Dempsey looking forward to semi-finals after second place finish in heat 1 today

Jordan Dempsey overcame the disadvantages of starting with a dry weather set-up on his car for heat 1 of the 2020 Formula Ford Festival at a damp Brands Hatch today.

Jordan had come out of qualifying as the fastest driver, though by a tiny margin - 0.087 seconds - ahead of Chris Middlehurst.

The Mullingar man was quickest throughout his session, and that put him on pole position for heat 1.

He made a strong start, and held the lead for a time, but lost it to Rory Smith, who held on to win the heat, ahead of Jordan, and Middlehurst in third.

Jordan said: "I'm very happy with that race. We got stuck on a dry-ish set-up and everyone else went for a wet set-up, so we struggled in the early laps until I got to grips with it - though it still wasn’t ideal.

"We’re still well in the hunt, wet or dry, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow!"

He will find out later today which semi-final he's in.

Heat 1 coverage below - forward to 2:10 (approximately).