Canadian Formula 1600 racer Xavier Coupal honoured the Canadian flag during the 2011 edition of the British Formula Ford Festival, held at Brands Hatch on October 15th and 16th.

In early September, Coupal was awarded the Team Canada Scholarship – a program built to foster local talent – the goal was to see just how he would fair against the world's brightest.

Xavier Coupal at the Formula Ford Festival. (Photo: xaviercoupal.com)

Former Formula Ford Festival winners include Roland Ratzenberger, Eddie Irvine, Mark Webber, Anthony Davidson and Jenson Button – who all eventually made it to Formula 1.

Right out of the gate, in qualifying, Coupal showed he was up to the task and took fourth place, which was a feat in itself, considering he had virtually no previous running in the car, and the track was still new to him.

As the weekend progressed, so did Coupal. In the first race, he finished second, thanks to a strong performance that also saw him take fastest lap honours.

When things started to get serious, in the semi-final, Coupal raised his game and won the race, meaning he would get to start from pole for the final and most important round of the weekend.

Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. Coupal had to retire on lap 7 of the big race, just when things were looking good: his time on lap 5 stood as the fastest throughout the whole race.

Which means, to the scouts in the stands, the Canadian's effort certainly didn't go unnoticed.