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At the start of the race, the British-born Bahraini racer – in his debut year of competition outside the Middle East – made a clean getaway and comfortably moved into the top 10 as the cars passed through Old Hall Corner for the first time.

 

With the promise of a maiden points-scoring result very realistic, Menasheh then saw his world turned upside down, quite literally, as contact from fellow FR2000 Class runner Ash Davies forced the Russell Racing star onto the grass, pitching his car into a series of barrel rolls. Coming to rest upside down, Menasheh very thankfully escaped any injury.

 

Team-mate Mark Gillibrand, the most successful of the Russell Racing drivers in this year’s championship, endured a nightmare weekend himself which started with an accident during general testing at the Cheshire venue on Friday and was followed by a problem with his steering during round 12 qualifying this morning.

 

Forced to use the first part of the session to bed-in his car following the repairs carried out overnight, Mark wasn’t able to get into his stride properly to begin with and then on his ninth lap the Manchester racer went straight-on at Lodge Corner when a steering issue prevented him from making the turn.

 

Ending his qualifying run prematurely early in the gravel trap, the 24-year-old had managed to post a lap of 1m 26.358 seconds (92.79mph) which was good enough for 18th on the grid. However, a further problem identified with the engine mounting on his car, thought to be a result of the accident, meant Russell Racing had no choice but to prevent Mark’s car from taking the race start on the grounds of safety.

 

Looking back on a promising weekend which turned shockingly sour, Russell Racing team owner Tim Russell said: “We had hoped for a strong end to the season and after seeing how well Menasheh did in qualifying we were all very excited at his prospects for the race and a first ever points finish, he had excellent pace this weekend.

 

“Sadly it wasn’t to be but we’re all very thankful he escaped injury, that’s far more important than any result. We’re all disappointed for Mark as he had a series of issues this weekend and, again, could have been strong. We’re confident we made the right call in preventing Mark’s car from lining up on the grid though. Safety is always paramount.”

 

RR withdraws third car on sporting grounds
Matt Shawyer’s expected return to action with Russell Racing today didn’t materialise after a joint decision was made by driver and team to withdraw his car from the final round of the Formula Renault BARC Championship on the grounds the Hertfordshire-based BRDC Rising Star’s appearance could have been a factor in the outcome of the 2007 title.

With just six points separating championship contenders Dean Stoneman and Hywel Lloyd at the head of the FR2000 Class standings heading into today’s race, had a competitor of Shawyer’s speed and experience taken part it could have been pivotal in the destiny of the championship crown.

 

To that end, following an in-depth discussion, an 11th hour decision was taken to withdraw the third of the Russell Racing cars ahead of this morning’s qualifying session.

 

Commenting on the move, team owner Tim Russell highlights the importance of enabling season-long rivals Stoneman and Lloyd to battle for the title without the potential interference of a ‘wildcard’ driver taking vital points off either competitor.

 

“Having discussed the situation at great length, both Matt and ourselves felt it was the right decision to withdraw his car before qualifying as we didn’t want to potentially interfere in any way with the destiny of the 2007 championship”, said Russell.

 

“It’s disappointing for all of us Matt didn’t compete today as we all know he’s a quality driver. Taking that into account though, Matt could have been a factor in the title outcome which wouldn’t have been fair. This way, we’re satisfied any such concerns surrounding Matt’s participation today were dealt with correctly and efficiently.”

 

There are now just five weeks to wait until the beginning of the 2007 Formula Renault UK Winter Championship in which Russell Racing aims to field at least one car in Formula Renault BARC specification. The team will announce its first driver signing in due course.

 

Hywel Lloyd, incidentally, won today’s race and is therefore 2007 Formula Renault BARC Champion.