Middlehurst is Formula Renault Champion, MGR star wraps up title with one round to spare
MGR Motorsport netted its maiden single-seater championship at Rockingham (11 August), when Chris Middlehurst sealed the 2013 Protyre Formula Renault title with 2nd place at the Northamptonshire track.
It was Middlehursts 13th podium of the season, ensuring that the MGR driver secured overall victory with one round remaining and emphasising his dominance of the series.
Chris has been the most outstanding driver of the season, said team owner Mark Godwin. Six wins, four pole positions and five fastest race laps are testimony to this. After narrowly missing out on two titles with Matt Mason (Intersteps) and Josh Webster (BARC Renault) last year, I am delighted that Chris has finally delivered our first championship victory. Im sure it will be the first of many and we are already preparing to wrestle back the lead of the F4 championship, this coming weekend at Silverstone.
He added: Its an amazing feeling and all the more sweet weve done it here, at Rockingham. Last year we had an awful weekend at Rockingham with Josh losing so many points through no fault of his own. It really couldnt have been any worse, so we wanted to do it hereits absolutely fantastic to have won the championship so early.
Chris praised MGR for its role in his success: The car has been great everywhere really this year, the team has been fantastic, and its been down to me to seal the deal. To win championships you dont necessarily have to win races, just score points and keep on the podium as much as you can and thats what weve done.
The St Helens-based teenager had edged closer to the crown with 2nd place in the weekends opening race (round 12 on Saturday 10 August) and 3rd in Sundays opening encounter. His triumph was assured in the third and final race, when his nearest rival, Weiron Tan, retired with engine gremlins and Chris was able to bring his car home in 2nd place.
Behind him in 3rd, was his team-mate, Jorge Cevallos - the Telmex-backed youngster having powered up the order from 11th place at the start. Cevallos had deftly avoided a crash during the opening lap and was running 4th when Tan stopped. He told reporters afterwards: In the first two races I couldnt stay out of trouble but finally, in the last race, I was able to keep my nose clean and take third place from 11thIm happy with that. We started this year so strong, then had some problems which we didnt really figure out until this weekend. Congratulations to the team on winning the championship!
Matteo Ferrer delivered his best performance of the season, taking an eventual 5th and setting the fastest lap of the race. It was the perfect way to bounce back from his DNF in the second race. Matteo had struggled a little during the previous race at Croft, a knock on effect of the huge accident he had at Thruxton, but he is well and truly back in the groove and improving all the time. I still believe he could spring a late surprise this year, as a podium finish is looking more and more realistic and it would be a fantastic achievement for a driver with such little experience
MGRs, Tom Oliphant, broke into the championship top ten, following strong showings throughout the weekend. This has been Toms most consistent weekend so far this year and he is edging ever closer to the pace. Recent testing with Tom has proved very fruitful and he feels a lot more confident with the car, so I think its realistic to aim for a top six finish at Silverstone.
