Brazilian teenager Matheus Leist chalked-up his fifth podium of the MSA Formula season for Racecar client Double R Racing at Oulton Park Island Circuit over the weekend, 6th/7th June, with team-mate Tarun Reddy also impressing at the picturesque Cheshire venue with a hat-trick of points finishes.
Despite starting the event on the back-foot due to an engine failure in officially timed testing, Indian youngster Reddy bounced back impressively in the races and posted a best result of seventh place in round 12 after a fantastic drive through from 14th on the grid.
Leist’s latest podium came courtesy of a terrific performance in round 11 where he climbed from sixth on the grid into the runner-up position. However, a collision while battling for position in round 12 cost hopes of another rostrum visit and actually resulted in an unfortunate exclusion. Even so, Leist maintains fourth in the championship standings with Reddy consolidating 13th place.
“It’s great to have another podium with Matheus, he had good pace again this weekend, but it was obviously a big disappointment to see him excluded from the last race”, reflected team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, “He thought there was a gap there, went for it, and then the gap quickly disappeared. It’s unfortunate, one of those things, but he’ll be back fighting for the podium at Croft.
“Tarun did a great job in the last race, he delivered a really strong drive and he pulled off some impressive moves – I think he overtook more people than anyone else. The engine problem in testing put him on the back-foot to start with but we do need to work a bit more on the qualifying. When that’s all sorted, he’ll be battling for podiums for sure.”
Leist started Saturday’s first race, round 10, from fifth position and stayed there for the duration, although during the latter stages he whipped up the pressure to try and break into the top four. After a Safety Car period between laps four and seven, the Double R racer tried everything to progress towards the podium but ultimately ended the race just 0.6 seconds shy of fourth position.
Team-mate Reddy started the first encounter 14th on the grid and had climbed into the top 12 prior to the emergence of the Safety Car. Moving into 11th position on lap nine, at the expense of Josh Smith, the Indian remained part of a very close five car train behind the top six to the flag – just 1.3 seconds covering seventh position to 11th place over the line.
For round 11, Leist lined-up sixth on the grid and quickly made his way into the top three on the first lap before moving into second position on lap two, passing pole-starter Daniel Baybutt. Reeling off a series of fastest laps, Leist’s progress then levelled off during the middle part of the encounter but he redoubled his efforts late on.
Posting the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate tour, with a time of 1m22.807 seconds (96.77mph), the South American closed to within two seconds of race winner Sennan Fielding and took the chequered flag on lap 15 more than eight seconds clear of his nearest rival.
Reddy, starting in 11th position, again became locked in a very tight multi-car battle as in race one and overtaking opportunities proved almost non-existent. Moving into the top 10 at the end of lap six when Petru Florescu had to serve a drive-through penalty, Reddy piled on the pressure to Ricky Collard ahead but to no avail.
With seven cars running almost nose-to-tail behind Jack Barlow in sixth, the slightest error could prove costly but Reddy didn’t put a wheel wrong. Maintaining his top 10 placing to the flag, the Double R racer was just 0.5 seconds behind Collard and just a couple of seconds shy of the top six.
For the third and final race of the weekend on Sunday, round 12, Leist lined-up sixth on the grid and moved up into fourth on the opening lap when two rivals clashed at the hairpin. On the very next tour, though, it was Leist’s turn to be embroiled in drama at the same corner when he made contact with Jack Barlow’s car while attempting to move into third place on the inside.
Ending the lap in fourth prior to the emergence of the Safety Car, the Brazilian spent the rest of the 13 lap contest battling a badly deranged front wing – a result of the lap two tangle – but he worked wonders to keep the swarming pack at bay to finish in fourth, prior to the exclusion.
Reddy’s performance in race three was certainly standout, climbing through from 14th into 11th place on lap one and then moving into the top 10 prior to the Safety Car. At the re-start on lap five, the Indian grabbed ninth from Baybutt at the hairpin and he then set about trying to work his way closer to the top six.
Pressuring for eighth position during the second half of the race, Reddy’s hard work paid off on lap 12 when he was able to slice past James Pull to take the place. In a tight seven car bunch behind the top four all the way to the flag, post-race he was elevated into seventh due to Leist’s penalty.
There is now a three week break in the MSA Formula calendar with rounds 13, 14 and 15 taking place at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire on 27th/28th June. The weekend prior, 20th/21st June, Double R’s FIA Formula 3 European Championship squad will return to action at Spa in Belgium.
2015 MSA Formula Championship Driver Standings (after Rd12): 4th Matheus Leist, 134pts; 13th Tarun Reddy, 30pts; 16th Gustavo Myasava, 19pts
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