Nottingham racing driver George Gamble made a sensational return to action at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit over the weekend, 20th/21st October, with a highly successful single-seater debut in the opening two rounds of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Winter Series with Michelin.Receiving the call-up to drive for 2011 Winter Series champion team Hillspeed at the eleventh hour, last Tuesday to be precise, the 16-year-old faced a massive learning curve especially considering he hadnt driven a racing car since withdrawing from the Ginetta Junior Championship back in April.Posting a best finish of seventh place in Sundays second race, which was televised live across the UK on ITV4 and ITV4 HD, George made a huge impact on the highly competitive category as the only driver in the 19-strong field with no previous single-seater race experience. So impressive was his consistency, he rounded out the weekend an incredible fifth in the provisional points standings.Qualifying 13th fastest in the damp round one session on Saturday morning, the Epperstone teenager made good early progress in the dry first race and was 11th by the end of lap one before breaking into the top 10 on lap six. Piling on the pressure to the much more experienced Ivan Taranov, George then gained two places when the Russian tangled with Swede Gustav Malja.Beginning Sundays second round from an improved 12th on the grid, Georges first competitive run on slick tyres having come in the dry round two qualifying, he again made a good start and kept a cool head as several seasoned campaigners pushed beyond the limits in treacherous wet conditions.Moving into ninth place on lap two, the Hillspeed rookie grabbed eighth on lap four following a spin for Ryan Cullen and then moved up into seventh but slipped behind reigning USF2000 Champion Matthew Brabham on the penultimate lap. Problems for Michael Epps on the final tour though enabled George to move back into seventh to cap a fantastic race and tremendous weekend.It was a real last-minute deal we put together with Richard [Ollerenshaw Hillspeed team principal] and its so good to be back out racing, said the 2011 Ginetta Junior Winter Series Champion, Being one of the youngest out there, with no single-seater experience, was obviously a disadvantage and we had minimal track time before the weekend.

Qualifying was also my first run on slick tyres in the Renault, I only had half an hour at Donington during the week in the dry so it was a big challenge. I was hoping for rain over the weekend as we had wet practice on Friday but to get the results we have, with no damage, was fantastic. Its a really good start to the championship and each time I go out I just get quicker and quicker.Rounds three and four, the second and final weekend of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Winter Series with Michelin, will be contested at Rockingham in Northamptonshire three weeks from now on Saturday, 10th November, where the Nottinghamshire ace aims to make even more progress.Two good consistent results is a great start, said the youngster, Hopefully we can just keep improving at Rockingham. Its quite a big leap from Ginetta Junior to Formula Renault BARC but this is all practice ahead of next year so its started well. When youre racing against lads in their twenties who have been doing it for a few years, its nice to beat them!2012 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Winter Series with Michelin Standings (after Rds1&2):1st Matt Mason, 56pts; 5th George Gamble, 34pts