Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire, home of the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC), welcomes the Protyre Formula Renault Championship next weekend, 1st/2nd June, for what will undoubtedly be the fastest three races of the 2013 season.As the quickest track on the calendar, the 2.35-mile circuit provides possibly the sternest test of all with the 2.0-litre Renault powered Tatuus cars reaching speeds of 140mph around the fearsome Goodwood, Village and Church corners.Leading the championship after the first two race meetings of the year is MGR Motorsports Chris Middlehurst (St. Helens) who brings a substantial 46 point advantage to Thruxton. With three race victories to his credit so far, and two other runner-up placings, the second year driver is the only competitor with a 100% podium record in 2013.Jake Cook (Rotherham) heads the challenge in second position in the standings, the Hillspeed racer having surged up the points table after a superb series of performances at Snetterton last time out. Claiming his maiden Protyre Formula Renault podium with second place in round three, Cook added third in round four and second again in round five to leap from seventh in the championship.Mexicos Jorge Cevallos makes it two MGR drivers in the top three, 12 points shy of Cook. Already a race winner in his second year in the UK, the South Americanwho is part of the Escuderia Telmex driver development programme which guided compatriot Sergio Perez into the FIA Formula One World Championshiptook his best finish of 2012 at Thruxton so will be aiming high next weekend.Fourth in the title race, 22 points behind the top three, is MTECH Lites Joe Ghanem who has been one of the most consistent performers so far. Only bad luck has prevented the Lebanese driver from taking his maiden podium and, following a costly non-score in the previous round after being caught-up in contact, he knows three strong Thruxton races are a must to break back into the top three.Fortec Motorsports rookie Sam MacLeod (Cambridge), who earned his first win in single-seaters during round four at Snetterton and was a double pole position qualifier at Donington, is the best placed of the car racing newcomers in fifth in the standingsa position he shares with MGR driver Matteo Ferrer (Colchester), the latter only in his second season of motorsport at any level.Hillspeeds Matt Rao (Oxford) produced a career best performance during round five to secure the first podium of his maiden season in slicks and wings competition, elevating him to seventh in the table. He is just a single point ahead of Donington podium finisher Weiron Tan (London), the Kuala Lumpur-born Fortec racer who is backed by the Caterham F1 Teams development programme.Russian driver Ivan Taranov (Oxford) and Argentinas Mattias Galetto, racing for Scorpio Motorsport and MTECH respectively, are the seasons two other podium finishers and they head to Thruxton ninth and 10th in the championship. Pietro Fittipaldi meanwhile, grandson of F1 legend Emerson, is 15th in the standings so far in his rookie yearthe 16-year-old took a best finish of fifth last time out.With no pre-event testing possible at Thruxton, the Protyre Formula Renault runners will have the benefit of a half-hour practice session on Saturday, 1st June, ahead of qualifying at 10.45 and 12.30 with round six following at 16.05. On Sunday, 2nd June, round seven is scheduled to start at 11.35 and round eight will get underway at 16.15.

Along with headline sponsor Protyre, Formula Renault is additionally supported by Michelin, The Lubricant Consultancy, Petronas Syntium and NGK Spark Plugs.Provisional 2013 Protyre Formula Renault Championship Standings (after Rd5):1st Chris Middlehurst, 158pts; 2nd Jake Cook, 112pts; 3rd Jorge Cevallos, 100pts; 4th Joe Ghanem, 78pts; =5th Sam MacLeod & Matteo Ferrer, 71ptsClick here for the Official Renaultsport web site - designed and built by Racecar