MTECH Lite racer Sean Walkinshaw took the opportunity to gain some essential test mileage at both Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit and Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit this week, with just a fortnight remaining until the start of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship season.Although the GP track at Silverstone doesn't form part of the Formula Renault BARC calendar, the chance to run on the Northamptonshire venue's 3.66-mile circuit for the first time on Thursday, 22nd March, was too good an opportunity to miss for the 18-year-old from Chipping Norton.Improving smoothly throughout the day, Sean ended up with a best time of 2m08.636 seconds (102.44mph) to conclude the outing very evenly matched with Mexican prospect Jorge Ceralles who ran in the second MTECH FR 2.0.Travelling up to Rockingham near Corby for a full day on Friday, 23rd March, the testing was heavily interrupted by numerous red flag stoppages. Although frustrating, all time in the car is crucial for the Cheltenham College student who is only embarking on his second ever season of competitive racing.With the added benefit of top-line driver coaching from professional sportscar racer and 2002 Formula Renault UK Champion Danny Watts, Sean continued his strong progression and is now looking forward to the sole officially timed test of the pre-season this Tuesday at Silverstone."It's been a good couple of days this week", said Sean, "I'd never run on the Grand Prix track at Silverstone before so that was a really enjoyable experience and worthwhile for the future. The day went quite well, there were only a few cars out so there was plenty of space on track and I was pretty pleased with my lap times."It was important to get some more testing in at Rockingham and there were quite a few of the other BARC drivers out there so we had a chance to see where some of them are. I'm learning so much each time I'm in the car. We had a problem with the gearbox in the morning but other than that it was a positive day. I'm looking forward to Media Day now, that's where it all gets serious!"Silverstone's 1.64-mile National Circuit will host officially timed Protyre Formula Renault BARC testing this coming Tuesday, 27th March, as part of the annual Media Day. The championship proper will begin on 7th/8th April at Snetterton in Norfolk