Alex Lynn scored his best race result and qualifying performance of his short car racing career in the latest round of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix.
Sixteen-year-old Lynn guided his Fortec Motorsport-run car to fourth on the grid for one of the three races, and finished sixth in another. He also scored one win in the Graduate Cup for young rookie drivers to retain his lead in the class points, and remains in the fight for a top 10 place in the overall championship.
Lynn held pole position for much of the first qualifying session, which took place in damp conditions, before dropping to 14th place on the grid as the track dried. In the second qualifying session, which was completely dry, he put in a superb effort to qualify fourth, just 0.086 seconds away from pole position.
“The car as it is now is definitely the best I’ve ever driven, and I’ve come on a long way as well” said Lynn. “I was confident after the Friday test session and for the first time I was able to feel the grip of the tyres properly after bringing them in correctly – that’s something that is down to experience. It was disappointing to drop down in the other session after being on pole for so long – I couldn’t find where the grip was as it dried, but good to know I’m quick in the wet given I’m racing in England!”
The first race, on Saturday, was the event carried over from Brands Hatch in May, when torrential race caused the cancellation of the race. Alex started from 11th place, which he earned in qualifying at Brands, then charged his way through to claim sixth, including a pass on Graduate Cup title rival Fabio Gamberini. He stayed close to the fifth-place finisher and set a fastest lap just 0.043 seconds slower than the race winner’s.
“It was great to come from 11th to sixth,” he said. “The car has come on in massive strides and it was an exciting race and the first time it has really come out my way.”
Unfortunately, Sunday’s two races were both affected by incidents on the first lap. In the second race he was hit by a rival while battling for fourth. He made pit-stops in both races for a new front wing and was able to continue to take 12th and 16th-place finishes.
“Race one was a genuine racing incident,” said Lynn. “There was no-one at fault. In the second race my rear wheel was hit and suspension bent, so unfortunately it was slow for the rest of the race. But overall I was quick again and it highlights how much the team has come on lately. I was able to unlap myself from some people in the first race and this weekend I’m happy with the progress I’ve made. You’ve got to take the good and the bad out of racing. Finally I’d like to congratulate my team mate, Tom Blomqvist, on getting his first win of the season this weekend – I look forward to joining him on the podium very soon.”
The next round is at the Scottish circuit of Knockhill, in Fife, on September 4/5, but in the meantime Alex has to wait for his GCSE results, which arrive this week. “The races at Knockhill should be great fun” he said. “We’ll be battling to get on the front row this time.”
The Formula Renault UK Championship again enjoyed live coverage of its second Sunday race at Silverstone on ITV4, and was streamed live on itv.com. Action will be shown in the Motorsport UK series, with two repeats each week on ITV4 and one on ITV1. A further showing will be made on the Men & Motors channel. The Motorsport UK audience figure for Formula Renault UK in 2009 was 4,750,000. Each episode can also be viewed through the ITV player on the ITV website for up to four weeks after the show has been aired.
