......'Graduate Cup' Top Spot

Following on from his best results of the season at Oulton Park Island Circuit a month ago, Adderbury sensation Will Bratt is in confident mood ahead of the resumption of the 2005 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin at Croft Circuit on 16th/17th July.The teenage race ace, in only his first season of single-seater action as part of the world’s most competitive and highly regarding junior category, drove superbly well during the seventh and eighth rounds of the championship last month to record top 12 and top 11 finishes respectively.And now his school exams are out of the way, Will is confident the extra concentration he can apply to his racing should pay dividends at North Yorkshire’s Croft Circuit next weekend and, hopefully, see him retake the lead in the ‘B4 Group Graduate Cup’.Fellow competitor Richard Keen, whose own career has mirrored that of Will since they raced together as youngsters, managed to edge ahead at Oulton Park in the battle for the ‘championship within a championship’. But with 12 races remaining in the 2005 title chase, there’s everything still to play for.To achieve his best results of the year last time out while still in the thick of school exams, Will’s performances were testament to the single-mindedness he’s able to apply when he climbs into the cockpit ready for testing, qualifying and, of course, racing.He commented: “I was happy with the results at Oulton Park and I think we could have actually finished even higher if things had fallen into place for us. Nonetheless, it was great to put in my best performances of the season and with my exams now behind me it’ll mean I’ll be able to apply even more focus to my racing.”Will’s strong showing at Oulton Park almost a month ago has also seen him move into the top 15 overall in the full Formula Renault UK standings – no mean feat in a championship which regularly sees the first 18 or so of the 26-plus competitors split by less than one second in qualifying.“Formula Renault UK is hugely competitive and the difference between being in the top six or at the wrong end of the top 20 is very small”, continued Will. “We’ve been able to identify a couple of areas where we think we can improve at Croft so hopefully that’ll translate into faster lap times and will see us moving further up the grid.”Rounds nine and 10 of the 2005 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin take place at Croft Circuit next weekend, 16th/17th July, with official testing at the North Yorkshire venue on Thursday, 14th July. Will Bratt Championship Position:B4 Group Graduate Cup Class – 2nd overallFormula Renault UK Championship with Michelin – 15th overall