Round three of the North American Formula Renault 2000 Championship got underway yesterday with a day of testing at the Glen as the drivers began to find the fast way around the 11 turn 3.4-mile natural road course in upstate New York for Saturday’s race as part of the Grand American ‘Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen’ race weekend. Championship points leader Mark Wilkins led the way with a quick lap time of 1:53.010 seconds in the second of four sessions during the day, with the last session becoming a wet one as rain began to fall in the afternoon.Eurointernational’s Juan Martin Ponte showed how closely matched the Formula Renaults are, as his fastest lap around the famed circuit was just a scant .04 of a second behind Wilkins’, setting the stage as the two championship contenders are likely to do battle all weekend.  “I really like this track-its so fast everywhere around, and that really suits my driving style,” Wilkins said. “The track was really pretty green out there, and I know as the weekend progresses we should be seeing some faster lap times, but its of course a very good way to start the weekend on top of the charts!”Top five times, North American Formula Renault test day at the Glen, 3.4 mile natural race course:1)        1:53.010        Mark Wilkins                     Aim Autosport 2)        1.53.051        Juan Martin Ponte               Eurointernational3)        1:53.408        Renato Jader David           Gelles Racing4)        1:53.771        Marcos Gomes                   GTI/Roshfrans5)        1:53.900        Ricardo Imery                     Eurointernational

The Formula Renault V6 Championship is the top rung on the North American Formula Renault Championship ladder, which also includes the North American Formula Renault 1600 Championship and the North American Formula Renault 2000 Championship. The Formula Renault V6 is expected to make its North American competition debut in the latter stages of the2004 North American Formula Renault 2000 season.Points standings after two roundsMark Wilkins                         62Gustavo Sondermann             47Renato Jader David               45Juan Martin Ponte                  45Ricardo Imery                       44Marcos Gomes                      44Antoine Bessette                   38Nick Bussell                         32Michael Yager                      26Aurelio Lopez                       24Event Schedule:Friday, June 18                   8:40 am-9:15 am Practice                                           3:00 pm-3:25 pm Practice                                           5:15 pm-5:45 pm QualifyingSaturday, June 19               11:45 am-12:15 pm Race