Hillspeed’s James Theodore got his 2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship campaign off to a bittersweet start at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit over the weekend, 17th/18th April, after being robbed of two potential race victories.
Scorching to his maiden category pole position during qualifying on Saturday, and securing another front row start for round two, the Telford teenager led both races at the 1.2-mile Kent track with two tremendous drives.
Forced to settle for a fourth place finish in a contentious first encounter, having led for more than two thirds of the eventual race distance, the 18-year-old was well on course to take his first main season win in round two when wheel-peg failure resulted in an immediate retirement on lap 12.
New team-mate Alice Powell produced a consistently strong performance throughout her debut event in Formula Renault BARC, qualifying sixth and fifth on the grid for the two races and taking a brace of hard-fought top five finishes to conclude the weekend fourth overall in the championship.
Although not having had the benefit of a pre-season testing programme, the 17-year-old Chipping Norton racer was very close to the outright pace over the course of the weekend and will only get faster as the season progresses.
“We’re very disappointed to have missed out on at least one win this weekend and we’re totally gutted for James as he raced brilliantly”, said team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “In terms of pace and performance, it was a fantastic weekend for him and so too for Alice, she did a great job and the pair of them proved they’ll be capable of running at the front throughout the year.”
In round one qualifying, Theodore sealed his first ever category pole position with a best time of 45.195 seconds (95.47mph) to secure the top spot by just 0.037 seconds. Powell, meanwhile, was sixth fastest with a lap of 45.363 seconds (95.12mph), only 0.168 seconds shy of her team-mate.
At the start of Sunday’s first race, Theodore got away from pole position very well indeed but an early Safety Car period negated his advantage. Driving well to keep his pursuers at bay following the re-start, the Liberty Properties Plc-backed racer held on to the lead for two thirds of the distance but then lost two positions when passed by cars under stationary yellow flags on lap 17.
Holding the final podium place until the penultimate lap Theodore, who by this point was battling with grip issues, slipped to fourth which capped off a frustrating race for the second-year driver.
Powell came through well from seventh position on lap one to secure a competitive top five result during the season opener. Although slipping back from her third row starting place, the category’s sole female competitor raced strongly to get back into the top six on lap 10 and then grabbed fifth position six laps later.
Round two served up another good start from Theodore as he pulled away into a very impressive early lead from second on the grid while Silverstone Hotels-backed Powell fought back well from a near-stall at the start to end lap one in eighth place.
By the end of lap 10 Theodore’s lead was almost two seconds but just a lap later, he was forced into a bitterly disappointing retirement when a set of brand new wheel pegs on his car failed. Powell, meanwhile, continued her drive back through the order well and pressed on with good lap times to fight through into the top five by lap 20. In the end, she was just 0.637 seconds shy of fourth place.
Rounds three and four of the 2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship will take place three weeks from now over the weekend 8th/9th May at Silverstone in Northamptonshire.
Before then, Hillspeed will be back in action next weekend, 24th/25th April, with its Ginetta Junior Championship squad for the second event of the year at Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit, near Corby.
2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Driver Standings (after Rds1&2):4th Alice Powell, 40pts; =10th James Theodore, Josh Webster & Jake Rattenbury, 22pts
