BRANDS HATCH DOUBLE-WIN SEES JARVIS INCREASE SERIES LEAD
Manor Motorsport’s Oliver Jarvis (Burwell, Cambridgeshire) opened up a considerable 37-point lead in the 2005 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin driver standings at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit yesterday, after a truly dominant display all weekend.
The 21-year-old became the only driver so far this season to win more than one round with a sensational double-victory at the Kent venue, putting him in firm control of the championship with just three of the 10 race meetings completed.
Jarvis’ consistency has been key to his strong position this year with a run of three-straight second place finishes now bettered by a subsequent hat trick of wins, and the young British ace is confident of continued success throughout the season.
“We worked very hard during the pre-season to make sure we’d be on the pace and now everything is clicking into place for us”, said the championship leader after his Brands Hatch success.
“It hasn’t been totally easy this weekend, I wouldn’t say that, but I’m very confident around Brands Hatch and I knew we’d have good pace here. I almost drove the races like a test day, just concentrating on putting in good laps and not worrying who was behind me. Things are certainly going well and we’re confident of more at Oulton Park.”
With testing having seen Jarvis seize the initiative, he then carried his form through to qualifying where he achieved NGK Laser Platinum Pole Position for both of the Brands Hatch races.
At the start of Sunday’s fifth round of the season, Jarvis made a decent getaway from the grid but was challenged strongly by team-mate Patrick Hogan (Killiney, Co.Dublin) round the outside as the cars entered Paddock Hill Bend for the first time.
Jarvis managed to keep his nose in front though, and this proved decisive as he was never headed throughout the duration of the 24 laps. Hogan eventually finished in second place, Team AKA’s James Jakes (Leeds) took his first podium of the season in third and the teenager also posted the fastest lap of the race to bag two bonus points.
Commenting on his second position, Irishman Hogan said: “Whether you finish in first place or near the back, it’s never easy to drive 24 laps of a circuit like this so I’m happy to be on the podium. Brands is a notoriously difficult place to try and overtake – even if I’d been a second a lap quicker I don’t think I’d have had an opportunity to pass.”
Round six looked like being almost a carbon copy of the first of the day’s outings with Jarvis leading – albeit after a much better start – with Hogan holding on to his second place and Jakes in third position.
Jarvis looked comfortable and a fair bet for his third successive win of the season but if there had been any doubt he’d take the chequered flag again, the win was almost made a certainty when Hogan crashed out of second position on the run up towards Druids Hairpin on lap 11.
While bitter disappointment fell the way of the Irishman, for Jakes it was good news as he moved up into second place and with yet another brace of bonus points for the fastest race lap in his pocket, the AKA sensation enjoyed his best weekend of the year.
The Clio Renaultsport V6 255 Safety Car was deployed on lap 12 following Hogan’s accident but at the re-start on lap 16 there were no notable changes in the running order and at the conclusion of the race it was an ecstatic Jarvis who took the victory from Jakes with Fortec Motorsport’s Swedish driver Sebastian Hohenthal in third place.
Canadian star Sean McIntosh was fourth for Team Firstair, making amends for a bad result in round five, Team JLR’s Stephen Simpson (Enfield, Middlesex) crossed the line in fifth to cap a successful weekend and AKA’s Alex Storckenfeldt rounded out the top six – the Swede another to see improved fortunes in the second of the weekend’s races.
In the B4 Group Graduate Cup, Team Firstair’s championship newcomer Richard Keen (Amersham, Buckinghamshire) took the honours with a pair of very good performances – including an overall top 10 finish in round five – while class points leader Will Bratt (Adderbury, Oxon) drove particularly well in round six to finish eight places ahead of his lowly starting position of 23rd on the grid.
Speaking on his weekend, James Jakes said: “My car’s been good this weekend but if you don’t make any places up off the line at this circuit, you’re going to struggle to overtake anywhere. I’m still fairly young compared to the rest of the guys at the sharp end so we’re pleased with our progress this year and to get the fastest lap in both races was a nice bonus.”
Sebastian Hohenthal added: “Things we’re difficult at the start of the year but now it’s all getting better for us and the team is doing a great job for me. I’m still new to Formula Renault UK so I think to be where we are in the championship is very good and we’re happy with two good results this weekend as I like Brands Hatch.”
Provisional Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin
Points (after rounds 5&6):
1st Oliver Jarvis, 180pts; 2nd Sebastian Hohenthal, 143pts; 3rd James Jakes, 127pts;
4th Sean McIntosh, 124pts; 5th Patrick Hogan, 112pts; 6th Alex Storckenfeldt, 96pts
Full race results available at www.msttiming.com
For all the latest Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin news visit the official Renault Sport UK website www.renaultsport.co.uk built by Racecar
