Sixteen-year-old rising star Mitchell Hale has stretched his advantage at the top of Formula Renault BARC Championship with a dominant victory and a podium finish in the fourth meeting of the season.
The Fortec Motorsport driver won the second race of the day at Snetterton from pole position and had earlier scored a third place following a dramatic drive.
A wet qualifying session for the opening race of the weekend meant conditions were tricky but the Bristol driver had posted the fastest lap time before running was interrupted with a red flag. When the cars resumed qualifying, the circuit had dried and Hale found the set-up on his car meant he couldn’t challenge for top slot and slipped to fourth. In the similar second session, the Ginetta Junior graduate made the call to switch to dry weather tyres at the right moment and was able to secure pole position.
Despite being boxed in at the start of the opening race and slipping to sixth position by the second corner, Hale set about regaining ground in what was the fastest car in the field. “I was disappointed to lose out at the start but I got my head down and managed to regain a position quickly,” explained Hale. “I was catching those ahead easily but had to back off when two people in front tangled. Although that put me up to third, it meant I lost some ground.”
Hale avoided the collision and zeroed in on the leaders, finishing less than a second behind the winner. He had the consolation of recording the fastest lap of the race to give him bonus championship points.
Race two was much less dramatic for Hale. He blasted away from pole position and into a lead he was never to lose, despite mid-race pressure from rival Luke Wright. “It was a fantastic race for me,” explained Hale. “I concentrated on getting the start right and, after a brief bit of pressure, was pulling away. Then I made a small slip-up half way though at the Esses and Wright was back with me and I had to build my lead again, which I managed to do. It was a great feeling because the car was superb today – we were the fastest thing out there, and it has helped me push ahead in the points. This is just the weekend we needed.”
Hale eventually managed to put almost two seconds between himself and his rivals to take his fourth victory of the season and he again grabbed the two extra points for the fastest lap.
His cushion at the head of the points standings has been extended to 17 with four rounds of the series remaining. Hale’s next races in the Formula Renault BARC series take place at Rockingham in Northamptonshire on September 12.
