HALL STEPS OUT OF CONWAY’S SHADOW AT SNETTERTON TEST
Fortec Motorsport’s Stuart Hall (Halstead, Essex) stepped out from the shadow of title-winning team-mate Mike Conway (Sevenoaks, Kent) at Snetterton this morning during official Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin testing.
Ahead of the penultimate meeting of the season this weekend, the 19-year old produced his most competitive times of the year at the 1.95-mile Norfolk circuit to eclipse Conway – who clinched the 2004 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin crown a fortnight ago at Brands Hatch – by just 0.025 seconds, with a best lap of 1m 05.567 seconds (107.17mph).
Susie Stoddart (Northampton), meanwhile, showed a welcome return to form by setting the third fastest time of 1m 05.636 seconds for her Attleborough-based Comtec Racing team, while Fortec’s Charles Hollings (Norwood, West Yorkshire) was fourth quickest – the quartet of drivers were stunningly competitive and all covered by under a 10th of a second.
Comtec’s Westley Barber (Wimbish, Saffron Walden) was fifth fastest with a time of 1m 05.679 seconds, the 22-year old aiming to tighten his grip on second position in the driver standings this weekend, while Team JLR’s Stephen Simpson (Enfield, Middlesex) once again underlined his talent after ending the three-hour session in sixth position.
Candian driver Sean McIntosh, who could seal the ‘Graduate Cup’ title at Snetterton on Sunday, was seventh overall for Team Firstair, just ahead of Manor Motorsport team-mates Paul Di Resta (Bathgate, West Lothian) and Patrick Hogan (Whitfield, Northamptonshire) in eighth and ninth places respectively.
Motaworld Racing’s Oliver Jarvis (Burwell, Cambridgeshire) rounded out the top 10 with a lap of 1m 06.066 seconds, five 100ths of a second faster than Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Swedish star Alex Storckenfeldt in 11th position.
One of the most improved performances, however, came from 16-year old Craig Dolby (Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire) who posted the 12th best time for North Walsham-based Paston Racing. The youngster, who has worked hard during his debut season in the category, lapped with a time of 1m 06.219 seconds – just 0.652 seconds slower than pace-setter Hall.
Peruvian driver Juan Manuel Polar, on his return to Formula Renault UK with Team aka, set the 13th fastest time while Motaworld’s Katherine Legge (Guildford, Surrey), who last raced in the championship during 2002, was 25th of the 29 drivers taking part in the test.
Qualifying for the 17th and 18th rounds of the season takes place at Snetterton tomorrow, Saturday, 4th September, with the races taking place on Sunday, 5th September.
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