5/21/2007

Rossi and Stoneman clinch first victories of the season

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