With Fine Podium At Oulton 

For 

 Omani single-seater racer Ahmad Al Harthy got his Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship bid off to an excellent start at Oulton Park in Cheshire yesterday afternoon, Saturday, 23rd May, by taking a podium finish during the opening round of the 2009 season.

The returning Hillspeed driver, who finished last year's BARC campaign fifth overall in the driver standings, bagged a fine third place at the 2.23-mile Island Circuit during the 15-lap season opener to also occupy a top three position in the championship. Central to the 27-year-old's result was a truly sublime overtaking move into Old Hall on lap four where he gained not one, but two places to leap back into third after unfortunately being boxed out at the first corner at the start of the race having started at the head of the second row of the grid.

Creating a pass which will take some beating in terms of brilliance and execution, Al Harthy - who is supported by the Oman Tourist Board, Oman Air, the Sultanate of Oman and Sport Oman - held the outside line heading into the corner as Brett Parris and Joe Crook battled over third spot.

While his two rivals were focused on the inside line on entry and then ran wider on the exit, Al Harthy cut back to the inside at the apex with a perfectly timed move and passed both on the run down The Avenue. He then remained in a comfortable third place all the way to the chequered flag.

For up and coming Liberty Properties-backed teenager James Theodore, round one had a bitterly disappointing outcome when contact from another driver to the rear of his car, as he rounded Cascades on lap five, resulted in a very unfortunate retirement for the Telford racer. Qualifying fourth on the grid, just four 10ths of a second shy of team-mate Al Harthy's top three time, the 17-year-old couldn't quite make the progress off the grid he had hoped for due to a little too much wheelspin.

Slipping to seventh place after being boxed out, like Al Harthy, through Old Hall on lap one, the reigning BARC Class Winter Champion set about making his way back up the order as he piled immense pressure onto sixth-placed Kenny Andrews. Heading down The Avenue at the beginning of lap five, Theodore pressed on but was then pitched into a spin at Cascades as he committed himself to the apex of the corner. Understandably disappointed to have been forced out of the first race of the year,

Theodore still underlined his pace and credentials as a genuine front-runner in the 2009 championship. Hillspeed team newcomer Ellis Harkins enjoyed by far his most competitive and rewarding race since debuting in Formula Renault BARC last year, the 22-year-old producing a solid performance to net a well deserved 12th place finish. He was then promoted to 11th position post-race after original ninth place finisher Steven Durrant was excluded. Lining up 13th on the grid the Philippine-born Irishman, who resides in Barry, South Wales, did drop a few positions early on but then made good, steady progress as he made his way back into 13th position and then 12th in the aftermath of Theodore's enforced retirement.

Commenting on the team's first podium of 2009, Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said:

"It's a good start to the championship, we're very pleased for Ahmad and Ellis and obviously very disappointed for James as he didn't do anything wrong, he was hit from behind at Cascades and there was nothing he could do about it. "In general, qualifying was very good but Ahmad and James didn't quite put their best laps together as traffic was a bit of an issue. Realistically, we had the pace to be on the front row. Ahmad made a reasonable start to the race but James lost some ground after getting too much wheelspin and he was then stuck behind slower cars. Ahmad was held up too which allowed the top two to get away." He continued: "Ellis posted the best result he has had in Formula Renault BARC, he found half a second between qualifying and the race so he's moving in the right direction. We'll keep working hard to bring all three drivers on but, overall, we're satisfied with a good start to the season."

 Rounds two and three of the 2009 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship will take place five weeks from now over the weekend 27th/28th June at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk.

Before then, Hillspeed will be back in action at Oulton Park a week from now, 30th/31st May, with its Formula Renault UK drivers for the seventh and eighth rounds of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship-supporting category.