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Bentley To Contest BARC Finale With Russell Racing |
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Wednesday, 20 September 2006 |
Andrew Bentley will make a welcome return to action with Russell Racing this weekend, 23rd/24th September, as part of the Formula Renault BARC Championship season finale at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent.
The 24-year-old, who lives in Northampton but is originally from Barnard Castle in County Durham, made his category debut with Russell Racing at Snetterton in June but since his excellent top five finish in the second of the two ‘double-header’ races at the Norfolk venue, Andrew has been forced to sit on the sidelines due to budget restrictions.
With the necessary funding now in place to contest the weekend’s 11th
and 12th rounds of the year in the headline FR2000 Class, the former UK
Formula Ford star is confident of a successful outing with the
Doncaster team but realises he will have his work cut-out against
front-running drivers with a full season of Formula Renault BARC action
under their belts.
Looking ahead to the weekend’s action, Andrew commented: “I’ve probably
raced at Brands more than any other circuit so I don’t think
re-learning the track will be too much of a problem.
“Obviously the other guys at the front have had four more rounds since
I last raced at Snetterton and they’re improving all the time, so we
are at a bit if a disadvantage there but I’m confident it should be a
good weekend.
“Qualifying will be all important, there is always a lot of traffic on
the Indy Circuit and overtaking in the races is next to impossible
really. If things go well on Saturday though, I’m sure we can aim for a
couple of very good results in the races.”
Making its debut appearance on the British Touring Car Championship
support package alongside sister series Formula Renault UK, the BARC
category will also benefit from live television coverage for the first
time in its history with the 12th and final round of the 2006 season
set to be featured on digital satellite and cable channel Motors TV.
With his sights set on a maiden podium finish in Formula Renault BARC
from only his second race meeting in the championship, Andrew is
certainly hoping for a different outcome to the weekend than the one he
experienced during his most recent Brands Hatch race back in 2005.
“My last experience of Brands was rolling through the gravel trap at
Paddock Hill Bend”, explained Andrew, “The accident made the front page
of Motorsport News but it would be nice to grab the headlines for more
positive reasons this weekend.
“I did almost win at Brands in the 2004 UK Formula Ford Winter Series,
we finished second in the end, so I’m confident we should go well at
the weekend. Snetterton was good earlier in the season so I think if we
can continue the same level of progress we showed there, we have a
great chance of some good results.”
Due to a restriction on the number of cars which are permitted to race
on the 1.2-mile Indy Circuit, and also taking into consideration the
bumper grid which has graced Formula Renault BARC this season, it did
look originally as though Russell Racing would be prevented from
fielding a car for Andrew in the season finale.
Although listed as the first reserve entry for the race meeting, the
Northampton ace now heads into the weekend as an active participant
following the withdrawal earlier today of another FR2000 Class
competitor.
Official pre-event testing will take place on Friday, 22nd September,
with qualifying to follow on Saturday, 23rd September. The round 11
session will begin proceedings at 09.00 with round 12 qualifying
scheduled to start at 13.50.
The first of the weekend’s Formula Renault BARC races will then begin
at 17.10 with the 12th and final round of the season to take place on
Sunday, 24th September, again at 17.10. The live television broadcast
of the 20-lap encounter will be carried on Motors TV, channel 413 of
the Sky Digital platform and through cable provider NTL on channel 545.
Russell Racing will, of course, also be participating in the Formula
Renault UK series at Brands Hatch with regular driver Matt Russell.
Like Formula Renault BARC, official testing will take place on Friday,
22nd September, with round 17 qualifying set to start at 11.20 and the
round 18 session expected to get underway at 16.00.
Both Formula Renault UK races will then be held on Sunday, 24th
September, with round 17 beginning at 11.55 and round 18 scheduled to
start at 15.05. Motors TV, of course, will cover both races live.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 December 2006 )
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