Tamás Pál Kiss finished second in the only round of the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship at Brands Hatch on Sunday, extending his championship lead while torrential rain earlier in the day forced the abandonment of race one. Nick Yelloly drove a good strong race to narrowly miss out on a podium finish while Marlon Stockinger was unlucky to get stuck behind slower cars although he was an impressive fourth fastest overall.
Qualifying on Saturday was a fairly uneventful affair, Pál Kiss the championship leader fastest of the Atech GP trio lining up fifth on the grid just ahead of Yelloly. Stockinger completed the team’s line-up posted the tenth fastest time to take a fifth row start.
At the lights, it was Yelloly who made the better getaway, the 19 year-old surging ahead of Pál Kiss and David McDonald to move into fourth. For the unfortunate Stockinger his hard work in qualifying was undone when he was badly boxed in off the line, dropping him down to the back of the field.
For two laps Yelloly kept Pál Kiss behind but on lap three the Hungarian finally found a way past to move into fourth place and then set after Tom Blomqvist in third. By the sixth lap he was right on the tail of the Swede, sweeping ahead and into the final podium finish.
Yelloly continued his good form to run strongly over the remaining laps while Stockinger was struggling to get past slower cars on the damp track.
Two laps from home Pál Kiss was right on the tail of Will Stevens, and looking to make a move for second place. However at Hawthorn Tamás got caught out, getting his car sideways and pitching it into the air as it dug into the wet ground. The moved forced him into a 360 spin, but the 18 year-old kept the engine running and lost just two seconds, rejoining in third place.
There was more drama on the final lap when the race leader Lewis Williamson went off handing the lead to Stevens and elevating Tamás to second and left ruing what might have been had his move to pass Stevens worked.
Williamson’s retirement moved Yelloly up to fourth, just outside the podium places but enough to give the talented Briton a good result under his belt. Stockinger came home in 15th place after another solid performance which netted him the fourth fastest race time, underlining once again his pace this season.
Atech Grand Prix Team Principal David Hayle said: “After the near miss two laps from home, I’m happy with Tamas’s second place as it could so very easily have been a non-finish. He did a great job to keep the engine running and lost just two seconds and no places but at the end it could so easily have been a win.
“Nick drove a solid race and it’s great for him to get a strong result under his belt. Marlon was very unlucky to get stuck behind slower cars, particularly as his own pace was so competitive and worthy of a much higher finish.”
The cancelled opening race from Brands Hatch has been rescheduled to take place at the Snetterton rounds in August.
The next rounds of the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship take place at Oulton Park in Cheshire over the weekend of 5/6 June
