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BFF: Cliff Dempsey Racing signs Andy Meyrick

MEYRICK JOINS CDR'S UK FFORD SQUAD Reigning North West Pre 90 Formula Ford 1600 champion Andy Meyrick will partner MotorSport Vision and Northern Irish FF1600 champion Peter Dempsey in Cliff Dempsey Racing's new UK Formula Ford ...

MEYRICK JOINS CDR'S UK FFORD SQUAD

Reigning North West Pre 90 Formula Ford 1600 champion Andy Meyrick will partner MotorSport Vision and Northern Irish FF1600 champion Peter Dempsey in Cliff Dempsey Racing's new UK Formula Ford (Duratec) Championship team this season.

"Andy first drove for us at the Castle Combe Carnival last season, and we were extremely impressed with him then," said CDR boss Cliff Dempsey. "I said at the time that I would love to have Andy back in a CDR car in the future, so it's great to have him on board for the full season. Him and Peter already get on very well and will push each other hard."

"When I worked with CDR at the Carnival I was very impressed with the way they handled themselves over the race weekend," said Meyrick. "I really rate Cliff as an engineer and a mechanic. The factory assistance from Ray is another positive, because in the first year of the new formula, developing the cars is going to be the key.

"Pete and I get on very well in and out of the car. I've been wheel to wheel with him a few times and I trust him. Plus our driving styles are very similar. He's got a lot more experience than me and he's helped me a lot already.

"I reckon that Pete will be quickest out of the blocks at the start of the season, so anything I can do to help and anything I can learn from him will be good for both of us."

Meyrick began the 2005 season as an absolute novice, joining the NW FF1600 field without any previous karting or racing experience. Yet it was immediately apparent that Andy possessed an abundance of raw talent, as he fought for victory in his very first race, and took his debut win in the fifth round of the series. Meyrick went on to dominate the second half of the championship, despite his 1984 vintage Reynard being one of the oldest cars in the NW Pre 90 field.

Perhaps his most impressive performance was in the MotorSport Vision Championship round at Snetterton, where Meyrick qualified his antiquated machine on the front row of the overall grid. He produced similar heroics at the Formula Ford Festival, running in the outright top five in his semi-final. When given the opportunity to race more modern equipment at the Carnival and the Walter Hayes Trophy, Meyrick immediately made the step up from star underdog to comfortable outright frontrunner, competing for podium positions before racing incidents curtailed his participation in both events. Rarely, if ever, was Andy's novice status apparent in his driving.

Despite his spectacular 2005 season, Meyrick is aware that graduating to the revitalised FFord Duratec series will put him up against drivers with far more motor racing experience -- a challenge that he is glad to take on.

"I don't want to put too much pressure on myself, but certainly in the second half of the season I'd like to be challenging for wins," he said. "The plan is for this to be a two-year project. I realise that it's a big step up, especially in terms of the overall quality of the field, but I'm really looking forward to it. I'm itching to get out there."

Meyrick has already tested the Duratec-powered Ray chassis that the CDR duo will drive when the UK FFord Championship season commences in mid-April. CDR is also close to finalising its Formula Ford 1600 line-up for 2006, and will release details of the programme in due course.

-www.cliffdempseyracing.com.

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