Fortec Motorsport’s Dean Smith (Wolverhampton) took pole position for round five of the Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship at Thruxton on Saturday, 5th May. AKA Cobra’s Adam Christodoulou (Lichfield) will start from pole in round six after the day’s second qualifying session at the Hampshire circuit, the fastest on the Formula Renault UK calendar. It is the first pole position of the 17-year-old’s car racing career.
In qualifying session one, Smith set a time of 1min 10.180s (120.84mph) early in the 20-minute allocation and that time remained unbeaten throughout. His Fortec Motorsport team-mate Riki Christodoulou came closest to taking pole position but fell 0.084s shy, although he is the fastest Graduate Cup driver.
AKA Cobra’s Jeremy Metcalfe (Fleet) will start third on the grid for round five, alongside Fortec’s Duncan Tappy (West Ewell). AKA Cobra’s Adam Christodoulou and Apotex Scorpio Motorsport’s Will Bratt (Banbury) comprise the third row. The 2006 Formula Renault BARC champion and vice-champion, Manor Competition’s Richard Singleton (Conwy) and Eurotek Motorsport’s Jordan Oakes (Hopton) line up alongside each other on row four.
Apotex Scorpio Motorsport’s David Epton (Fleet), making his first appearance of the season in Formula Renault UK, starts 10th. AKA Cobra’s Nathan Caratti (London), in 14th place, is the last of the 19 drivers to lap within one second of Smith’s pole position time.
Commenting on his performance, Smith said: “I’m happy with the first session and I thought I was going to get pole in the second as well but lost some time in the last corner. We know what we need to do for the race in terms of set-up though so hopefully I can get two more good results towards the championship. ”
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