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Bratt Chases Brands Podium After Qualifying Success |
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Sunday, 01 April 2007 |
Apotex Scorpio Motorsport driver Will Bratt has set his sights on climbing the Formula Renault UK podium at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit tomorrow having qualified in third position for the second of this weekend’s two races at the 1.2-mile Kent venue.
The 18-year-old University of Oxford student posted a superb lap of 44.591 seconds (96.77mph) during this afternoon’s round two qualifying session to claim a second-row start, Will’s best time just 0.173 seconds shy of a potential pole position.
For much of the session the Adderbury ace held second place on the
timing screens but a late improvement for fellow championship contender
Riki Christodoulou saw Will miss out on a front-row grid slot by just
four 100ths of a second.
During the day’s opening qualifying session, to determine the grid for
round one, Will wasn’t quite able to push his car as hard as he wanted
to through Surtees, under-steer forcing him to settle for seventh place
with a time of 44.590 seconds (96.77mph).
With overtaking at a premium on the tight and twisty Indy
configuration, Will knows he has his work cut-out to achieve a podium
result during round one. Starting in third place for the second
encounter, however, gives the Apotex UK-backed star the belief he will
be able to challenge for a possible race victory.
“Qualifying didn’t start as we had hoped and I am disappointed with
seventh place on the grid but third for the second race is much better,
we have a great opportunity to fight for at least one podium”,
commented Will.
“Overtaking is very difficult at Brands Hatch but if we can make a good
start we stand a good chance of scoring some healthy points. I want to
challenge for a win in the second race and it’s certainly not an
impossible task starting from third place.”
Round one of the 2007 Formula Renault UK Championship will take place
at 12.10 tomorrow, Sunday, 1st April, with round two scheduled to
follow at 17.30. Both races will be shown live by digital satellite and
cable subscription broadcaster Setanta Sports 2 – please check listings
for further details.
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