With Round Ten Victory At Croft 17/07/2006
Patrick Hogan (Killiney, Co Dublin) made up for the disappointment of a point-less round nine by winning round 10 of the Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship at Croft on Sunday, 16th July. The AKA Lemac driver led from pole position and held off the challenge of Sebastian Hohenthal (Northampton) to win by 0.815s.
Manor Motorsport’s Cheng Cong Fu (Oxford) finished third in scorching conditions, his second podium in the last three races. Hogan now leads the Championship by eight points from Hohenthal at the halfway stage of the 20-round season.
In the B4 Group Graduate Cup, Fortec Motorsport’s Fabio Onidi (Northampton) became the first driver to pass the 100-point mark, his eighth place giving him a total of 101. Coles Racing’s Dean Smith (Wolverhampton) failed to finish after crashing on the first lap but stays ahead of Nexa Racing’s Daniel Roos (Bishop’s Stortford) who finished 14th.
Following Hogan’s spin in round nine, the Irishman was determined to make amends as he started from pole position for the third time this season. A good start kept him ahead of Hohenthal at the first corner and although he could not open a significant gap, Hohenthal was too far back to attempt a passing move.
Just behind, Scorpio Motorsport’s Will Bratt (Banbury, Oxon) passed Richard Keen (Amersham, Bucks) for fourth place after the Position 1 Racing driver ran wide at the chicane. Round nine winner Sam Bird (Claygate, Surrey) looked to follow Bratt through but Keen recovered well to block the inside line at Tower Bend.
Hohenthal kept the pressure on Hogan by setting two successive fastest laps but still the Championship leader kept his cool, before the Safety Car was deployed following a coming together between Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Stian Sørlie (Lincoln) and Manor Motorsport’s Joao Vasconcelos (Sheffield) at the Hairpin.
During the Safety Car period, Vasconcelos’ team-mate Franck Mailleux retired due to illness having set the fastest lap of the race to that point. At the restart, Hogan was able to extend his lead over Hohenthal to almost one second, while Fortec Motorsport’s James Sutton (New Barnet, Herts) showed his greater experience to pass Onidi for eighth place at the Hairpin.
Sutton would go on to win the ELF/Atol Driver of the Day award for finishing seventh, having qualified 14th, after passing Coles Racing’s Josh Fisher, who suffered a damaged nosecone after a failed overtaking attempt on Sam Bird.
Further back in the field, Macob Motorsport’s Tiffany Chittenden (Chislehurst, Kent) just failed to score her first point, in only her second race, by finishing 21st. She passed fellow debutant, Sywell Leisure Sports’ Jodie Hemming (Northampton), who retired on lap 14, but could not catch Russell Racing’s Matt Russell (Harlesden).
The closest battle continued to be for fourth place with Bratt holding the edge while fifth-placed Keen held off the attentions of Bird. At the head of the field, Hohenthal set the fastest lap of the race to bag a potentially crucial two bonus points and close to within one second of the leader but Hogan held on comfortably to claim his fourth win of the season.
Commenting on the victory, Hogan said: “It was important to bounce back after a nightmare day yesterday. I said overnight a true champion would come out and win today and that’s what I’ve done so I’m very happy. We’re moving forward again and even though my Championship lead has come down I’m still out in front.”
Second-placed Hohenthal said: “This weekend has been very good for me in terms of the Championship with two second places. The track was quite slippery today but I managed to keep up with Paddy until the Safety Car came out. After that I couldn’t stay with him for some reason but I’m pleased overall.”
For Cheng it was a second visit to the podium in three races and the Chinese was delighted to stay in the Championship race, saying: “My race was similar to Sebastian’s because I lost some speed after the safety Car. I almost had a couple of opportunities to pass him when he was putting pressure on Hogan but I didn’t make it through. It’s still good for the Championship and hopefully I’ll improve in the second half of the season.”
Following Vasconcelos and Sørlie’s collision, both drivers were penalised for a brief scuffle. Sørlie receives a £250 fine and a three-point penalty on his licence. Vasconcelos receives a £500 fine, a three-point penalty on his licence and a 30-day ban, ruling him out of rounds 11 and 12 at Donington Park and rounds 13 and 14 at Snetterton.
Rounds 11 and 12 take place on the Donington Park National circuit on Sunday 30th July.
Drivers’ Championship standings after Round 10 - provisional
1 Patrick Hogan IRL AKA Lemac 228 pts2 Sebastian Hohenthal SWE Fortec Motorsport 220 pts3 James Sutton GBR Fortec Motorsport 185 pts4 Sam Bird GBR Fortec Motorsport 183 pts5 Cheng Cong Fu CHN Manor Motorsport 182 pts6 Jeremy Metcalfe GBR AKA Lemac 174 pts7 Will Bratt GBR Scorpio Motorsport 152 pts8 Richard Keen GBR Position 1 Racing 137 pts9 Valle Makela FIN Manor Motorsport 132 pts10 Markus Niemelä SWE Mark Burdett Motorsport 121 pts
B4 Group Graduate Cup Standings after Round 10 – provisional
1 Fabio Onidi ITA Fortec Motorsport 101 pts2 Dean Smith GBR Coles Racing 89 pts 3 Daniel Roos SWE Nexa Racing 70 pts
