Etek Motorsport’s Nick Wilcox (Camberley, Surrey) proved to be a worthy winner during the first round of the 2005 Formula Renault BARC Championship at Silverstone National Circuit on Saturday, the 19-year-old seriously underlining his title credentials.
With the category beginning a new era this year thanks to full backing from Renault UK and the inclusion in the series of the world’s most successful single-seater racing car, the Formula Renault 2.0, the opening race of the new Formula Renault BARC Championship season had much to live up to – and duly delivered.
In an incredibly close qualifying session, particularly for the front-running FR 2000 class cars, Falcon Motorsport’s Matt Russell (Harlesden, London) snatched pole position for the afternoon’s 15-lap race by just 0.087 seconds, having set a best time on the 1.64-mile circuit of 57.850 seconds (101.99mph).
Team Nasamax driver Dean Stirling (Shamley Green, Guildford) joined Russell on the front-row with Wilcox taking third place on the grid, a mere 100th of a second slower than Stirling in qualifying, while Mark Burdett Motorsport’s French driver Denis Autier (London) secured fourth spot.
Ian Pearson (Didcot, Oxon) was the fastest of the Club Class runners in his Tatuus RC 97, his time of 58.559 seconds placing him fifth on the grid, while DS Motorsport’s David Scott (Heathfield, East Sussex) took sixth place in his Tatuus FR 98/99.
WL Racing’s Cameron Jackson (Scampton, Lincolnshire), meanwhile, started his first ever car race from seventh spot in his Tatuus RC 98 and X-Dream’s Martin Bloss (Andover, Hampshire) took eighth place on the grid in his Tatuus RC 97.
At the start of the race it was Stirling who got the best start of the front-running FR 2000 Class drivers to lead through Copse Corner ahead of Russell and Wilcox, however, the latter soon made his way up to second position and on lap two the 19-year-old moved into the lead.
Wilcox began to reel off a succession of fastest laps – on lap five his lead was two seconds, at the start of lap six he led by 2.7 seconds and two laps later the margin was up to an incredible four seconds.
As the race passed mid-distance, Russell made his way past Stirling into second position and attempted to close down leader Wilcox. The Etek driver had the race in his pocket though, and even though unsettled and held-up by a bark marker at the end of the final lap, he took the win by just over a second from Russell with Stirling in third place, five second adrift.
Autier ended his first race at the wheel of an FR 2.0 car in fourth position while Ian Pearson sealed a dominant weekend after taking the Club Class victory a full seven seconds clear of nearest challenger Bloss, along with taking points for fastest lap and class pole position.
Bloss, a respected campaigner in the Formula Renault BARC Championship, was involved in a great scrap with Scott and Jackson and drove superbly well to finish in sixth position overall having started in eighth place. Scott finished in seventh place overall, and third in class, while Jackson just missed out on a class podium during his debut.
His impressive and well-deserved race victory, coupled with a bonus point for setting the fastest lap, sees Wilcox leading the FR 2000 Class by three points from closest rival Russell, who himself earned a bonus point for setting pole position.
Speaking on his impressive start to the season, Wilcox commented: “I’m very happy to win at Silverstone, it’s a great start to the year and shows what we’re capable of this season. I’m confident we’ll continue to go well in the next round and I think things are shaping up well for a strong championship challenge.”
In the Club Class, Ian Pearson took the maximum 17 points and heading to the next round of the season at Donington Park this coming weekend, he leads the standings by five points from Bloss.
A delighted Pearson said: “It was a great race and what a fantastic start to the season for us. Things couldn’t have gone any better in all honesty and I think we can expect to have another strong race at Donington next weekend.”
Round two of the 2005 Formula Renault BARC Championship takes place at Donington Park in Leicestershire on Saturday, 23rd April.
Provisional 2005 Formula Renault BARC ChampionshipDriver Standings – after Rd 1
FR 2000 Class: 1st Nick Wilcox, 16pts; 2nd Matt Russell, 13pts; 3rd Dean Stirling, 10pts; 4th Denis Autier, 8pts; 5th Philippe Challande, 6pts
Club Class: 1st Ian Pearson, 17pts; 2nd Martin Bloss, 12pts; 3rd David Scott, 10pts; 4th Cameron Jackson, 8pts; 5th James Green, 6pts; 6th Bob Pearson, 5pts
Full official race times available at msttiming.com
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