Doncaster-based Formula Renault BARC entrant Russell Racing enjoyed a double points finish at Croft Sunday during the second and third rounds of the 2007 season, Manchester racer Mark Gillibrand finishing ninth in the first encounter and then adding another hard-fought top 10 to his tally in the second race of the weekend.The 24-year-old, who made his single-seater debut last time out at Donington Park, delivered a top 10 grid slot during Saturday’s qualifying session for round two at the North Yorkshire venue and after posting the 11th fastest time in round three qualifying, Mark had his sights firmly set on breaking into the points in only his second ever Formula Renault BARC race meeting.While round two was a more straightforward affair, Mark rising as high as eighth position at one point and just missing out on a top eight finish by only two 10ths of a second, in round three the Mancunian ran strongly in the top 10 until lap seven when he dropped a couple of positions.Battling back hard during the remaining five laps, the former 125cc and 250cc gearbox kart racer took 11th place on lap 10 from Louis Hamilton-Smith and then on the final tour, lap 12, produced a great pass on Estonian Sten Pentus to seize his second points finish of the weekend. The result means Mark is now 12th in the FR2000 Class standings.“We’re delighted Mark has scored the team’s first points of the season”, said Russell Racing owner Tim Russell, “He performed well this weekend and as he spends more time in the car he’ll obviously improve. His progress is very good and we’re confident he’ll be a regular in the top six before long.”Mixed fortunes for Bahraini trioRussell Racing’s Bahraini contingent, which swelled to three at Croft with the arrival of rapid new sensation Mohamed Al A’li, had a weekend of mixed fortunes. For Essa Mohammed and Menasheh Idafar the weekend produced more than their fair share of trouble, although the former did manage a brace of solid finishes.Although forced to miss the first race of today’s races due to being considered a reserve entry as a new registrant to the fully subscribed series, newcomer Al A’li enjoyed better fortunes in round three when Ash Davies was unable to start meaning the Middle East-Russell Racing youngster had the opportunity he deserved.Starting from the pitlane by virtue of his reserve status, even though in qualifying he had set an impressive 13th fastest time, any kind of result was always going to be a tall order for Al A’li but he made great progress to end the race in 18th position from 31 finishers. The talented 16-year-old underlined the performance he had displayed in Saturday’s qualifying by posting the 13th fastest lap time in round three, just two 100ths of a second shy of the best set by series front-runner Pentus. Essa, meanwhile, made a great start to the first race and held 10th position on lap one but after running wide at Clervaux at the beginning of lap two, the 16-year-old was forced to battle back through the order before eventually finishing in 17th position. In round three Essa finished in 16th place having started 19th on the grid.
Menasheh had the worst fortune of all four Russell Racing drivers, the Middle Eastern 16-year-old seeing decent qualifying performances come to nothing when he was forced to retire on the fifth lap of round two. Frustratingly for team and driver, further mechanical issues ended his involvement in round three before he hardly had a chance to start.Tim Russell added: “This championship is very tough but Essa, Menasheh and Mohamed are all showing good speed and we’re certain within the next couple of race meetings they will be challenging for points results. Mohamed made big strides on his debut and we’re sure more will follow at Oulton Park a few weeks from now.”There is now a month-long break in the Formula Renault BARC calendar ahead of round four of the campaign which will take place at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire on Saturday, 16th June.
