Double Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Pole and Podium for Aitken at Silverstone
British racing driver Jack Aitken secured double pole positions and double podium finishes at the Silverstone round of the 2013 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC this weekend. The Home of British Motor Racing played host to a superb racing schedule with the junior series supporting the prestigious Blancpain Endurance Series.Jack and his Fortec Motorsport team were quick out of the box on the green Northamptonshire tarmac early on Friday morning. He topped the timesheets with P1 and P2 results for the two free practice sessions respectively and was feeling happy with the set-up and handling of his FR2.0/13 by Tatuus car.The 17 year old, from west London, continued to maintain form as the track rubbered in for qualifying late in the afternoon. Jack set two fastest laps, with a best time of 2:00.241 seconds, which were to prove fast enough to place his car on pole position for both races on Saturday and Sunday. Starting from pole for Race One on Saturday morning, Jack lost position to the challenging Parry at Stowe during the only mistake he made on track. He then chased Parrys gearbox as the pair pulled away from the 23-car strong field to take the chequered flag in 2nd place.Parry lined up alongside pole sitter Jack on the front row of the grid for Race Two on Sunday morning. He made a slightly better start than Jack to snatch the lead, who then pursued the green car in front and set the fastest lap of the weekend in trying to do so. Unfortunately, Jack, despite his speed, could not find a way past Parry's gearbox and crossed the line only 0.6 second behind him to step up on to the podium once again in P2.Jack commented, It was great to get a double pole for my home race, but Matt was very close on pace. In the first race I managed to keep him behind me off the start, but he got by at Stowe when I made a mistake. Overall, I was a bit unhappy with the drive. The second race went a lot better, because even though Matt managed to jump me at the start, I always less than a second behind him. I kept pressuring him, but he made no serious errors, and I couldn't quite get by him. I am much happier with my drive then than in the first race! Overall it was a pretty good weekend, two strong podiums and poles, and I feel I am close to my first win.The fourth round of Formula Renault 2.0 NEC takes place at Spa-Francorchamps, UK on 28th July 2013.