Swedish driver Alex Storckenfeldt and Venezuelan team-mate Rodolfo Gonzalez (Attleborough, Norfolk) each gave the Mark Burdett Motorsport team something to celebrate during official testing, ahead of the final two rounds of the 2004 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin, at Donington Park this morning.
In changeable conditions, Storckenfeldt - who now appears to be back to his best having broken his collarbone during a karting event at Knockhill in August - lapped the 1.95 mile National Circuit in 1m 11.828 seconds (98.09mph) to top the timesheets during a session which threw up a number of surprises.
Gonzalez, who was the fastest of the six ‘Graduate Cup’ runners, ended the test just under three 10ths of a second slower than the Swede while Charles Hollings (Norwood, West Yorkshire) flew the flag for champion entrant Fortec Motorsport with the third fastest time.
Motaworld Racing’s Brazilian star Gustavo Sondermann (Rochester, Kent) set the fourth fastest time, almost a second outside Storckenfeldt’s best, with Westley Barber (Wimbish, Saffron Walden) fifth overall for Comtec Racing.
Local teenager Craig Dolby (Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire), the youngest driver in Formula Renault UK at just 16-year of age, produced by far his best performance of the season with the sixth best time and a lap of 1m 12.825 seconds – a mere two 1000ths of a second slower than Barber.
An excellent seventh position, also a season’s best, went to Michael Vitulli (Rainham, Essex), in his family-prepared and entered Vitulli Racing car, while Paul Di Resta (Bathgate, West Lothina) was the fastest of the Manor Motrosport drivers in eighth position.
Team Firstair’s Brazilian star Patrick Rocha set the ninth quickest time, a 10th of a second ahead of Fortec’s Stuart Hall (Halstead, Essex) in 10thposition. Canadian driver Sean McIntosh, who could seal the ‘Graduate Cup’ title during the first of the weekend’s ‘double-header’ races in his Team Firstair car, was 11th fastest with a time of 1m 13.318 seconds – eight 10ths quicker than his chief rival, Team aka’s James Jakes (Cullingworth, West Yorkshire).
Team JLR’s Swedish ace Stefan Soderberg was 18th on his return to the category while Dutchman Yelmer Buurman, Fortec’s replacement for 2004 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Champion Mike Conway (Sevenoaks, Kent), finished the session in 19th place. Series debutant Sam Edwards (Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire), replacing Chinese driver Cheng Congfu, was 22nd overall for Manor Motorsport.
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