Hillspeed’s James Theodore (Telford) and Fortec Motorsport’s Joseph Reilly (Camden, London) shared the spoils during rounds nine and 10 of the 2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship at Rockingham Motor Speedway on 11th/12th September.
Both drivers secured lights-to-flag victories during the thrilling weekend at the 1.94-mile Northamptonshire track with Theodore leading the way in round nine and Reilly the victor in round 10. The two teenagers also picked up a further podium apiece with the 18-year-old Telford racer adding a third place to his tally while Reilly, also 18, collected second before his round 10 win.
SWB Motorsport’s Luke Wright (Dorset) and Fortec Motorsport’s Josh Webster (Suffolk) scooped up the remaining podium honours with Wright clinching third spot in round nine followed by Webster claiming second in round 10 behind Reilly to give Fortec Motorsport a one-two finish.
Despite not picking up any of the silverware during the weekend, Fortec Motorsport’s Mitchell Hale (Bristol) came away from the meeting as the championship leader and with it Renault Sport’s prize of a test in a Formula Renault 2.0 race car at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya later this year. The 16-year-old also now has one hand on the title crown going into the final two rounds of the series at Hampshire’s Thruxton circuit on 17th October.
Reilly leads from the front…
A strong showing during Saturday’s qualifying session saw Reilly secure the pole position honours for the start of the 14-lap round 10. To his right sat round nine winner Theodore with Hale and championship rival Hillspeed’s Alice Powell (Chipping Norton) alongside him on row two.
As the lights went out, Reilly and Hale made the best starts with Theodore slow off the mark after over revving his engine. That meant when the field emerged from the tricky Deene Hairpin the three Fortec Motorsport cars were dominating the top three places with Reilly leading from Hale and Webster. Like her team-mate, Powell had also lost ground crossing the line at the end of lap one outside the top 10.
The Fortec trio didn’t last long though with Webster moving into second as Hale dropped down the order promoting Theodore into third and bringing fourth-placed Wright into podium contention. Meanwhile Powell was quickly making amends for her lost grid position and after just a handful of laps was back up to seventh. A few laps later the 17-year-old was all over the back of Brett Parris’ (Southampton) sixth-placed Antel Motorsport run car with Brett ‘coming out of retirement’ in place of series regular Kasper Krogh (Denamrk) who had been unable to compete. Powell never did find a way past Parris despite her best efforts but was finally able to show her true pace after suffering from a blocked catalytic converter in round nine.
Just behind Alice, a great three-way battle was taking place between RPD Motorsport’s Steven Durrant (Oxford), MTech’s Jake Rattenbury (Glamorgan) and Privateer Cup racer James Birch (Rickmansworth) with the trio often nose-to-tail.
Out in front the top three had begun to spread out with Reilly enjoying almost a three-second margin over Webster although the 16-year-old Suffolk racer was certainly on the pace having earlier set the fastest lap of the race. Webster was never going to be close enough to mount a challenge though leaving Reilly to secure his second win of the season. Webster completed the Fortec Motorsport one-two ahead of Theodore and Wright with Hale completing the top five and remaining as title leader with a 16-point advantage. Birch finished 10th and the leading Privateer Cup driver.
Theodore takes second win…
Safety Car periods usually make races harder for the leader but in Theodore’s case it would lead him home for his second win of the year during Sunday’s round nine. After starting on pole, the teenager made a great start to lead the field comfortably into the Deene Hairpin, so much so that he was able to take his usual line rather than a defensive one. Wright, from third on the grid, had also got a lightning start to move into second as he braked for the tight left-hander costing Webster his second place. The opening lap also saw gains for Durrant and Triple Eight Racing’s Sazlan Sirajudin (MAL) while in contrast Hale was struggling just outside the top five.
Theodore was already developing a healthy lead after only a handful of laps while just behind Reilly was also on a charge getting by Webster to move into third and hot on the heels of second-place Wright. Webster then dropped a further place this time to Powell as the youngster struggled to find his rhythm on the dry circuit.
In the midfield, it was Parris and newcomer Tommaso Menchini (ITA), racing for MTech, who were battling hard with Durrant also adding his car to that scrap. Ahead, team-mates Webster and Hale were swapping places at Tarzan only for the two to swap back as Webster instantly regained his fifth place.
By lap seven the top three of Theodore, Wright and Reilly were now running nose-to-tail with Theodore dropping back with his car suffering from understeer. Reilly was also getting increasingly close to the back of Wright’s car and after a better exit out of the chicane he was able to slip by Wright to take his second place.
The three were set to battle it out for the remainder of the race until contact between Durrant and Menchini in the battle for seventh on the run-out of Turn 1caused the championship’s Safety Car to be deployed and the race to be neutralized.
As the marshals tended to the incident, Theodore led the pack behind the Safety Car waiting for the lights to go out and the race to restart. Sadly that moment never came as the race was forced to conclude under Safety Car conditions due to the marshals being unable to make the track safe in the permitted time.
Theodore therefore claimed the win, although perhaps not in the way he would have liked, after 13 laps with Reilly, who also secured the fastest lap of the race, in second and Wright in third. Powell and Webster rounded off the top five with Hale struggling by his high standards in sixth. Birch collected the Privateer Cup class win.
Commenting on his weekend Theodore said: “Overall it has been a good weekend for us although it’s frustrating knowing I’m no longer a championship contender. In round nine I got a fantastic start and pushed on straight away to build a lead. I then started to suffer from understeer which allowed Luke and Joseph to close so I was relieved to see the Safety Car but it’s never how you want to win a race. Round 10 was another good contest where we had the pace but my start let me down and my tyres began to fade a little.”
Commenting on his win and second place Reilly said: “It was pretty hectic at the start of round nine as we were all bunched up going into the Hairpin but I came out unscathed. I was then able to get the jump on Luke after a good run through the chicane but then the Safety Car came out and that was that. After a great start in round 10 I knew the key was just being consistent and picking off the laps one by one. It was great that Josh was able to follow me home too for a one-two finish for the team.”
Third-place in round nine Wright said: “I got a great start but I made a few mistakes which allowed Joseph to eventually get through. I think it was all set up for a good race between the three of us but the Safety Car put an end to that.”
Webster, who picked up the final podium in round 10, added: “The team made some changes before the race which certainly helped to give me good race pace and when I got into clean air the car certainly felt better and I could start to relax and enjoy the race.”
The final two rounds, 11 and 12, of the 2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship take place at Thruxton on 16th October.
2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship provisional drivers’ standings – round 10:
1 Mitchell Hale GBR Fortec Motorsport 260 pts
2 Alice Powell GBR Hillspeed 244 pts
3 Joseph Reilly GBR Fortec Motorsport 207 pts
4 Josh Webster GBR Fortec Motorsport 204 pts
5 Luke Wright GBR SWB Motorsport 193 pts
6 James Theodore GBR Hillspeed 190 pts
Privateer Cup – round 10:
1 James Birch GBR 151 pts
