Croft 24/25th July 2004

Official Race Report

Report:Renault Sport

Race 1

Manor Motorsport’s Paul Di Resta (Bathgate, West Lothian) underlined once again why he’s renowned for his wet weather driving ability after finishing in second position during round 11 of the Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin at Croft Circuit this afternoon. The 18-year old Scotsman, who has now moved into fifth position in the driver standings, started from the third row of the grid and having made his way into fourth position on lap four, Di Resta showed incredible car control to take his third podium finish of the season. Fortec Motorsport’s Mike Conway (Sevenoaks, Kent), meanwhile, recorded his fifth victory of the year after driving a faultless race from NGK Laser Platinum Pole Position. The result gives him a substantial 114-point lead over nearest rival Westley Barber (Wimbish, Saffron Walden), who finished the race in third position for Comtec Racing. At the start Conway made a good getaway from the grid to lead second-placed Barber comfortably through the chicane, with Motaworld Racing’s Oliver Jarvis (Burwell, Cambridegshire) maintaining third position and Di Resta managing to pass Fortec’s Charles Hollings (Norwood, West Yorkshire) for fourth place. On lap seven, as Jarvis began to close-in on Barber and Di Resta began to catch Jarvis himself, the rain began to fall quite heavily and it was the Manor driver who had the most confidence and car control to judge the conditions perfectly. With all drivers staying on slick tyres during the short burst of rain, it was Di Resta who was the class of the field - first passing Jarvis for third place and then taking second position from Barber after a great move towards the end of the eighth lap. Di Resta did begin to catch leader Conway during the closing laps but the Fortec ace had enough of a gap and eventually crossed the line three and a half seconds ahead of the Manor driver. Race winner Mike Conway said: “I was happy with my start and managed to pull away from Westley but when the rain started to fall mid-way through the race it then seemed as though the conditions were changing almost every lap. “At one point the track was very wet and then just a couple of laps later it was almost completely dry again. Having said that, the circuit did give a lot of grip and so it wasn’t as difficult as it might have been. I’m very happy with the result.” Second placed Paul Di Resta commented: “It took a couple of laps for me to know exactly where the grip was when the rain came but after that it was fairly easy and I knew I would be able to pass Westley. It was a good race but we need some more podiums, and hopefully some wins, to move up the championship table.” Westley Barber, meanwhile, said: “I’m a little bit disappointed with the result and before the rain started to fall I was beginning to catch Mike. The conditions did catch me out but Paul drove well to take second place. Third place isn’t that bad though, and it’s still good points for the championship.” Fourth position in the race went to local driver Hollings while Jarvis finished fifth, Comtec Racing’s Susie Stoddart (Northampton) took sixth position, Team JLR’s Stephen Simpson (Enfield, Middlesex) finished seventh - having started 11th on the grid - and Team Firstair’s Sean McIntosh increased his ‘Graduate Cup’ lead after crossing the line in eighth place. The 12th round of the Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin is scheduled to take place at 16.25 this afternoon, Sunday, 25th July.

Race 2

Leading Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin entrant Fortec Motorsport enjoyed a highly successful 12th round of the season at Croft with series pace-setter Mike Conway (Sevenoaks, Kent) collecting his sixth victory of the season and Yorkshireman Charles Hollings (Norwood) taking an excellent second position at his local track. Starting in pole position and second place on the grid respectively, both Conway and Hollings made good starts to lead from Manor Motorsport’s Paul Di Resta (Bathgate, West Lothian) in third place - who started fifth on the grid - and Comtec Racing’s Westley Barber (Wimbish, Saffron Walden) in fourth position. Di Resta, however, was adjudged to have made a false start and was handed a 10 second penalty which dropped him down to 20th position on corrected times as the cars entered the second lap of the race. On lap three Hollings really looked to be pushing Conway with the gap between the team-mates a mere two 10ths of a second. From that point on though, Conway controlled the race to eventually win by 3.8 seconds from Hollings with Barber taking third place thanks to Di Resta’s penalty. A great battle took place between Team aka’s James Jakes (Cullingworth, West Yorkshire), Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Swedish driver Alex Storckenfeldt and Team Firstair’s Sean McIntosh. Unfortunately for Canadian McIntosh, new team-mate Patrick Rocha collided with him at the hairpin at the end of lap eight resulting in the ‘Graduate Cup’ leader falling down the order and eventually crossing the line in 14th position. Jakes finished the race in fourth position, by far his best result of the season and the top ‘Graduate Cup’ runner, with Storckenfeldt fifth and Di Resta sixth after a great charge to make up his 10 second penalty. Motaworld’s Oliver Jarvis (Burwell, Cambridgeshire) finished in seventh position, Brazilian newcomer Rocha was eighth, Comtec’s Susie Stoddart (Northampton) crossed the line in ninth place and Falcon’s Mexican driver Carlos Mastretta (Headington, Oxfordshire) was 10th. Speaking on his sixth victory of 2004, a smiling Mike Conway said: “It was hard to know how much I had to push and I knew Charlie was right there behind me. The rain did threaten to fall as it did during round 11 so it could have made things a little more unpredictable but we managed to keep everything together and come home with another win. “I can relax now and look forward to the next two rounds at Knockhill where I’m sure we’ll be competitive. Things are looking good for me and the team but there’s still a long way to go in the championship.” Commenting on his third podium of the season, Charles Hollings added: “I’m absolutely delighted to be on the podium again and it’s great for the team we managed a one-two with Mike taking another win. “At one point I did feel I had a chance of pressuring him a bit more but I’m very happy to finish in second place and results like this one are a true reflection of the pace we have. I’m hoping we can be as competitive now for the rest of the season.” Third-placed Westley Barber said: “We’ve scored more good points but Fortec has done a superb job again this weekend so we’ve got two weeks now to scratch our heads and see where we can improve. I’m sure we’ll be back in contention at Knockhill but in the meantime we’ll work as hard as possible to help close the gap.”

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