Silverstone

Jacques missed the previous round at Oulton Park, as he was busy introducing the newest member of the Jensen team to the world. He made up for it, however, at the final race of the season with little Luca cheering him on from the sidelines.

The seventh and final round of the HSCC Historic Formula Ford Championship took place at the Silverstone National circuit on the 10th and 11th October. Exactly a year earlier, Jacques had made his HFF debut at this event, so the Finals were a chance to show how far the team had come in its first full season.

Testing on Friday went well with Jensen working hard on car set up in both dry and wet conditions.

Qualifying on Saturday morning was incredibly tight, with barely a second covering the top nine. Jensen posted a 1:03.720 to claim pole position, his first in Historic Formula Ford.

Race 1 – From pole, Jacques had a slow start, missing a shift off the line, but was back into the lead by the end of the first lap. Jensen was part of a three-car slipstreaming battle at the front with triple champion Callum Grant (Merlyn Mk20A) and newly crowned champion Benn Simms (Jomo JMR7). Simms was hampered by a clutch problem and dropped back behind Graham Fennymore (Merlyn Mk20A) who was having his first Formula Ford 1600 race since 1994. Jensen took the chequered flag first to score his maiden HFF victory, leading home a Merlyn 1-2-3 ahead of Grant and Fennymore.

Race 2 – Again from pole position, Jensen had a better start this time although still lost out to Grant into Copse, however he slipstreamed back into the lead by Maggots. The lead group of Jensen, Grant and Simms fought hard throughout the 20 minute race, with plenty of wheel to wheel battles. Heading onto the final lap it was anyone's race. Out of Luffield, Jacques got a tow from Grant and pulled out to the outside to make a move for the lead. A photo finish between the top three saw Jensen take the win by just 0.032 seconds from Grant. Chapman was a further 0.012s back in third. Jacques also set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:03.720, identical to the qualifying time.

The double win was worth 50 points and lifted Jacques from 6th to 3rd in the final standings on 150 points, behind only Simms and Grant. Last year at this event he qualified 9th and finished 8th and 15th. This year he took pole and two wins.

After the race, Jacques said, “We came into this race weekend hoping for a podium. To come away with pole position and two race wins is just incredible! It shows how hard we have been working over the season to close the gap to the front runners. Our engine was stripped and checked by the scrutineers after race 2 and confirmed legal. We now turn our focus to the 2027 season and will be carrying out some car improvements over the winter. We are actively seeking sponsors for the 2027 season, if you would like to get involved, please get in touch!”