Bristol teenager Mitchell Hale has shot to the top of the Formula Renault BARC Championship standings after a sensational win in the opening round at Brands Hatch last weekend.
Hale, 16 years old, backed up his win in the first race with a third place in race two, and has already marked himself out as the man to beat in the series.
After competing in the Ginetta Junior Championship last season, Mitchell joined leading team Fortec Motorsport for 2010 and was getting his first-ever taste of single-seater racing over the Brands Hatch weekend. He was competing against many drivers who already had racing experience of Formula Renault, making his achievement, which also included fastest lap in both races, all the more impressive.
“It was good fun,” he said. “I always knew we were going to be quite quick because we were fastest in the official test before the race meeting. But I also knew that qualifying is very hard in Formula Renault and that overtaking is very difficult.”
That is particularly the case on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, where the straights are very short, but Hale showed great bravery to make some superb overtaking moves. In the first race, he qualified second but took the lead with a brave manoeuvre at the infamous Paddock Hill Bend. “The guy in front made a mistake at the previous corner and was defending into Paddock,” said Mitchell. “But I just moved further to the inside and dived in front – I’m pretty sure I had two wheels on the grass!”
Hale qualified on pole position for race two, but due to tyre rubber being put down on the circuit from other races he had too much grip off the startline and stalled. That put him well down the order, but he pulled off some more overtaking moves on the way to third place, right on the tail of the leading duo.
“I overtook three cars and someone else went out with a mechanical problem, so that was great for me. I was really fast and catching the leading two. I literally caught them on the last lap but ran out of time to make any more moves.”
Hale was delighted with his maiden weekend in single-seater racing cars. “I like the cars a lot more than the Ginetta Junior sportscar I raced last year. They’ve got more power and far more grip, and that suits my driving style quite a bit better because it’s closer to karting, where I raced before last year.”
Mitchell’s next race outing is at Silverstone, which the Formula Renault BARC series visits on May 8/9. And there’s every chance of another win: “It should be good at Silverstone. I was fastest there when we did the official test, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Facts about Formula Renault BARC
It is the first step on the UK single-seater ladder for young aspiring Formula 1 drivers
It uses the same Tatuus Formula Renault chassis in which Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen won titles as up-and-coming young drivers
Top speeds are around 150mph, depending on gearing, but average lap speeds can approach 120mph at Thruxton, Britain’s fastest circuit
