Teenage saloon car racer Ollie Pidgley is eyeing a possible switch to single-seater competition in 2015 after making an impressive open-wheel test debut with Jamun Racing on Friday, 8th August, at Silverstone National Circuit at the wheel of one of the squad’s Formula Ford cars.

Downton-based Pidgley, who is currently in the midst of his first season in cars in the Michelin Clio Cup Race Series with Team Pyro, was elated with his first experience of a single-seater and made the most of a trouble-free outing to post some impressive lap times at the Northamptonshire track.

Piloting one of Jamun’s front-running 200bhp, 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost powered cars from the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain, the 16-year-old had the opportunity to enjoy a series of firsts – such as his maiden experience of aerodynamics.

“Friday’s test was an awesome experience”, said Pidgley, “Jamun is a quality team, just like [Team] Pyro is in the Clio Cup Series, and everything was absolutely fantastic – it was an amazing day. We ran on really old tyres, so the understeer was pretty major, but it was still fantastic and I learnt so much. The team was impressed with my pace, so I couldn’t ask for much more than that.

“You have to think a lot more in a single-seater, compared to the Clio I’m racing now you can hardly see a thing and everything comes at you so much faster too. I learnt so much at Silverstone, it was a great day and I really enjoyed working with everyone at Jamun for the first time.”

Pidgley remains committed to the Michelin Clio Cup Race Series for the remainder of the 2014 season and isn’t ruling out graduation into the sister Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup next year, which races alongside Formula Ford on the British Touring Car Championship support package.

However the lure of increased seat-time in Formula Ford, which will become FIA Formula 4 in 2015, and the opportunity to develop his skills over the course of a 30-race championship is something the McLaren Young Driver Advancement Programme racer is giving serious consideration.

“I want to race as much as possible to learn as much as I can, so something like FIA F4 would be ideal with a 30-race season”, added Pidgley, “You learn so much more in single-seaters and that can only benefit you as you move up the ladder. We need to raise more sponsorship for next year, so a series with TV coverage is what we need to look at.

“We’re not ruling out staying in saloons, the Renault UK Clio Cup is obviously an option as that has TV as well, but we’re looking at a lot of options. The test with Jamun, though, has definitely made us think more seriously about single-seaters.”

Pidgley’s next competitive action will come just under three weeks from now when the Michelin Clio Cup Race Series resumes at Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norfolk over the weekend 30th/31st August.

Visit www.olliepidgley.com for all the latest news and follow him on Twitter @OPidgleyRacing