium for both races and in the points lead. Jason has been has been hard at work preparing for the next race at Donington Park on May 11th. Thanks to Gavin Ray for the great Ray Race Car and Phil Wills the PWR1 team for the awesome set up and coaching.
Formula Scout Article on the race
2024 RACE WINNERS
Silverstone: Jason Pribyl (Ray)/Andrew Rackstraw (Spectrum)
UNITED FORMULA FORD 2024 POINTS
- Jason Pribyl – 38
- Jeremy Fairbairn – 30
- Lewis Fox- 28
- Ben Cox – 26
- Nigel Dolan – 20
Andrew Rackstraw – 20
Jason and Richard: Testing Testing UK EP5
Here’s the latest Jason and Richard Episode. They discuss hit first impressions of the car as he finally has an opportunity to get in and drive it around the track as he prepares for his first race.
Jason and the Ray Race Car