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Metcalfe Happy To End Season Fifth In Championship |
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Monday, 16 October 2006 |
Jeremy Metcalfe recorded his ninth top four finish of the Formula Renault UK season at Silverstone National Circuit on Sunday during a controversial final round of the year at the Northamptonshire venue.
Concluding only his second ever season of car racing just 31-points shy of a top three placing in the championship, the 18-year-old Hampshire sensation has enjoyed a successful campaign which has not only brought four podium finishes but also two ELF/Atol Driver of the Day awards.
Jeremy ended the morning’s 19th round disappointed with 10th position after struggling with a lack of power from his engine, but heading into the last race of the season the AKA Lemac star was confident of an improvement which came with fifth position on the track at the end of 24 racing laps.
However, due to an exclusion from the results for rival Sam Bird – the latter adjudged by the Clerk of the Course to have broken
championship regulations when running under Safety Car conditions –
Jeremy was credited with fourth place.
Having passed Cheng Cong Fu early on, Jeremy also made a place from
Will Bratt on lap nine following a short Safety Car period. Although
looking quicker than fourth-placed team-mate Patrick Hogan, especially
during the closing laps, Jeremy showed a mature and sportsmanlike
attitude after deciding against pressing his title-chasing team-mate.
Remaining in fifth position to the chequered flag, just eight 10ths of
a second behind Hogan, the Fleet sensation was later handed fourth
position when Bird was excluded and saw his appeal against the decision
rejected.
Speaking at the end of his final race meeting of the Formula Renault UK
season, Jeremy said: “I’m really happy we were much more competitive in
the last race, the team managed to sort out the problem we had with the
engine and the car felt very good. I passed Cheng early on and then got
past Bratt after a few laps.
“It was a great result to end the season on. Earlier in the day I was a
little bit dejected because of the engine problem but in the second
race I was moving forward all the way through and if we had wanted to
try and pass Paddy I know we had the pace to do that.”
Qualifying didn’t quite go according to plan for the BillChaser-backed
sensation for either race, Jeremy lining up seventh on the grid for
both of the weekend’s encounters, but at the start of round 19 he
immediately knew his car was down on power.
Having made a decent enough start, the Hampshire teenager struggled to
stay with Cheng Cong Fu, David Epton and Markus Niemela as the quartet
battled out of Becketts and onto the National Straight, Jeremy losing
out and slipping back to 10th position.
He did well though to continue lapping within three 10ths of a second
of the race winner, team-mate Patrick Hogan, and the 11 points for 10th
position went to ensuring Jeremy would end his campaign a healthy 29
points clear of James Sutton at the end of the day.
Commenting on the race, Jeremy said: “I was alongside Franky (Cheng)
and he pulled away from me along the back straight and then Epton and
Niemela both came alongside me too. Obviously, there was something
wrong with the engine which is a real shame.
“Considering the problem, I think we had to be reasonably happy to come
away with a top 10 result and some valuable points and even though we
were visibly down on power along the straights, we acquitted ourselves
well to stay in the top 10.”
He added: “I’m really pleased with fifth in the championship, if
someone had offered us fifth at the start of the season we’d have
definitely taken it as it’s a good platform for next year when we’ll
hopefully be back to challenge for the title.”
The final two rounds of the 2006 Formula Renault UK Championship will
be replayed, in full, this Tuesday, 17th October, at 07.00 on Motors
TV. Sky Digital viewers can watch the action on channel 413 while NTL
cable subscribers should visit channel 545.
Please note, the 2006 Formula Renault UK Championship title is still
yet to be decided with Sebastian Hohenthal’s victory in doubt due to an
MSA National Court appeal which has been lodged by Hogan.
With both drivers ending the season tied on 481 points, the Swede was
credited with the win due to a greater number of race wins during the
season but he is in danger of losing the crown after appearing to drive
in contravention of the championship regulations during the round 20
Safety Car period.
Provisional Final Formula Renault UK Championship Driver Standings:
| Pos. |
Driver |
Points |
| 1st |
Patrick Hogan |
481 |
| = |
Sebastian Hohenthal |
481 |
| 3rd |
Cheng Cong Fu |
374 |
| 4th |
Sam Bird |
373 |
| 5th |
Jeremy Metcalfe |
343 |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 December 2006 )
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