Rossi And Stoneman Claim Victories in Formula Renault BARC Championship
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May 21, 2007
Worswick Engineering’s Rossi took victory in round two of the Formula Renault BARC Championship at Croft on Sunday, 20th May. Alpine Racing’s Dean Stoneman (Southampton) won round three later the same day as both drivers made their first trip to the top step of the podium of 2007. Pearson Engineering Services’ Ian Pearson (Didcot) took the Club Class win in both rounds. Round one victor Hywel Lloyd (Corwen) now leads the FR2000 Class drivers’ standings by just one point, with Pearson heading the Club Class standings.
Lloyd and Pearson will be invited to attend a Formula One test at Silverstone on Thursday, 21st June as guests of ING Renault F1 Team. The invite from Renault Sport UK is a reward for leading the standings of each class at this point of the season.
Round one saw Stoneman line up on the front row alongside CF Racing’s Lloyd in a race reduced to 11 laps after one driver stalled on the grid. But the leading duo did not make it past the first corner as Stoneman clipped the kerb on the inside at Clervaux and collected Lloyd on his way to the gravel trap.
Rossi was the chief beneficiary as he assumed the lead after starting third, with Falcon Motorsport’s Sten Pentus (Oxford) just behind him. Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Ollie Hancock (Hook) was coming under heavy pressure from Eurotek Motorsport’s David McDonald (Ewell) in third and fourth, with Double M Racing’s Aaron Steele (Chatham) and Jigsaw Engineering’s Louis Hamilton-Smith (Stratford-upon-Avon) completed the top six at the end of lap one.
Ian Pearson led the Club Class category in 17th overall, while MCR’s Marcus Clutton (Oldham) also made a good start to be right behind him at the end of the first lap after starting 24th. Two seconds behind them, Muzz Race’s Adrian Dixon (Harpenden) led Bob Pearson (Didcot) and John Johnsen (Whitby) in the chasing pack.
On lap two, Clutton made a bid for the Club Class lead at the hairpin but Pearson managed to repel the move. Clutton was forced to back off and was passed by Boulevard Team Racing’s FR2000 Class car Joshua Brooks (Alford).
Hancock and McDonald continued to battle for third place with McDonald just failing with an overtaking attempt on lap three as he set the fastest lap of the race of 1min 21.976s (93.32mph). On the following lap, McDonald tried exactly the same manoeuvre at the hairpin with both drivers running wide onto the grass as McDonald ran wide. This allowed Steele to climb to third as McDonald dropped to fifth and Hancock to ninth.
A spin for DS Motorsport’s David Scott (Heathfield) on lap six dropped him from seventh to 13th place, while Middle East/Russell Racing’s Menasheh Idafar (London) retired on lap five. Meanwhile, McDonald passed Hamilton-Smith to regain fourth place as Rossi increased his lead over Pentus to almost two-seconds at the halfway stage.
As the leaders began to lap the tail-enders, Rossi extended his lead to four seconds enabling him to ease off in the closing stages. In Club Class, RPD Racing’s Steven Durrant (Rayleigh) passed Fraser Smart (Kilsyth) for sixth in class and then overtook Reon Motorsport’s Roberto Tirone (Amberley) for fifth before a spin by Johnsen promoted Durrant to fourth at the chequered flag.
With three laps to go, Russell Racing’s eighth-placed Mark Gillibrand (Manchester) made an error at the Complex allowing Hillspeed Racing’s Ahmad Al Harthy (Hathersage) and Quantexe Racing’s Felix Fisher (Bridgend) to catch him in the closest battle among the top 10, with Fisher passing Al Harthy on the last lap to snatch the final point for 10th place.
Hancock also gained a place in the closing stages as Eurotek’s Sung Hak Mun (Market Harborough) locked a wheel. But the race belonged to Rossi as he cruised to victory by 3.399s from Pentus and Steele.
Round three saw a less dramatic start for pole-sitter Stoneman as he safely negotiated the first corner with his lead over Hancock intact. Starting from fifth, Rossi passed McDonald at Clervaux, while Scott picked up three places from 12th on the grid. Club Class pole-man Marcus Clutton initially stalled on the grid and after being passed by every other car, he re-took his original position. This breach of the regulations meant he was issued with a 10-second penalty, to be applied at the end of the race.
The opening lap action saw Rossi make a bid for Lloyd’s third place, while Hamilton-Smith challenged Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Denis Autier (London) for 12th. Aaron Steele made a fine late-braking move to pass sixth-placed Sung Hak Mun on lap two, while Hamilton-Smith did manage to pass Frenchman Autier at the hairpin.
