Surrey teenager Nick Wilcox (Camberley) has become the first confirmed FR 2000 Class competitor into the new 2005 Formula Renault BARC Championship – and he aims to utilise the cost-effective series as a springboard into the full Formula Renault UK category in 2006.
Wilcox, who will compete under the banner of Etek Motorsport, a team run by his father Roy, has raced in the BARC series for three seasons and having purchased a brand new FR 2.0 car, plans to gain valuable experience and mileage in the FR2000 Class before making the step-up to the TOCA Tour-supporting Formula Renault UK series next year.
Nick, who is 19-years of age, first got involved in motorsport through the ranks of karting and moved into the old BARC Formula Renault series in 2002. His motorsport activities were impinged due to schooling commitments but he still managed to finish sixth overall during his first season and then went on to finish fifth the following year.
Last season, Wilcox was third overall in the driver standings and with his mainstream education now completed the aim is to focus on the newly packaged Formula Renault BARC Championship during its first year and gain the necessary experience of the FR 2.0 car.
Speaking ahead of the 2005 championship, Roy Wilcox said: “We’ve done three years in BARC but, unfortunately, the first year was a bit up and down due to Nick’s education but we’ve plugged away and the results have got better and better.
“Having finished third last year, Nick wanted to step up to the new FR 2.0 car when it was announced it would run in the series this year and we’re really looking forward to testing our new car as soon as we have it from Renault Sport.
“Running the car ourselves, we do realise we may struggle getting to grips with it but hopefully we can speak with some of the experienced Formula Renault UK teams and see if we can obtain some help and guidance along the way.”
Ex-Raikkonen car will run in BARC Club ClassEtek Motorsport’s old challenger, an ex-Kimi Raikkonen car from 1999, has been sold on to another new Formula Renault BARC competitor, Andy Skriczka (Aldershot, Hampshire), who will race in the Club Class for cars manufactured pre-2000.
Skriczka is looking forward to not only his maiden season of racing in the Formula Renault BARC Championship, but also his first ever outing in single-seaters. The 36-year old, who will run the car himself out of his Avantec business in Aldershot, knows the series will be highly competitive but is confident of rising to the challenge throughout the year.
He commented: “I’m looking forward immensely to the championship, it should be a good season and it’ll be my first time in single-seaters. I’ve raced in the BRSCC Ford Fiesta Championship for the last couple of seasons and have been competitive but Formula Renault BARC is something completely new to me.
“I watched last season’s BARC series and was impressed with the great organisation and the professionalism so I’m sure it can only be even better this year with more involvement from Renault Sport UK. I would have liked to have competed in the Renault Clio Cup but running a car as a privateer in BARC is more suitable for my budget and it’s also a fresh challenge.”
Skriczka added: “I used to work with Nick’s father Roy and when he told me the car was for sale I thought it would be a good idea to buy it and try my hand in single-seaters. I’m looking forward to the challenge and hopefully I won’t just be there making up the numbers.”
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