|
Four Line Up As AKA Cobra Hit The Track |
|
|
|
|
Saturday, 03 February 2007 |
AKA Cobra returns to a four-pronged attack as it ramps up preparation for the 2007 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship. Having entered just three cars for the majority of the 2006 season, this year marks a return to a four-car line-up from round one at Brands Hatch Indy.
Jeremy Metcalfe (Fleet, Hants) returns to the Leicestershire-based team
for a second season, his third in all in the premier single-seater
category. After debuting in 2005, last season saw the 18-year-old mark
himself out as a possible title contender. Four podiums and a total of
11 top-six finishes, together with two stunning wet-weather drives at
Oulton Park packed with overtaking, resulted in a fifth-placed finish
overall.
Adam Christodoulou (Lichfield, Staffs) enters his first full season of
car racing after making his debut with the team in the 2006 Formula
Renault UK Winter Series, where he finished 10th overall. The
17-year-old, cousin of Fortec Motorsport driver Riki Christodoulou
(Sutton Coldfield), boasts an impressive list of karting titles.
Chris Holmes (Ilkley, Yorkshire) is making the step up from the Formula
BMW series. Turning 20-years-old on 7th February, Holmes is preparing
to make his mark on the UK motorsport scene after finishing 13th
overall in 2006 racing for Mackie Motorsport.
The fourth member of the team is Australian driver Nathan Caratti
(London) whose career to this point has focused on Formula Ford racing
in Australia. The 21-year-old Perth native is the 2004 Western
Australia State Formula Ford champion and he has finished seventh in
the Australian Formula Ford Championship in each of the last two
seasons with a host of podium finishes.
Commenting as the team officially confirmed its place in the Formula
Renault UK paddock for a fourth year of racing, Team Manager Andrew
Kirkaldy said: “I’m very happy with the driver line-up we have for this
season and it’s good to be able to run a four-car team. We have had
four cars on-track at races before so I know the team has the ability
to cope and hopefully we’ll be in for a good year.
“The thing about our drivers is that they are all so evenly matched and
it’s going to be interesting to watch them compete against each other.
Obviously they all want to be the quickest out there and the fact they
are looking so close in testing will most likely spur them on to
greater things.”
Ownership of AKA Cobra is now shared between Kirkaldy, his sports car
racing team-mate Chris Niarchos and the team’s Chief Engineer Paul
Jackson.
AKA Cobra is continuing an intensive testing programme ahead of the
first official Formula Renault UK test at Rockingham on 1st/2nd March.
Rounds one and two of the championship are at Brands Hatch Indy circuit
on 31st March /1st April.
|
News