James Sutton (New Barnet, Herts) won his first-ever race in the Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship to lead the drivers’ standings after the opening round at Brands Hatch Indy yesterday. The Fortec Motorsport star led from pole position and was able to keep AKA Lemac duo Jeremy Metcalfe (Fleet, Hants) and Patrick Hogan (Killiney, Co Dublin) at bay throughout the 24-lap race to win by 0.447s.

The 20-year-old, who took pole by just 0.061s in Saturday’s qualifying, made a clean getaway to hold the racing line through Paddock Hill Bend on the first lap. Hogan made a bid for second by switching to the outside at the first corner but Metcalfe, celebrating his 18th birthday, was able to keep him at bay up the hill into Druids hairpin.

Nexa Racing’s Daniel Roos showed how to overtake on the 1.22-mile Kent circuit by passing his B4 Group Graduate Cup rival Dean Smith on lap five. Meanwhile, Sutton had opened a one-second lead at the head of the field as the front three stretched away from Position 1 Racing’s Richard Keen (Amersham, Bucks). He was coming under intense pressure from Fortec Motorsport’s Sebastian Hohenthal (Northampton) but the Swede was unable to find a way through and the pair finished fourth and fifth respectively.

In mid-field, Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Markus Niemelä had a minor spin coming out of Graham Hill Bend and lost three places but resumed to finish 17th. At the same time, Position 1 Racing’s Armaan Ebrahim (Woking) passed Comtec Racing’s Pippa Mann (Alderburgh, Suffolk) at Druids for 20th place after unsuccessful attempts on the previous two laps.

One driver on the move was Russell Racing’s Matt Russell (Harlesden) who is another graduate of the Formula Renault BARC Championship. He passed Pippa into Druids and repeated the move to pass Indian A1 GP star Ebrahim a couple of laps later.

By the halfway stage, Sutton was 1.2s ahead of Metcalfe with Hogan one second further back. Graduate Cup driver Alex Morgan (Bridgend) was making strides in his first outing in Formula Renault UK. After three Formula Renault BARC races last season, the Macob Motorsport driver showed he can pass at this level by overtaking Falcon Motorsport’s Henry O’Friel (Belfast) and Pippa at Paddock Hill Bend.

Manor Motorsport duo Cheng Cong Fu (Oxford) and Franck Mailleux (Hull) were maintaining their positions in sixth and 10th, with Sam Bird, making his Formula Renault

UK debut, harrying Cheng throughout. Will Bratt, who was second to Keen in the 2005 Graduate Cup standings, ran a steady race to come home in eighth.

With the front three posting times at just under 45 seconds per lap, the gap was consistent until the final four laps when Metcalfe closed to within 0.7s of Sutton. But Hogan was also increasing his speed and as he pressured Metcalfe, it left Sutton free to complete an accomplished victory.

Sutton admitted to feeling drained after the race but was delighted at securing his first victory in the series, saying: “I was confident that if I could get a good start I would be able to stay ahead and that’s how it worked out. Midway through the race my driving went off a bit and I had to pull it back in but from then on I felt comfortable. With pole position for the second race, I’ve got a great chance to have a brilliant day.”

Second-placed Metcalfe was content with his podium position after holding off his team-mate throughout the race. The newly-turned 18-year-old explained: “It’s important to get something from the first round and although I could have had a go at Druids a couple of times, finishing the race is the crucial thing. I’m very happy and couldn’t ask for a better birthday present than to be on the podium.”

His team-mate Hogan was slightly disappointed not to have an overtaking opportunity but looked at the bigger picture after his third place. He said: “I think over the course of the season I will be stronger at other tracks. The idea for this weekend was to get two strong finishes and two podiums and that gives me a good platform to build on for the rest of the year.”

Italian teenager Fabio Onidi (Northampton) was the leading Graduate Cup contender, finishing ninth overall for Fortec Motorsport. Sweden’s Roos was able to hold off Coles Racing’s Dean Smith to finish second in the rookie category.

Drivers’ Standings after Round One - Provisional

1 James Sutton              Fortec Motorsport                               34 pts

2 Jeremy Metcalfe                       AKA Lemac                                     28 pts

3 Patrick Hogan              AKA Lemac                                     25 pts

4 Richard Keen                Position 1 Racing                               22 pts

5 Sebastian Hohenthal            Fortec Motorsport                               20 pts

6 Cheng Cong Fu                    Manor Motorsport                               18 pts

7 Sam Bird                              Fortec Motorsport                               16 pts

8 Will Bratt                              Scorpio Motorsport                            14 pts

9 Fabio Onidi (G)                   Fortec Motorsport                               12 pts

10 Franck Mailleux                       Manor Motorsport                               11 pts

B4 Group Graduate Cup Standings after Round One - provisional

1 Fabio Onidi                           Fortec Motorsport                               12 pts

2 Daniel Roos                         Nexa Racing                                     6 pts

3 Dean Smith                          Coles Racing                                     5 pts

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

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