Rapid Formula Renault BARC competitor Aaron Steele saw a brace of potential podium results go begging at Rockingham in Northamptonshire on Sunday, 20th April, with outside influences determining the outcome of both encounters for the luckless racer.The 19-year-old Russell Racing sensation left the Northamptonshire venue in eighth position in the driver standings but he is firmly convinced he would have at least been in the top four had it not been for an unbelievable dose of bad luck.Although qualifying didn’t go as planned on Saturday, the Rochester-based racer posting the 12th fastest time in each session, he headed into Sunday’s wet races in confident mood and after making a lightning getaway to the first outing, a potential podium looked well within reach.Having made up serious ground on the opening lap of round three, Steele then lost out on the exit of the Brook Chicane when Mohammed Al A’Ali spun in the middle of the track, costing the Russell Racing star several positions. Slipping to ninth, he mounted a strong fight-back and by lap three was back inside the top eight.Moving into sixth position on lap six, Steele then produced a great pass on Ash Davies up the inside at Deene Hairpin to climb into fifth place. On lap seven, the top four was within his grasp and as he tried to produce a replica of his earlier move on Brett Parris, the two touched and the result left Steele carrying damaged suspension.Slipping down the order again after his spin, the Kent teenager was forced to mount another recovery which he did with aplomb during the second half of the race. The highlight came on the 14th and final lap when Steele produced a terrific overtaking manoeuvre on Davies at Deene to seal sixth place and five championship points.Round four, which also took place on a slippery track, saw another of the Russell Racing driver’s customary electric starts as he climbed from 12th on the grid and into the top eight by the time the field reached Yentwood.On lap two he gained another couple of places to move into the top six but red flags were then shown and the race halted due to Ellis Harkins’ car colliding with the perimeter wall at Turn One – the stoppage compounding Steele’s run of misfortune.At the re-start, he made another good getaway but into Deene Hairpin contact from one of a group of half a dozen cars pitched Steele into a spin and off the track. Rejoining down in 22nd position, his luckless weekend then started to improve as he mounted a tremendous comeback in which he gained a full 12 positions inside 11 laps.By the third lap of the race, Steele had already moved up into the top 15 and over the course of the remainder of the race he pushed on in an effort to try and finish in the points. On the final lap he caught 10th placed Lee Dwyer and after pressuring the latter into a mistake at Tarzan, Steele took the final championship point.“It’s been a frustrating weekend but we at least salvaged some points from all of the bad luck we had”, reflected Steele, “I think we missed out on two pretty certain podiums. One because of a spinning car on the exit of the chicane coming onto the start/finish straight in the first race, and of course the contact with (Brett) Parris later on, and then the other because I got tagged at the first hairpin in race two.“The weekend didn’t start brilliantly in qualifying, I had some problems with traffic and in the second session I made a small mistake which cost me quite a bit of time. Taking into account we ended up in 12th place, just half a second from pole, we could have been in a much better position but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”He added: “This weekend the car has had significant improvements in handling and reliability and the team is definitely moving forward. I’m still a bit rusty having only done a couple of test days and two race meetings in about 10 months – most of the other guys have done a lot more than that – but we’re improving and moving in the right direction.“We need to make sure we can get out testing in the next few weeks before the Oulton Park race, that’s an absolute must, and hopefully then we can begin to show our true pace and start to challenge for the results I know we’re all capable of.”There is now a five-week break in the Formula Renault BARC Championship calendar ahead of the third race meeting of the season, round five, which will take place at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire on Spring Bank Holiday Monday, 26th May.Provisional 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings (after Rd4)1st Ollie Hancock, 48pts; 8th Aaron Steele, 18pts