4/20/2008
Elated Hancock Completes Rockingham DoubleApotex Scorpio Motorsport’s Ollie Hancock (Hook) picked up his third successive victory by winning round four of the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship on Sunday, 20th April. In damp but drying conditions at the overcast Rockingham International circuit, Hancock made a late move to overhaul HS Motorsport/Antel’s long-time leader Brett Parris (Southampton), with Hillspeed’s Menasheh Idafar (London) collecting his fourth podium in four races.
Now in his second season of car racing, Muzz Race teenager Steven Durrant (Rayleigh) scored his first victory in Club Class, a category for cars built prior to 2000. He led home round three winner Fraser Smart (Kilsyth) and Heuthsports of Royston’s Edward Heinzelmann (Royston) who joins Smart with four podium finishes from four races.
The race was restarted after an accident for Double M Racing’s Ellis Harkins (Barry) on lap two when he slid wide on the uniquely banked Turn One and hit the concrete wall. When the red flag came out, Hancock had risen three places from sixth on the grid, while Russell Racing’s Aaron Steele (Chatham) had surged from 12th to sixth. As the race had run less than two complete laps, the cars re-formed in their original order.
At the restart, pole-sitter Parris made a second clean start and built an early advantage over fellow front-row starter Idafar. Mark Burdett Motorsport’s German racer Johannes Seidlitz (Skegness) had moved into third ahead of Hillspeed’s Ahmad Al Harthy (Hathersage), as Taro Motorsport’s Ash Davies (Conwy), Triple D’s Nathan Coulter (Hillsborough) and Club Class runner Steve Hanselman (Mayland) all retired on lap one. Steele was caught up in the melee at Deene Hairpin, dropping him to last place.
The opening lap saw a great tussle in midfield between Welch Motorsport’s Kourosh Khani (Corby) and Boulevard Team Racing’s Joshua Brooks (Spilsby). The pair swapped places several times on the opening tour before a spin for Brooks on the slippery infield section saw him fall behind.
As Parris built a four-second lead after four laps, Hancock passed Al Harthy and took advantage of a slip by Seidlitz to claim third place and close on Idafar. The following lap saw Hancock pass Idafar and, just behind, Alpine Motorsport’s Isa Yousif (Southampton) pass Al Harthy at Tarzan hairpin. Seidlitz, having dropped to 12th, was now back up to ninth.
Club Class leader Durrant had made a brilliant start and was lying as high as 15th overall in the early stages, a cushion of three FR2000 Class cars between himself and Smart in second place. By the midway point of the reduced 12-lap race he had a buffer of more than 20 seconds over Smart, who was unable to match the 17-year-old’s pace.
Pearson Engineering Services’ Ian Pearson (Didcot) continued his troubled day, following a spin in round three, with a minor spin out of eighth place exiting Tarzan. He was able to rejoin but down in 14th place where he would eventually finish. Lap six also saw Tempus Sport’s Mohammed Al A’Ali (London) out-brake himself at Tarzan, running into the gravel but far enough from the track to avoid causing a second race stoppage.
Lap eight proved to be crucial to the race outcome as Parris encountered backmarkers, which allowed Hancock to reduce his deficit to the leader by two seconds in a single lap. Two laps later, Hancock got his man by carrying more speed through Chapman Curve and cutting to the inside at Pif Paf to take the lead.
Meanwhile, Mark Burdett Motorsport duo Seidlitz and James Dixon (Stockbury) were dicing with Hillspeed’s Michael Lyons (Felsted). Although Lyons led the group for much of the race in sixth, lap nine saw Seidlitz pass on the banked Turn One with Dixon following his team-mate through later in the lap. After a failed attempt to regain the place at Tarzan, Lyons hit back on the final lap to grab seventh place.
In the race for the remaining Club Class podium positions behind Durrant, Smart was enjoying the cushion of FR2000 Class racer Bob Pearson (Didcot) between himself and Heinzelmann. Although Heinzelmann lapped faster on the final tour, he was unable to pass Pearson to enable any overtaking attempt for second place in class.
At the head of the field, Hancock was forced to keep the pace high as Parris fought back and he held on to win by 3.8s with Idafar a distant third a further seven seconds adrift. Durrant finished a creditable 15th overall and on the lead lap, while Smart and Heinzelmann were both one lap down.
Commenting on his second victory of the day, Ollie Hancock, who also set the fastest lap of the race at 1min 31.546s (76.62mph), said: “I have to give massive thanks to my team who gave me a great car for both races today. I made a good start again and it was a case of biding my time because I knew I had the pace. I got the run on Brett coming through the right-hander and just kept it to the inside at the left. It feels great to win again and now I can’t wait for Oulton Park and the next round.”
Second-placed Parris said: “It’s a bit disappointing to lose the race having led for so long. We had the car set-up to be quick early on and make a break away, which I managed to do, but obviously I paid for it later in the race. We always knew Ollie had the pace on us in the wet because we’ve done no wet weather testing but we can take positives from this weekend compared to Brands Hatch.”
Third-placed Idafar said: “It’s great to be on the podium for both races and I’ve learned a lot today about racing in the wet that will help me in the future. My lack of experience in these conditions meant I couldn’t challenge for the win but to have four podiums in four races is a very good start.”
Club Class winner Steven Durrant said: “It’s the first time everything has come together, from the car’s handling to being on pole and getting a good start. Although the track was greasy I managed to find some grip and keep myself a good distance from Fraser. This result was a massive improvement from round one after a blown tyre forced me to retire so overall a good weekend.”
Second-placed Fraser Smart said: “Steven had tremendous pace this afternoon and proved that when he gets it right, he gets it very right! I was conscious of the fact I had cars between myself and Edward and that was reassuring. I think it’s shaping up to be a great season and look forward to more close racing as the year goes on.”
Third-placed Edward Heinzelmann said: “I couldn’t quite match Steven and Fraser’s pace this afternoon but another podium is a good result. The conditions were slightly better than this morning but it’s still very easy to make a mistake so I’m happy with the result.”
Round five of the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship takes place at Cheshire’s Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday, 26th May.
Formula Renault BARC Championship provisional drivers’ standings – FR2000 Class
1 Ollie Hancock GBR Apotex Scorpio Motorsport 48 pts
2 Menasheh Idafar GBR Hillspeed 42 pts
3 Johannes Seidlitz GER Mark Burdett Motorsport 32 pts
4 Isa Yousif BRN Alpine Motorsport 22 pts
5 Ash Davies GBR Taro Motorsport 22 pts
6 Ahmad Al Harthy OMA Hillspeed 22 pts
7 Brett Parris GBR HS Motorsport/Antel 20 pts
8 Aaron Steele GBR Russell Racing 18 pts
9 James Dixon GBR Mark Burdett Motorsport 13 pts
10 Lee Dwyer GBR SSS Motorsport 8 pts
Formula Renault BARC Championship provisional drivers’ standings – Club Class
1 Fraser Smart GBR Driver 54 pts
2 Edward Heinzelmann GBR Heuthsports of Royston 52 pts
3 Steven Durrant GBR Muzz Race 40 pts
4 Adrian Dixon GBR Driver 18 pts
