Canadian star Sean McIntosh kept a cool head during round seven of the 2004 Formula Renault UK Championship at Oulton Park Island Circuit on Saturday to record his first ever victory and, in turn, become the first Graduate Cup runner to win a race outright.
The Team Firstair ace, who qualified in fourth position, was one of several drivers involved in a first-lap, first-corner incident but managed to retake his place on the grid for the re-start and got a superb getaway at the lights to lead through Old Hall Corner.
Fortec Motorsport’s Mike Conway (Sevenoaks, Kent) slotted into second position ahead of team-mate Stuart Hall (Halstead, Essex) in third, Comtec Racing’s Susie Stoddart (Northampton) in fourth and her team-mate, pole-sitter Westley Barber (Wimbish, Saffron Walden), in fifth position.
By the end of lap three, McIntosh had built a lead of 1.3 seconds over Conway who was struggling with a damaged front wing but managing to keep fellow Fortec driver Hall behind him. Further down the order, meanwhile, Manor Motorsport’s Paul Di Resta (Bathgate, West Lothian) produced a spirited drive to come from the rear of the field – having dropped down the order on lap one – to finish in ninth position.
At the end of the 10-lap race, McIntosh crossed the line just over four seconds clear of Conway with Stuart Hall taking an excellent debut podium in third place. Stoddart finished fourth ahead of Team JLR’s Stephen Simpson (Enfield, Middlesex) in fifth and Motaworld Racing’s Joey Foster (Truro, Cornwall) in sixth position.
Fortec’s American driver Ben Freudenberg enjoyed his best result of the season in seventh while Falcon Motorsport’s Mexican star Carlos Mastretta did likewise with 10th place.
Speaking on his maiden Formula Renault UK victory, McIntosh said: “I started fourth on the grid and had a really good start the second time around. I like Oulton Park a lot and had a good test when we came here so we were confident. The car is working really well and the Firstair guys are doing a great job. The first start was pretty hairy and I went off actually so I was happy to see the race re-started and delighted I got my first win.”
Championship leader Conway added: “I had to drive the race with half of my front wing intact after an incident at the first corner so it was a pretty tough race. Through the slow and mid-speed corners the car was fine but through the high-speed turns I had to cope with lots of understeer. I could see Stuart behind me but didn’t see Westley so I was happy to collect the points for second place.”
Commenting on his debut podium, Stuart Hall said “Susie was close behind me but I just focused on Mike ahead. I saw he had an ill-handling car but there was no point in attempting a stupid move and taking us both out of the race. If an opportunity had come my way I would have tried to pass but the end result means good points for both of us and the team.
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