HILLSPEED Racing is the latest well-known name to throw its weight behind the Formula Renault BARC Championship saying 2005 established the series in the British motorsport hierarchy.

The team has announced it will run two cars next year and joins a growing list of Formula Renault UK teams aiming to contest both the UK and BARC championships.

“I kept a watching brief during 2005 and was very impressed with the momentum Formula Renault BARC picked up towards the end of the season,” said Hillspeed team manager Richard Ollerenshaw. “I think it’s proved itself to be a fantastic championship.”

Ollerenshaw has already tested three BRDC Single Seater Championship drivers and says it would be a perfect stepping-stone for them. “Once drivers come out of the BRDC series, they can either go to Formula Ford or if they’ve got an incredible budget they could move to a TOCA-based championship,” he said. “The BARC championship offers a much more achievable goal and drivers can’t get a better education when they are starting to find their feet in the world of slicks and wings. The power to weight ratio is the same as Formula Renault UK, you run on the same race rubber and work with a proper team and car. You couldn’t wish for anything better than that.”

Since receiving manufacturer backing this year the Formula Renault BARC Championship has attracted more and more attention. “We’ve got a lot of interest,” said Ollerenshaw. “We could fill more cars than we want to run but we pride ourselves on offering drivers a high level of service. This championship is going to give them a great opportunity to move forward and that’s why we’re going to embrace it in 2006.”

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