SCOTTISH ACE DI RESTA TAKES SUPERB WIN AT KNOCKHILL
Paul Di Resta (Bathgate, West Lothian) put a big smile on the faces in the partisan crowd at Knockhill, Scotland, yesterday after taking an excellent victory – his first of the year – during the 13th round of the 2004 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin.
The Manor Motorsport ace, who is being supported in person this weekend by his cousin and Indycar race-winner Dario Franchitti, qualified second on the grid for the race behind Motaworld Racing’s Brazilian star Gustavo Sondermann (Rochester, Kent).
At the lights it was Di Resta who appeared to make the best getaway but Sondermann managed to maintain his place at the front of the pack as the field headed through Duffus Dip. The Scottish teenager remained in second position for over half the race but on lap 16 he had closed the gap between himself and the leader to just 0.5 seconds.
The turning point then came at the end of the 16th lap as Di Resta put an excellent move on Sondermann at Taylors Hairpin to grab the lead. The Brazilian continued to push, however, but so did Fortec Motorsport’s Mike Conway (Sevenoaks, Kent) in third position and on lap 19 the championship leader capitalised on backmarkers to pass Sondermann for second position.
On lap 22 Di Resta took the chequered flag by 2.5 seconds from Conway with Sondermann taking a highly creditable third position in only his second weekend of action in the UK. Conway also set a new lap record of 50.169 seconds (93.18mph), eclipsing 2001 Formula Renault UK Champion Carl Breeze’s previous best by over a 10th of a second.
Comtec Racing’s Westley Barber (Wimbish, Saffron Walden) finished in fourth position ahead of Team JLR’s Stephen Simpson (Enfield, Middlesex) in fifth, while Motaworld Racing’s Oliver Jarvis (Burwell, Cambridgeshire) rounded out the top six.
Scotland’s own Susie Stoddart (Northampton) could only manage 14th position for Comtec after some problems in the race while Team Firstair’s Sean McIntosh was the best of the ‘Graduate Cup’ drivers in 11th position, having qualified in 14th place.
Speaking on his win, Paul Di Resta said: “I’m very happy to win here at Knockhill, especially for my family and sponsors – I hope I can repeat it later this afternoon. I concentrated very hard on the race, I did try to beat Gustavo off the line but then I knew I just had to keep him under pressure and make my move when the opportunity presented itself.”
Mike Conway, who has extended his championship lead even further from arch-rival Westley Barber, commented: “Second position is very good but I would have been happy to settle for third if need be. Sondermann seemed to make a mistake which let Paul past, then it allowed me to close in and I made my move for second soon after. I’m more than happy with the result.”
Third-placed Gustavo Sondermann added: “I’m very pleased to be on the podium here. It was disappointing not to win but to qualify on pole position and then finish in third place is a very good result for me and the team. I’m looking forward to the next race now this afternoon.”
Having taken reigning champion Lewis Hamilton to the Formula Renault UK title last year, Manor Motorsport has endured a much more difficult season this year but team manager Tony Shaw is confident the outfit’s first win of the season has changed the team’s fortunes.
He said: “I’m over the moon. This win has been a long time coming and everyone has put a lot of effort into this, Paul especially. We’ve had to do a lot of soul searching to get back on the pace but everybody from the truckies to the drivers have put in so much hard work.
“The pressure on Paul this weekend has been greater than anywhere and he’s done a superb job, his confidence can only rise now. People say about Knockhill being his home circuit but he hasn’t actually done that many miles here so I think that speaks volumes for what he’s done. I must give a mention to Gustavo too – he’s done a fantastic job to be on the pace so quickly.”
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