Jimenez Takes First FR BARC Podiums On Hillspeed Debut

Victor Jimenez secured his first ever Formula Renault BARC podium finishes on his debut outing as a Hillspeed driver at Snetterton in Norfolk over the weekend, 5th/6th November - the Spaniard making a terrific start to the six-round 'Finals Series' by finishing on the class rostrum in all four races.Switching to the Hathersage based team to join Hillspeed regular Sean Walkinshaw and racing rookie Joe Kibbler, 27-year-old Jimenez did a terrific job in the wet first race to take second position - just a second behind experienced category race winner Archie Hamilton - and repeated the result in race two by finishing a mere 0.9 seconds adrift of the win.The Madrid driver's pace was highly impressive, circulating just 0.3 seconds shy of the fastest BARC lap of the race in both instances on day one. On Sunday, he finished third in round three and then somehow managed to recover to third place again in round four despite contact from Ivan Taranov which pitched Jimenez into a dramatic spin on Senna Straight.Oxfordshire teenager Sean Walkinshaw, like Jimenez experiencing his first competitive running on the Snetterton 300 Circuit, chalked up two top four finishes in BARC on Saturday in very difficult wet conditions which proved challenging for the most experienced of competitors.Lapping within a second of his team-mate's pace in Sunday's first race to secure another fourth place finish, he made it a straight-run of top fours in the final outing of the weekend when profiting from Taranov's retirement.Racing rookie Kibbler had a huge task on his hands with a total of 29 cars in action in the Formula Renault UK and Formula Renault BARC classes combined but he handled the pressure well and stayed out of trouble. Gradually improving his pace with every outing, the Sutton Coldfield 21-year-old finished sixth in class in each of the four races."We're very happy with the way the first weekend of the Finals Series has gone", said team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, "Victor and Sean both drove well, we're delighted Victor has secured his first BARC podiums on his Hillspeed debut. "The conditions were incredibly challenging on Saturday, Sean and Joe did particularly well as it was new territory for both of them. Joe's certainly come in at the deep end as a total novice but he did everything we asked of him."Palmer in thick of the action during Ginetta Junior Winter Series William Palmer delivered a series of strong performances for Hillspeed in the four-round Ginetta Junior Winter Series which ran alongside the Formula Renault 'Finals Series' at Snetterton over the weekend, ending the mini-championship with a best finish of seventh position.Qualifying ninth fastest for round one in wet conditions on Saturday, the 14-year-old improved his pace throughout the opening encounter as he unlocked more and more performance and finished just 1.3 seconds shy of experienced category front-runner Niall Murray.In round two, Palmer took his best result of the weekend with seventh place and at the start he made an incredible getaway to rise from ninth on the grid into the top five. Unfortunately for the Bedford youngster, his progress was hampered when Ollie Chadwick spun ahead. Dropping to ninth, he battled back to seventh and also posted the fourth fastest lap of the race in the process.Posting the seventh fastest time in Sunday's qualifying session for rounds three and four, Palmer held seventh at the end of lap one and moved into sixth before being shuffled back again to an eventual finish of eighth. He rounded-out the weekend, and the championship, with another top eight to conclude the campaign ninth in the points standings."William has improved so much since his Ginetta Junior debut with us back in August at Snetterton, we're really impressed with how he's gone this weekend", said Ollerenshaw, "Hopefully he'll be back with us in 2012, with plenty more testing under his belt over the winter we're sure he can become a top front-runner."While the Ginetta Junior Winter Series has concluded, the Formula Renault 'Finals Series' will return to action this coming Saturday, 12th November, at Rockingham in Northamptonshire for the last two races - rounds five and six.Provisional 2011 Formula Renault UK Finals Series 'BARC Class' Points (after Rd4):2nd Victor Jimenez, 106pts; 3rd Sean Walkinshaw, 88pts; 5th Joe Kibbler, 72pts


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