FORMULA FORD FESTIVAL WINNER CLARKE HEADS STRONG

ENTRY LIST FOR UPCOMING RENAULT WINTER SERIES

Daniel Clarke (Maidenhead, Berkshire) heads into next month’s Formula Renault UK Winter Championship with Michelin, which is now only a fortnight away, on the crest of a wave having taken victory in last weekend’s Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch in Kent.

The 21-year old, who made his Formula Renault UK debut with Team JLR in August, follows in the wheel-tracks of past Festival winners such as current Formula One drivers Jensen Button and Mark Webber, and must surely go into November’s Winter Championship with high hopes of continuing his great form.

Clarke will be joined at Team JLR by at least two team mates, Formula Renault UK podium finisher and series front-runner Stephen Simpson (Enfield, Middlesex) and UK Formula Ford driver, American Joe D’Agostino (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire).

Of the Formula Renault UK regulars, Fortec Motorsport’s Stuart Hall (Halstead, Essex) will start the winter series as one of the true favourites having achieved a brace of second place finishes during the regular season and ending his debut year in the category seventh overall in the driver standings.

As in the main championship, 20-year old Hall will be joined by American driver Ben Freudenberg (Northampton) and Dutch star Yelmer Buurman. Former British Championship karting front-runner Peter Rees (Pangbourne, Berkshire), meanwhile, will make his car racing debut as the fourth Fortec driver.

Manor Motorsport has confirmed two drivers of its expected four-car line-up with Formula Renault UK podium finisher Patrick Hogan (Northampton) another of those expected to go very well in the Winter Championship. The Irishman will be joined by Dutch karting sensation Bas Lammers, the 2003 European Formula A Karting Champion having recently bolstered his pedigree even further by finishing third in the 2004 World Championship.

Team aka’s James Jakes (Cullingworth, West Yorkshire), meanwhile, has set his sights high and is confident he can challenge for the winter title. Having been tantalisingly close to a maiden podium finish on a couple of occasions during the regular season, the 17-year old drove well to end the year Vice-Champion in the inaugural ‘Graduate Cup’.

Jakes did record a podium during a recent round of the Dutch Formula Renault series and his pre-Winter Championship preparation will also be boosted by an appearance in this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix-supporting Formula Renault round at Interlagos.

Further entries include Jody Firth (Wakefield, West Yorkshire) who, along with the Embassy Racing team, will make his Formula Renault UK debut during the winter series and Team Nasamax driver Dean Stirling (Shamley Green, Surrey) who returns to Formula Renault UK having competed in last year’s Winter Championship with the team.

Will Bratt (Adderbury, Oxon), who can clinch the BRSCC T-Car Championship this weekend at Donington Park, is likely to be the youngest competitor in the 2004 Winter Championship at just 16-years of age and will make his single-seater debut with Scorpio Motorsport.

The Formula Renault UK Winter Championship with Michelin begins at Pembrey Circuit in Wales on Saturday, 6th November, with the second and final meeting of the series to take place at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire on Saturday, 13th November.

For all the latest Formula Renault UK Winter Championship with Michelin news

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