With Formula Renault Croft Victory In Round Nine
Sam Bird (Claygate, Surrey) claimed his second Formula Renault UK with Michelin victory in succession to move into fourth place in the drivers’ standings. Bird took the win by 11.226s from team-mate Sebastian Hohenthal (Northampton) with a third Fortec Motorsport driver, Fabio Onidi (Northampton), completing a clean sweep of the podium for the team.
Pole-sitter and Championship leader Patrick Hogan (Killiney, Co Dublin) dropped to second before the first corner after a flying start by Bird. The Irishman overcame oversteering problems to hold off the challenge of Hohenthal until lap nine when he ran wide at Sunny corner and fell to the back of the field.
Bird, 19, took advantage of the clear air he earned with his blistering start to open a three-second lead by lap two. As Hogan and Hohenthal continued to duel for second, the teenager, who is a BRDC Rising Star, was able to extend his lead each lap, helped by setting the fastest lap of the race on lap eight with a 1min 18.598s (97.42mph).
Onidi also made a good start, passing AKA Lemac’s Jeremy Metcalfe (Fleet, Hants) on the opening lap. Although Metcalfe did briefly regain sixth place on lap four, the Italian kept his cool to move ahead on the exit of Clervaux corner.
After winning round three in wet conditions at Oulton Park, Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Markus Niemelä (Lincoln) proved he can overtake in the dry as well by passing Coles Racing’s Josh Fisher (Bridgwater) and Manor Motorsport’s Cheng Cong Fu (Oxford) at the Hairpin on his way to sixth place.
Fisher was coming under pressure from Scorpio Motorsport duo Will Bratt (Banbury, Oxon) and David Epton (Fleet, Hants) but the former Formula Three National class racer was able to hold on to 10th place. By lap eight of the 14-lap race, Bird was almost in a race of his own and Hogan had managed to open a 0.5s over Hohenthal. But Hogan’s off allowed the Swede through to claim his fourth podium finish of the season.
The following lap, Fortec Motorsport’s James Sutton attempted to pass Cheng for what was now third place, but the Chinese driver closed the door at Tower Bend and the pair made contact. Metcalfe and Onidi both went ahead as the duo recovered with Sutton leading despite a damaged front wing.
Newcomer Tiffany Chittenden (Chislehurst, Kent) endured a disappointing debut, forced into retirement on the first lap in her Macob Motorsport car after making up two places by the first corner. Falcon Motorsport’s Henry O’Friel (Belfast) retired on lap 13 with a broken rear pushrod, while Nexa Racing’s Armani Jamrozinski (Bishop’s Stortford) failed to complete the green flag lap after electrical problems.
For Bird, however, it was a cruise to the chequered flag and after taking victory at Knockhill thanks to a red flag, he was delighted to claim a second victory in quick succession.
Commenting on the race, Bird said: “I didn’t do too many practise starts because I wanted to save my tyres in the heat. But I did visualise what I was going to do before the race and it was a textbook start, which put the race in my hands. It was so hot the car was sliding around but I kept my concentration and got the win.”
Team-mate Hohenthal, second in the Championship, was delighted with second place, particularly in light of Hogan’s problems. He said: “It’s very good for the Championship, it could hardly be any better. Once I was past Hogan, there was nothing I could do about Sam because he was long gone but the race was very good for me. The car was flying at the start and I hope my pressure forced Hogan into a mistake.”
For Onidi, 18, who is eligible for the B4 Group Graduate Cup due to his lack of Formula Renault experience, third place was a dream result although he admitted he had benefited from the problems of others. The Italian commented: “It was maybe more lucky but it’s my first podium this year, my first podium in England, and I am very happy. I’m still a rookie so this is fantastic for me.”
Round 10 takes place on Sunday, 16th July and is scheduled to start at 16:05.
Drivers’ Championship standings after Round Nine - provisional
1 Patrick Hogan IRL AKA Lemac 196 pts2 Sebastian Hohenthal SWE Fortec Motorsport 190 pts3 James Sutton GBR Fortec Motorsport 169 pts4 Sam Bird GBR Fortec Motorsport 165 pts5 Jeremy Metcalfe GBR AKA Lemac 164 pts6 Cheng Cong Fu CHN Manor Motorsport 157 pts7 Will Bratt GBR Scorpio Motorsport 130 pts8 Valle Makela FIN Manor Motorsport 121 pts9 Richard Keen GBR Position 1 Racing 117 pts10 Markus Niemelä FIN Mark Burdett Motorsport 116 pts
B4 Group Graduate Cup Standings after Round Nine – provisional
1 Dean Smith GBR Coles Racing 89 pts2 Fabio Onidi ITA Fortec Motorsport 87 pts3 Daniel Roos SWE Nexa Racing 63 pts
