|
Donington Qualifying Puts Metcalfe In Podium Contention |
|
|
|
|
Sunday, 10 September 2006 |
Hampshire single-seater ace Jeremy Metcalfe has high hopes of making a return to the Formula Renault UK podium at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit tomorrow following a solid qualifying performance at the 2.5-mile Leicestershire venue this afternoon.
The 18-year-old AKA Lemac sensation, who heads into Sunday’s 15th and 16th rounds of the season fifth overall in the driver standings, will line up fifth on the grid for the first of the weekend’s races tomorrow morning but starts one position higher for round 16 as he bids to close in on the coveted championship top three.
Rather than having the benefit of two qualifying sessions today as usually experienced in Formula Renault UK, the competitors were faced with just one 20-minute period in which to produce quick laps to determine starting positions for both of the weekend’s races.
Jeremy’s fastest lap of the day, 1m 30.364 seconds, was just a 10th of a second shy of the second row of the grid but the Fleet teenager’s consistency reaped rewards as his second best lap, 1m 30.480 seconds, places him fourth on the grid for round 16.
Alongside the usual championship battle, Jeremy is firmly in contention for the highly regarded Donington Park Racing Association Club Cup and - very importantly - will start both of Sunday’s 12-lap encounters ahead of main DPRAC rivals James Sutton, David Epton, Dean Smith and Will Bratt.
Commenting on today’s qualifying outing, Jeremy said: “I was fast almost everywhere but I made a small mistake at the Old
Hairpin and Goddards on my quickest lap which certainly cost me the
chance of starting in the top three.
“I did get the Old Hairpin sorted towards the end of the session but it
was a bit too late unfortunately. I’m happy with fifth on the grid for
the first race and we start fourth for the second race so I’m looking
forward to it and confident we stand a great chance of challenging for
a podium tomorrow.”
As part of the World Series by Renault weekend at Donington Park, the
Formula Renault UK runners will perform in front of an expected 50,000
spectators tomorrow, Sunday, 10th September. Round 15 of the 2006
Formula Renault UK Championship is scheduled to get underway at 10.00
with round 16 set to commence at 16.00.
Formula Renault UK Championship Provisional Driver Standings (after rounds 13&14):
| Pos. |
Driver |
Points |
| 1st |
Patrick Hogan |
348 |
| 2nd |
Sebastian Hohenthal |
346 |
| 3rd |
Cheng Cong Fu |
254 |
| |
| 5th |
Jeremy Metcalfe |
239 |
|
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 29 December 2006 )
|
News