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Sims Shines for Manor during Albacete Test |
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Thursday, 14 December 2006 |
 Formula Renault UK sensation Alexander Sims has been hailed as a genuine challenger for podiums and almost certainly race victories during the 2007 championship after an outstanding performance during winter testing at Albacete in Spain last week.
The 18-year-old Peterborough-based star joined Manor, the squad with which he made his category debut during November’s four-round Winter Championship, for three and a half days of intensive running and both driver and team returned from the Spanish venue delighted with the progress made.
“Every session went really well”, reflected Alexander, “I truly started
to feel at home with the Renault at Albacete. If the car moved around
at any point I was completely happy with it and could control it
without thinking. The feeling I am getting now in the car is how
comfortable I felt in karts so that’s really good news.
“We ran on several new sets of tyres, throughout the test I started
driving harder on those and getting more time out of the fresh rubber.
The team was excellent, I’m very pleased with how things went and we
continued to work very well together. I have no complaints whatsoever
and I think we’re very close to agreeing a deal for next season.”
Backed by Ocean Spray, J.O Sims and Clink Street Properties, Alexander
stunned the Formula Renault UK paddock with his rapid performances
during the winter series, taking a superb maiden podium during only his
third ever car race and also posting the fastest lap en route to second
position.
Although clearly a remarkable talent during his eight-year karting
tenure, which brought title success in the BRDC Champions of the
Future, British Formula JICA and the prestigious CIK/FIA Monaco Kart
Cup, Alexander’s speed and natural ability in cars mark him out as an
incredible prospect and a future champion in single-seater racing.
Commenting on the Albacete test, Manor’s Tony Shaw said: “Our time in
Spain was very productive, Alexander had plenty of experience on new
tyres and he performed very well indeed. His pace was more than
comparable with some of the other series front-runners who were testing
so we’re absolutely delighted with the progress he is making.”
Alexander is expected to officially confirm his plans for 2007 within the next few weeks.
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