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[Formula Renault BARC] Sensational Oakes Storms To Victory On Car Racing Debut |
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Monday, 01 May 2006 |
SENSATIONAL OAKES STORMS TO VICTORY ON CAR RACING DEBUT
Jordan Oakes (Hopton, Norfolk) produced an exemplary performance to win round two of the Formula Renault BARC Championship at Snetterton on Saturday, 29th April. Starting from pole position, the home favourite was never seriously pushed as he won by a massive 8.108s from Hillspeed’s James Littlejohn (Warwick). Russell Racing’s Matt Shawyer (Wheathampstead, Herts) finished third and now leads the Championship by one point from round one winner Richard Singleton (Conwy, Wales) who came seventh.
Mark Terry (Chatham, Kent) managed to pass Club Class rival Ian Pearson (Didcot, Oxon) at the start but the reigning Champion soon restored the grid order to win the race for pre-2000 cars, finishing 14th overall. Muzz Race’s Simon Keast (Billesden, Leics) finished third, his third podium finish in Formula Renault BARC and his first outside the Winter Championship.
Oakes’ debut in car racing has been eagerly awaited thanks to his tremendous pedigree in karting across Europe where he has several race wins to his credit in Formula ICA, mainly in Italy. The 16-year-old didn’t disappoint as he qualified on pole by 0.412s and took full advantage of Shawyer and Singleton stalling from second and third respectively on the grid.
By the end of lap two, the Eurotek Motorsport star led Littlejohn by almost one second and continued to extend his lead steadily throughout the 15-lap race, breaking the lap record on lap eight with a time of 1min 08.112s (103.17mph) around the 1.95-mile Norfolk circuit. Meanwhile, Shawyer began working his way back up through the field and by lap two was on the tail of Worswick Engineering’s Rossi (Blackburn).
The closest battle on the track was for sixth place with Hywel Lloyd (Corwen, Denbyshire) pushing Felix Fisher (Bridgwater), who resisted the Welshman’s passing attempts on his way to claiming his first points of the season. Lloyd’s countryman Singleton was having more success, passing experienced French driver Denis Autier (London) who eventually finished 10th for Mark Burdett Motorsport with his young team-mate Craig Copeland (Wimbourne, Dorset) in eighth.
While Oakes continued to assert his authority at the head of the field, Shawyer was reviving memories of round one as he pursued Rossi. With two laps left, the 23-year-old got the better of his 17-year-old rival just as he had on the last lap at Silverstone one week before. Carrying good speed through Sear Corner, Shawyer was able to pass Rossi into The Esses at the end of the back straight to claim third.
In the battle for places on the Club Class podium, Pearson passed FR2000 Class drivers Pierre Renom (London) and Chris Murray (Salisbury), enabling him to open a 20s gap over Terry. Keast was lapped in the closing stages by Oakes, but had enough of an advantage over Bob Pearson (Didcot, Oxon) to take third.
But the day belonged to Oakes, who revealed a high degree of confidence in his ability after the race, saying: “To be honest, I didn’t have to push that hard after getting away well at the start. I was nervous on the line in case I made a bad start but then I saw I had a big gap and could pace myself. It’s a great way to start my career in car racing and hopefully I’ll be able to finish high up in every race this year.”
Littlejohn was delighted to secure his first Formula Renault BARC podium after a difficult start, explaining: “Both cars in front of me didn’t get away well and I got held up a bit. I soon knew I wouldn’t catch Jordan but had a big gap to the guys behind and I’m happy with second.”
Shawyer admitted his poor getaway was a driver error but felt his result could have been better had the race lasted a little longer. The Russell Racing star said: “I dropped right down to seventh or eighth and winning was almost impossible from there. I made it hard for myself but fought back and passed a few people. I was catching James but he was too far ahead with only two laps left so it wasn’t quite the result I was looking for.”
Pearson admitted a cautious approach cost him places at the start but was satisfied with another 17 points after adding the Fastest Lap with a time of 1min 10.117s (100.22mph). The 26-year-old said: “It was quite a chaotic start and Pierre Renom stalled directly in front of me so I had to come off the throttle. But I managed to get through in one piece and was then able to reel in Mark and pass him. Then it was a case of keeping out of trouble.”
Terry was happy with second place to add to third at Silverstone and feels he can continue to improve, saying: “The car is still quite new to me so I am learning more all the time. I managed to hold Ian off for a few laps but he just had more power in his engine down the straight. The time in the car is important to me now and second place gives me something to build on.”
Keast revelled in his success in bringing the distinctive black Muzz Race car home in third, explaining: “I don’t usually get a chance to finish this high up so I’m really pleased. I was able to keep in touch with Mark while he was battling with Ian but once Ian got past it left Mark with a clear track and he pulled away. It’s a good result though and hopefully there’s more to come.”
Rounds three and four take place at a double header meeting at Croft circuit, North Yorkshire on 20th/21st May.
Standings after Round Two – Provisional
| Pos. | Driver | Nat. | Team | Points | | FR2000 Class | | 1 | Matt Shawyer | GBR | Russell Racing | 22 | | 2 | Richard Singleton | GBR | Richard Singleton Racing | 21 | | 3 | James Littlejohn | GBR | Hillspeed | 18 | | 4 | Rossi | GBR | Worswick Engineering | 18 | | 5 | Jordan Oakes | GBR | Eurotek Motorsport | 17 | | Club Class | | 1 | Ian Pearson | GBR | | 34 | | 3 | Mark Terry | GBR | Reon Motorsport | 22 | | 3 | Simon Keast | GBR | Muzz Race | 5 | | 4 | Bob Pearson | GBR | | 14 | | 5 | Andrew Webb | GBR | | 12 |
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