|
Thruxton Podium Looks A Tall Order For Bratt |
|
|
|
|
Sunday, 06 May 2007 |
Apotex Scorpio Motorsport ace Will Bratt heads into the fifth and sixth rounds of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Thruxton tomorrow, Sunday, 6th May, knowing he faces a tall order to challenge for podium results after a tricky qualifying outing today.
The Adderbury-based racer, arriving at the Hampshire venue this morning on the back of an excellent third position at Rockingham during round three a fortnight ago, started the first of today’s two 20-minute qualifying sessions in confident mood after a successful Thruxton test three weeks ago.
Like returning team-mate David Epton, Will was unable to extract the
same level of performance from his car today with both drivers losing
time in the complex but there is confidence within the team they will
find a solution ahead of tomorrow’s pair of races.
During this morning’s round five qualifying session, Will achieved the
sixth fastest time with a lap of 1m 10.810 seconds (119.76mph), placing
him six 10ths of a second shy of pole position.
In the day’s second session, to determine the grid for round six, Will
looked on course for another third row start but his quickest lap of 1m
11.156 seconds (119.18mph) was bettered by a mere 100th of a second by
Richard Singleton during the closing stages of qualifying, relegating
the Oxon 19-year-old to seventh position.
While frustrated at not being on the first two rows of the grid, Will
is confident changes to his car ahead of tomorrow’s first encounter
will enable him to have a more competitive outing and he is looking
forward to the challenge.
“Qualifying obviously wasn’t where we wanted to be, or where we should
have been, and while we know the races will be tough tomorrow, if we
can cure the problem we’ve been having through the complex we will be
on the pace of the front-runners”, said Will.
“Podiums will be hard to come by but I think if we can make a good
start we do stand a good chance of challenging for a couple of top four
results. We’ll certainly be pushing hard as we need to start climbing
the championship table.”
Round five of the 2007 Formula Renault UK Championship will take place
tomorrow, Sunday, 6th May, at 11.35 with round six scheduled to follow
at 16.05. Both races will be broadcast live on digital satellite and
cable subscription channel Setanta Sports 2.
Provisional 2007 Formula Renault UK Championship Standings (after Rds3&4)
1st Duncan Tappy, 128pts; 2nd Dean Smith, 104pts; 7th Will Bratt, 49pts
|
News