Eurotek Motorsport’s Jordan Oakes (Hopton, Norfolk) won round 10 of the Formula Renault BARC Championship at Thruxton on Saturday, 16th September, storming through from fifth on the grid to finish just 0.178s ahead of Championship leader Richard Singleton (Conwy, Wales). The Welshman’s podium means he stays 15 points ahead of Oakes in the FR2000 Class title race with two races left.
In Club Class, Ian Pearson (Didcot, Oxon) successfully defended his title despite retiring on lap two of the 12-lap race at the 2.36-mile Hampshire circuit. His nearest challenger, Mark Terry (Chatham, Kent) finished third but Pearson’s bonus point for pole position gives him a 34-point lead with two rounds left. Each round carries a maximum 17 points but even if Terry was to achieve this, Pearson would win the title by virtue of having a greater number of race victories.
The closest qualifying session of the season saw the top five cars lap with 0.095s of Falcon Motorsport’s pole-sitter Andrew Meyrick (Chester). Hillspeed’s James Littlejohn (Warwick) lined up alongside him on the front row with Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Craig Copeland (Wimbourne, Dorset) in third. Singleton and Oakes started fourth and fifth, with Ian Pearson a fantastic 10th on the grid to easily claim the Club Class pole position ahead of Mark Terry in 23rd.
As the lights went out to start the race, Oakes blasted past Singleton off the line and then passed Littlejohn at the Complex to slot into second place behind Meyrick. Littlejohn lost out to Copeland and Singleton on lap one to drop to fifth. Hywel Lloyd (Corwen, Denbyshire) also lost two places, to Russell Racing’s Matt Shawyer (Wheathampstead, Herts) and Worswick Engineering’s Rossi (Blackburn). Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Denis Autier (London) made up three places and Louis Hamilton-Smith (Stratford upon Avon, Warks) picked up four places to run 13th and 14th respectively.
Singleton responded to Oakes’ initial early burst by setting a new fastest lap on lap two, passing Copeland for third place in the process. At the end of the lap, the charging Autier attempted to pass Ian Pearson for 10th place at Club chicane, having already dispatched Eurotek Motorsport’s Emma Selway (Tring, Herts). As the Frenchman moved to the outside, Pearson ran wide under braking and the cars touched, sending Autier into the crash barrier and out of the race, with Pearson limping into retirement in the pits.
As Meyrick and Oakes pulled away from the chasing pack, Rossi was attacking Littlejohn and finally got past on lap five, only to out-brake himself and lock a wheel at Club chicane and fall back to sixth place. Meanwhile, with Ian Pearson out of the Club Class race, James Heffernan (London) led the category ahead of Robert Pearson (Didcot, Oxon) and Mark Terry.
At mid-race distance, Meyrick and Oakes exchanged fastest laps as they continued to stretch away from Singleton. On lap seven, Meyrick set the Fastest Lap of the race at 1min 14.515s (113.82mph) to open a 1.396s lead over Oakes. The leaders were already beginning to lap backmarkers and this was to have a defining effect on the outcome.
Meyrick caught up to Club Class driver Steve Hanselman (Chelmsford, Essex) on the approach to the Complex and moved to the left side of the track to take the right-hander at Segrave. But as Hanselman drifted wide, their wheels became interlocked forcing Meyrick to spin out of the lead and onto the grass in his effort to avoid contact. He re-joined in eighth place, gifting Oakes the lead.
Singleton was immediately able to challenge for the lead and crossed the line just 0.255s adrift at the end of lap nine. Copeland, Littlejohn and Rossi completed the top five and the quintet broke clear of the field as the scrap for podium places entered its final stages.
Oakes was able to increase his lead by almost four-tenths of a second on the penultimate lap, although he still had to negotiate backmarkers. The closest tussle saw Rossi tucked under the rear wing of Littlejohn, but the Hillspeed man drove superbly to keep him at bay.
