7/22/2007

Hancock And Lloyd Share Wins At Silverstone

Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Ollie Hancock (Hook) and CF Racing’s Hywel Lloyd (Corwen) took a win each in rounds five and six of the Formula Renault BARC Championship, with Welshman Lloyd retaining the lead in the FR2000 Class standings. Ian Pearson (Didcot) took both Club Class victories to keep his 100 per cent record intact.

The result of round six remains provisional pending an appeal to the Motor Sports Association by Hancock. Both Dean Stoneman (Southampton) and Rossi (Blackburn) were adjudged to have passed Hancock under yellow flags and were excluded by the Clerk of the Course. On appeal, Stoneman was reinstated by the Stewards of the Meeting, a decision Hancock is now appealing.

Round five saw Hancock have things all his own way in the first half of the 15-lap race. He led away from pole position as Worswick Engineering’s Rossi got the best start to pass both Lloyd and Stoneman on the opening lap. Taro Motorsport’s Ash Davies (Conwy) spun into retirement at Becketts after starting 11th on the grid, causing several cars to take evasive action.

The four leaders opened a lead over fifth-placed Craig Copeland (Wimbourne), having a strong race on his return to the series. Lloyd challenged Stoneman for third place at Copse but fell back as Stoneman defended. Meanwhile, Ian Pearson had taken the lead in Club Class on lap one as Clutton got caught in the fallout from Davies’ spin and fell to 21st overall.

Double M Racing’s Aaron Steele (Chatham) passed Copeland for fifth at Brooklands, only for Copeland to counter on the following lap at the same corner. Jigsaw Engineering’s Louis Hamilton-Smith (Stratford upon Avon) gained five places in the early stages, while Club Class racer Adrian Dixon (Harpenden) surged from 20th to 11th on lap one before being passed by several FR2000 Class cars.

On lap seven, Rossi passed Hancock for the lead, squeezing through on the inside at Brooklands. He then began to pull away, opening a one second lead within a few laps and setting the fastest lap of the race on lap eight at 57.423s (102.75mph) to secure one bonus championship point.

In Club Class, Clutton retained second place over Dixon with the pair racing just one second apart after Middle East-Russell Racing’s Essa Mohammed (Bahrain) passed Clutton on lap 12. Near the head of the field, Steele once again passed Copeland at Brooklands to secure fifth place, with 3K’s Racing’s Kieren Clark (Royston) also passing Copeland to finish sixth.

As the battle for podium places came to its conclusion, Lloyd once again challenged Stoneman on the penultimate lap but the 16-year-old defended his position well. However, Hancock stole a dramatic lead as a backmarker spun in front of Rossi and Copse forcing him to take to the grass. Hancock took full advantage and went on to win by just 0.174s from Rossi with Stoneman 4.606s behind in third.

Lloyd’s rapid start pays dividend in round 12

Round 12 saw Lloyd make the best start from third on the grid, passing Stoneman at Copse and then Hancock at Brooklands for the lead. Further down the field, Reon Motorsport’s Iain Morton (London) clashed with Middle East-Russell Racing’s Mohamed Al A’Ali (Bahrain) with both drivers ending their race in the gravel at the exit of Luffield.

On the run into Brooklands on lap two, Hancock lost two places to Stoneman and Rossi leading to the later protest regarding overtaking under yellow flags. Meanwhile in Club Class, second-placed Dixon, Ian Pearson, Roberto Tirone (Amberley) and James Heffernan (London) crossed the line within 0.3s of each other to start lap three.

Steele and Copeland resumed their earlier battle with Steele taking fifth place from the Falcon Motorsport driver. The duel for first place in Club Class came together at the start of lap four as Pearson closed onto the rear wing of Clutton, before passing him on lap six.

Once past Copeland, Steele set his sights on Ha