Problems on the Green Flag Lap for Taro Motorsport’s Ash Davies (Conwy) and Middle East/Russell Racing’s Menasheh Idafar (London) enabled Idafar’s team-mate Mohamed Al A’Ali (London) and Ian Pearson to start from the pitlane and both passed RPT Racing’s Richard Taylor (Derby) and Bill Allen (Hungerford) on lap one.
As the 12-lap race approached half-distance, Stoneman was looking untroubled in the lead while Lloyd began to catch Hancock for second place, leaving Rossi trailing in fourth. Mark Gillibrand led the race for the final point-scoring place in 10th, heading a train of five cars covered by less than two-seconds.
On lap six, Lloyd made his move on Hancock with a seemingly impossible late dive to the inside at the hairpin. Hancock fought back to draw alongside on the start/finish straight but ran wide as he attempted to regain the place at Clervaux and was forced to settle for third. However, Lloyd was too far back to challenge Stoneman’s lead, which now stood at 2.7s.
After being passed by Felix Fisher, Gillibrand then relinquished 11th place on lap seven as he ran wide to allow Hamilton-Smith through. The Russell Racing man would later regain the place and also pass Sten Pentus to score his first point of the season. Meanwhile, Ian Pearson was continuing his charge through the field in a bid to catch Club Class leaders Clutton and JH Motorsport’s James Heffernan (London). Clutton led by more than three-seconds on the road, but his time penalty meant he was officially third, just ahead of Steven Durrant.
Durrant was the next target for Ian Pearson on lap eight, the reigning champion having too much experience for the 16-year-old series newcomer as they raced through Jim Clark Esses. Pearson then caught and passed James Heffernan and although he finished behind Clutton, Pearson took the victory by 5.5s ahead of Heffernan with Clutton relegated to third.
Stoneman visibly began to ease off the pace during the latter stages of the race, always aware of Lloyd’s position in second place. The gap remained steady at around two-seconds, with the final margin of 1.351s as Stoneman slowed to acknowledge his team on the pit-wall, who worked hard to repair his car following his earlier accident.
Commenting on his victory, Stoneman said: “I was quite comfortable after the first lap because I managed to build an advantage quite quickly. As soon as I got more than one second in front I knew I had it won as long as I kept going. My team put in a lot of hard work after my crash so I’m very happy to repay them. ”
Second-placed Lloyd, who now leads the drivers’ standings, joked: “It was nice just to get past the first corner this time! It was a good clean race with Ollie and we both gave each other room when we needed to. He got the run on me after I’d gone past but I managed to brake late enough and he went onto the dirt to let me back through. It’s a good end to the day after a bad start to it earlier. ”
Round two winner Rossi commented: “I had a bit of luck at the first corner with the two leaders going off and then I just got my head down and tried to put in consistent lap times and treat it almost like a qualifying session. I only got a bit nervous when I caught the back markers but they helped by keeping to the racing line and letting me go round them. It’s great to get my first win this year and I couldn’t have done it without the whole of the Worswick Engineering team. ”
Double Club Class winner Ian Pearson revealed: “I had a suspension problem in qualifying yesterday so I had to set the car up again and didn’t’ quite have it right for race one because of a slight slope in the garage. I managed to put it right for race two, although I’d rather not have to come from the back of the field. I also feel bad for Marcus and the win’s not quite so satisfying, although it is a good result. ”
Second-placed James Heffernan, who spun out on the Green Flag Lap in round two, added: “After some bad luck earlier this is a much more positive result for me. It was a good battle with Marcus and we both seemed to gain and lose time in different places but I couldn’t quite catch him. I saw Ian coming in my mirrors and couldn’t hold him off but hopefully this can start a run of solid finishes. ”
A disappointed third-placed Clutton, who was second in round two, said: “At the moment I feel gutted not to have won because we really had strong pace the whole weekend. I was much closer to Ian in qualifying and also kept well ahead in the second race despite having trouble selecting third gear. I’ve made a step forward though and hopefully I can get a real win next time. ”
Aaron Steele third in FR2000 Class in round two said: “I just kept it on the black stuff and after the first corner I looked ahead and realised I was up to fifth. Then Ollie and David went off in front of me and put me up to third, so I was really benefiting from a solid driver and other people’s misfortune. ”
Adrian Dixon, third in Club Class in round two, said: “The front two got away early on and it’s always difficult to chase once they open up a gap. But I’m happy to get a second podium in two races and hopefully there’ll be many more. ”
Round four of the Formula Renault BARC Championship takes place at Oulton Park circuit, Cheshire, on 16th June.