Finally, on the 12th and last lap, Rossi made the pass at Goodwood corner to take fourth place. However, Rossi was later excluded from the results for a technical infringement, technical scrutineers finding an irregularity with the teenager’s gearbox. Littlejohn regained fourth place in the amended classification as all finishers moved up one place.
Oakes’ final difficulty arose in the last few hundred yards of racing as he and Singleton encountered series debutant Julie Clark at Club chicane. However, the Muzz Race driver was aware of the leaders’ approach and kept the track clear for them to pass, Oakes beating Singleton to the chequered flag by just a few car lengths.
In Club Class, James Heffernan was able to pass Falcon Motorsport’s FR2000 Class driver Robin Palmer (Yelverton, Devon) to give him some breathing space over second placed Robert Pearson, who, by keeping Mark Terry behind him, helped his son to retain his title while sitting in the pitlane.
Commenting on his victory, triple race-winner Oakes said: “I was closing on Andrew before he spun but kept making silly little
mistakes to let him get away slightly each time. He made a mistake by
passing the backmarker on the outside to let me through to the lead and
once I got ahead, I eased off a bit and made sure I covered the line in
the slow corners. The title is still possible but I’d have preferred to
have someone finish between myself and Richard.
Singleton added: “I would have liked to come first but second will do
in terms of the title. I thought I may have been able to have a go for
the lead on the outside at the chicane on the last lap but I backed off
because I’ve got more to lose than Jordan. Hopefully I’ll be able to
win the first race at Brands Hatch and wrap it up then.”
For Copeland, it was a second podium of the season and his first since
the wet race at Croft in May. He commented: “I got a good start and was
racing alongside Andrew for the lead through the Complex but I was
under power on the straights and that’s a big thing around here. All
the tracks I’ve raced on this year are new and with the limited testing
I’ve had, a third place here is a good result for me.”
Celebrating his first Club Class victory of the season at Thruxton,
James Heffernan said: “It’s fantastic to get a win and all the hard
work’s finally paid off. I had a great start and got past Mark Terry,
who had a few issues, on lap one and then passed Steve Hanselman at the
Complex. I didn’t realise Ian had stopped but still felt like there was
more pace in the car because I was keeping up with the FR2000 Class
cars.
Second placed Pearson said: “It was a good race today and very pleasing
to see nine Club Class cars in the field. I managed to stay just behind
James at the start and we both gained a few places. Fortunately for
Ian, I was able to keep Mark Terry behind me and like to think I played
my part today in him winning the title.”
For Terry, a collision in qualifying with debutant Ryan Borthwick
(Hawick, Scotland) hampered his chances. He stays second in the Club
Class drivers’ standings and said: “I rebuilt the right rear suspension
between qualifying and the race but I was understeering in right-handed
corners and that’s a major problem at this circuit. I had to brake very
early just to get round corners and so I wasn’t able to make up ground.”
The final two rounds of the Championship take place at Brands Hatch
circuit, Kent, this weekend, 23rd/24th September. Round 11 is scheduled
to start at 17:20 on Saturday, 23rd September with round 12 on Sunday,
24th September at 17:10.
Standings after Round 10 – Provisional
| Pos. |
Driver |
Nationality |
Team |
Points |
| FR2000 Class Standings |
| 1 |
Richard Singleton |
GBR |
Coles Racing |
124 |
| 2 |
Jordan Oakes |
GBR |
Eurotek Motorsport |
109 |
| 3 |
Rossi |
GBR |
Worswick Engineering |
78 |
| 4 |
James Littlejohn |
GBR |
Hillspeed |
77 |
| 5 |
Hywel Lloyd |
GBR |
CF Racing |
49 |
| Club Class Standings |
| 1 |
Ian Pearson |
GBR |
|
138 CHAMPION |
| 2 |
Mark Terry |
GBR |
Reon Motorsport |
104 |
| 3 |
James Heffernan |
GBR |
JH Motorsport |
76 |
| 4 |
Bob Pearson |
GBR |
|
64 |
| 5 |
Andrew Webb |
GBR |
|
62 |
|
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