HSCC April 2021 issue 128 | Page 28

FEATURE : RICK MORRIS
On his way to the 2019 Classic FF title
28

50 years of

Formula Ford

Racing as a team mate to Derek Warwick and victory over Ayrton Senna da Silva are just two of the landmarks in the remarkable racing life of Rick Morris . Paul Lawrence caught up with him .
Now aged 74 and looking as fit as ever , Morris is a Formula Ford legend and still races with the same passion and determination as he did when he started in the category half a century ago . His is without doubt a survivor and remains a leading contender in Classic Formula Ford , despite having 50 years of motor sport under his belt . He started racing in Formula Ford in 1971 . “ I went to Motor Racing Stables and had no money . But I got hooked and found enough money to buy an old Hawke
DL2B . I had a fastest lap in the Wellasponsored championship and I got noticed the following year by David Lazenby at Hawke .”
Lazenby organised the loan of an engine from Alan Wardropper at Scholar and went on to lend Rick a run of Hawke chassis . “ David leant me a DL10 , then a DL11 and then a DL12 and then I was in the works DL15s in 1976 with Derek Warwick , Bernard Devaney and Derek Daly . Then I got side-tracked into driving the Ray for Bert Ray in Formula Ford 2000 , but I still did some work for Hawke .
In 1979 Morris went to drive for Vic Hollman at the fledgling PRS operation . Hollman had been the boss at Hawke at Southend and he left to form PRS with his brother Steve . “ This was the start of PRS . I had 1979 with Tommy Byrne which was quite a year . But at the end of the year Tommy had a go in the Royale RP26 and told me it was better than the PRS .”
That was the start of an enduring friendship with Royale boss Alan Cornock , which continues 40 years later . “ For 1980 I did a deal with Alan to drive a Royale and I then took over driving the works car later in 1980 when Jonathan Palmer left . I had a successful year in 1981 against Ayrton Senna and won one of the championships in 1982 .” Famously , he out-fumbled the Brazilian to win a typically frenetic race on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit , leaping