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Metcalfe Shrugs Off Pressure To Clinch Maiden Win |
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Monday, 02 April 2007 |
Jeremy Metcalfe (Fleet) won his first Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship victory by less than a car length in round one at Brands Hatch Indy on Sunday, 1st April. The AKA Cobra driver held off intense pressure throughout the 24-lap race from Fortec Motorsport’s Duncan Tappy (West Ewell) who crossed the line just 0.061s behind. Metcalfe’s team-mate Adam Christodoulou (Lichfield) was the leading Graduate Cup driver in third place.
The front three came home in grid order after Metcalfe had claimed NGK Laser Platinum pole position on Saturday, but it was far from straightforward for the 18-year-old in his third season of Formula Renault UK. Tappy was never more than half a second behind and made repeated attempts to pass at the tight 1.20-mile circuit.
As the first race of the season got underway, Fortec Motorsport’s Riki
Christodoulou (Sutton Coldfield) made a poor start to drop from fourth
on the grid to lie seventh. Apotex Scorpio Motorsport’s Will Bratt
(Banbury) was the chief beneficiary, climbing two places to fifth
behind AKA Cobra’s Chris Holmes (Ilkley). Manor Competition’s Alexander
Sims (Peterborough) had the worst possible start to his debut season,
running wide and into the gravel trap at Druids Hairpin on the opening
lap.
His team-mate Alex Morgan (Birmingham), starting from the
back of the grid after a brake problem in qualifying, gained four
places on the first lap to lie 13th. He then passed Borthwick
Motorsport’s Ryan Borthwick (Hawick) and Eucatex/Premier Pet/Shoptour’s
Adriano Buzaid (Oxford) on lap four to claim 11th place.
As the
top six drivers broke away from the rest of the field, which was headed
by Riki Christodoulou, Eurotek Motorsport’s Jordan Oakes (Hopton) spun
on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend, but was able to recover and continue.
Fortec’s Ryuji Yamamoto (Northampton) moved to avoid Oakes but was
unable to avoid hitting Buzaid, the Japanese forced into retirement on
just the fourth lap.
As Tappy pressed Metcalfe for the lead,
Adam Christodoulou waited for an opportunity to take second place and
despite their battle, the trio were able to open a gap to Holmes, Bratt
and Dean Smith (Wolverhampton). In midfield, Manor Competition’s
Richard Singleton (Conwy) passed Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Sho Hanawa
(Skegness) for eighth place but could not find a way past Riki
Christodoulou.
The lead almost changed hands on lap eight as
Tappy pulled alongside Metcalfe as they crossed the start/finish line.
Metcalfe defended the racing line forcing Tappy to the outside and the
Fortec driver was unable to complete the pass. Smith attempted a
similar move on Bratt on lap 14, but the Apotex Scorpio Motorsport man
was also able to block the line.
On lap 16, Oakes dived through
on the inside of Buzaid at Druids Hairpin to move into the top 10.
Buzaid then ran wide at Graham Hill Bend before a puncture caused him
to spin at Surtees to end his race. Two laps later, Smith made a second
bid for Bratt’s fifth place, successfully moving to the inside at
Clearways to complete a confident pass.
Buoyed by this success,
Smith set about closing on fourth-placed Holmes and on the penultimate
lap, out-braked the AKA Cobra man after setting up the move on the
previous lap. However, the gap was too large to Adam Christodoulou for
Smith to make a bid for a podium finish. Smith does pick up two bonus
points for setting the fastest lap of the race, with a time of 44.956s
(96.00mph) on lap six.
As the laps ticked down to the end of the
race, Tappy continued to threaten Metcalfe’s lead but could not pass on
a track notorious for being prohibitive to overtaking. He pulled
alongside Metcalfe on the race to the chequered flag, with the AKA
Cobra ace clinching victory by just 0.061s for his maiden Formula
Renault UK win.
Commenting after the race, Metcalfe said: “I
knew that even though Duncan had the pace in his car, I would be able
to drive sensibly and win. At times I was able to slow down mid-corner
to push Duncan back towards Adam and earn me a bit of breathing space.
It feels really good to get my first win out of the way and it’s the
perfect way to start the season.”
Second-placed Tappy said:
“It’s frustrating to have got so close and not be able to actually get
past to win. I was fast through Clearways but just couldn’t get enough
of a tow from the slipstream to get by. I was also wary of Adam behind
me so had to keep an eye on him in my mirrors but I’m reasonably
satisfied with second place as I’m on pole for round two.”
After
securing his first Formula Renault UK podium finish, Adam Christodoulou
said: “I was quite nervous on the grid with two minutes to go because I
knew that these are some of the top drivers and unlikely to make any
mistakes. I tried a few moves to pass Duncan but the main thing was to
get to the finish and third is a great result for me in my first race.”
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