Reigning Le Mans 24 Hours winner Guy Smith (Hull, East Yorkshire) was reunited with the Formula Renault UK Championship at Silverstone International Circuit in Northamptonshire this week, returning to the wheel of a Formula Renault car for the first time since his title winning season of 1995.
The 28-year old, who partnered Tom Kristensen and ‘Dindo’ Capello to win last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours race for Bentley, appeared at Thursday’s official Formula Renault UK test session with Chesterfield-based Team JVA as part of a special Autosport magazine feature on the updated 2004 Formula Renault UK cars.
Even though Smith hasn’t driven a Formula Renault car since his title-winning season nine years ago, the sportscar ace quickly adapted back to the single-seater and set a highly respectable time of 1m 20.928 seconds (100.04mph). This placed him 24th of the 34 drivers taking part in the session and saw him end the three-hour test with a time just 1.7 seconds slower than pace-setter, and current championship leader, Mike Conway (Sevenoaks, Kent).
“The test went really well and I’m quite pleased with the time I posted considering we didn’t even get a run on new tyres until right at the very end of the session”, said Smith, “The car was great and is very different to when I raced in Formula Renault UK in 1995 – plus I haven’t driven round Silverstone for a long time!
“It’s always nice to go back and drive in championships you’ve competed in before and I really had a lot of fun doing this. The times prove how close this championship is and how good you have to be to race competitively in Formula Renault. It’s a credit to Renault to have so many cars in the series and to continue to have such a healthy and respected championship.”
Guy continued: “I definitely noticed a big increase in downforce, especially at the rear of the car, from what I remember in comparison to my 1995 car and there’s much more power too. Formula Renault has evolved a lot and is now much closer to Formula 3 which is good for the drivers in this championship who hope to build a racing career.
“On the whole the test was a lot of fun and I was delighted to be back in the Renault paddock and to see some familiar faces. Team JVA gave me a good car and I’m very happy to have had this opportunity.”
Rounds five and six of the Formula Renault UK Championship take place this weekend, 8th/9th May, at Silverstone International Circuit in Northamptonshire. Qualifying will be held on Saturday with both 14-lap races scheduled to take place on Sunday.
Guy Smith, meanwhile, will contest the 2004 Le Mans 24 Hours Race on 12th/13th June for the Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx squad. He’ll be partnered by fellow Brits Jamie Davies and Johnny Herbert.
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