Manor Motorsport's Paul Di Resta (Bathgate, West Lothian) underlined once again why he's renowned for his wet weather driving ability after finishing in second position during round 11 of the Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin at Croft Circuit Sunday afternoon.
The 18-year old Scotsman, who has now moved into fifth position in the driver standings, started from the third row of the grid and having made his way into fourth position on lap four, Di Resta showed incredible car control to take his third podium finish of the season.
Fortec Motorsport's Mike Conway (Sevenoaks, Kent), meanwhile, recorded his fifth victory of the year after driving a faultless race from NGK Laser Platinum Pole Position. The result gives him a substantial 114-point lead over nearest rival Westley Barber (Wimbish, Saffron Walden), who finished the race in third position for Comtec Racing.
At the start Conway made a good getaway from the grid to lead second-placed Barber comfortably through the chicane, with Motaworld Racing's Oliver Jarvis (Burwell, Cambridegshire) maintaining third position and Di Resta managing to pass Fortec's Charles Hollings (Norwood, West Yorkshire) for fourth place.
On lap seven, as Jarvis began to close-in on Barber and Di Resta began to catch Jarvis himself, the rain began to fall quite heavily and it was the Manor driver who had the most confidence and car control to judge the conditions perfectly.
With all drivers staying on slick tyres during the short burst of rain, it was Di Resta who was the class of the field - first passing Jarvis for third place and then taking second position from Barber after a great move towards the end of the eighth lap. Di Resta did begin to catch leader Conway during the closing laps but the Fortec ace had enough of a gap and eventually crossed the line three and a half seconds ahead of the Manor driver.
Race winner Mike Conway said: "I was happy with my start and managed to pull away from Westley but when the rain started to fall mid-way through the race it then seemed as though the conditions were changing almost every lap.
"At one point the track was very wet and then just a couple of laps later it was almost completely dry again. Having said that, the circuit did give a lot of grip and so it wasn't as difficult as it might have been. I'm very happy with the result."
Second placed Paul Di Resta commented: "It took a couple of laps for me to know exactly where the grip was when the rain came but after that it was fairly easy and I knew I would be able to pass Westley. It was a good race but we need some more podiums, and hopefully some wins, to move up the championship table."
Westley Barber, meanwhile, said: "I'm a little bit disappointed with the result and before the rain started to fall I was beginning to catch Mike. The conditions did catch me out but Paul drove well to take second place. Third place isn't that bad though, and it's still good points for the championship."
Fourth position in the race went to local driver Hollings while Jarvis finished fifth, Comtec Racing's Susie Stoddart (Northampton) took sixth position, Team JLR's Stephen Simpson (Enfield, Middlesex) finished seventh - having started 11th on the grid - and Team Firstair's Sean McIntosh increased his 'Graduate Cup' lead after crossing the line in eighth place.
The 12th round of the Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin is scheduled to take place at 16.25 this afternoon, Sunday, 25th July.
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