FRUK latest news - Round 18 race report
PATRICK Hogan (Killiney, Co. Dublin) leapt off the line in yesterday’s 18th round of the Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin at Silverstone, making up two places to lead the race from start to finish.
The 21-year-old Manor Motorsport driver ran away with the victory, building up a comfortable lead over team-mate Oliver Jarvis (Burwell, Cambs) in second. “I was pushing as hard as I could for the whole 22 laps,” said Hogan, who moved up into sixth place in the championship and won the Driver of the Day award. “My championship position isn’t reflective of my speed compared to the other front runners so these last few rounds are very important. I need to make a good name for myself.
“I’m excited about the final round at Brands Hatch GP circuit. I’m not going to go all or bust because I can’t win the championship from this position but I want to rack up a couple more wins.”
Jarvis was relieved to be back on the podium after a disastrous round 17 which saw him in the gravel after the first corner. The 21-year-old is now 18 points ahead of James Jakes (Leeds) – down from 26 before this weekend. “If I’d have had a good first race I might not even have had to race at Brands Hatch next month,” said Jarvis who started fourth on the grid. “Every driver would like to have it won as soon as possible but if it was too easy you wouldn’t get the same enjoyment. I’ve had to work really hard so now every extra win and podium means so much more. It gives me that extra buzz.”
Round 17 winner, Alex Storckenfeldt (Ljungskile, Sweden) finished third in this afternoon’s race – but the Team AKA driver was happy after some inconsistent racing in recent months. “I got too much wheel spin off the start-line,” said the 21-year-old. “It’s a short lap here so I didn’t get enough temperature into the back tyres on the green flag lap. Everyone was on my back but luckily it’s a short straight here and by the first corner I was up to speed. Sean McIntosh always had me under pressure but I still managed to catch Oliver and Paddy. If I’d had two or three more laps it might have been a different story.”
McIntosh (Vancouver, Canada) is now 27 points off Jarvis and says the last round will be an exciting event. “Everyone’s so close at the front,” said the Team Firstair driver. “The difference between first and fourth is very little so it’s all about the start and Storckenfeldt and me didn’t have the greatest start. From there you can maybe gain a tenth a lap on the cars in front of you on such a short circuit but over-taking’s a different matter. I’ve won the most races out of anyone this year and if you can run at the front in British Formula Renault motor racing people will know what you’re capable of.”
Further down Tom Kimber-Smith (Shiplake, Oxfordshire), who won Driver of the Day in the previous round, had another good race, pushing Yelmer Buurman (Ubbergen, Holland) all the way in sixth place. But his JLR team-mate Stephen Simpson (Aldeburgh, Suffolk) cut the charge short, pushing him into a spin on lap 21, with Stuart Hall (Halstead, Essex) getting caught up in the process. Kimber-Smith recovered to finish 15th and Hall limped home in 20th.
In the Graduate Cup Richard Keen (Amersham, Bucks) finished eighth from 12th on the grid whereas his nearest rival Will Bratt (Banbury, Oxon) ended the race in 16th place stretching the gap between the two youngsters to 29 points.
Provisional race results:1. P. Hogan; 2. O. Jarvis; 3. A. Storckenfeldt; 4. S. McIntosh; 5. J. Jakes; 6. Y. Buurman; 7. S. Simpson; 8. S. Simpson; 8. R. Keen; 9. D. Welch; 10. R. Gonzalez
Provisional championship standings: 1. O. Jarvis - 414; 2. J. Jakes - 396; 3. S. McIntosh - 387; 4. S. Hohenthal - 330; 5. Y. Buurman - 319; 6. P. Hogan - 318; 7. S. Hall - 310; 8. A. Storckenfeldt - 295; 9. R. Gonzalez - 223; 10. T. Kimber-Smith - 186
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
