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This
weekend saw the Formula Renault BARC series at Cheshire’s picturesque Oulton
Park circuit for the final round.
Qualifying in the
morning proved to be the best yet for the Royston based 18 year old racer, with
a second place on the grid, just 3 tenths of a second from pole.
The other drivers on
the first 2 rows were all looking for points to settle the championship, which
was depending on the outcome of the afternoons 15 lap race, so tensions were
running high.
With
KC’s daunting view of the first corner, his first ever row 1 position in the
Formula Renault, it was all going to be about the start. Before the race, KC
commented “I’ve got to concentrate on my start, not bog down and get away
cleanly. Hywel (Lloyd) will be desperate to get to the corner first for his
championship points, so we’ll see how it goes.”
As the red lights went out, both front row cars
got an excellent, start and with Lloyd on the inside line, KC tucked behind to
follow him into the first bend.
Disaster
struck the middle of the grid, as one of the Russell Racing cars barrel rolled
out of the exit to Old Hall in spectacular style, fortunately, with no
injuries. With a few other cars taking to the grass and tyre wall, the race was
stopped. As the cars reformed at the start line, KC was nowhere to be seen,
eventually picking his way through the grid to line up back in his start
position. “I tried to push too hard and spun out of Old Hall, while I was
kicking myself for mucking up my race, I saw this car heading towards me -
airborn, so I pegged it back onto the track, then realised the race had been
stopped. “
So with another
chance, KC made no mistake at the restart, and outdragged poleman Lloyd into
the first corner to take the lead. Lloyd regained the lead, and ultimately the
championship, with some brave outbraking at the turn-in for the hairpin, but
the pair had pulled a good margin away from the next cars, so the race order
settled. After lap 5, KC started to suffer from understeer, and on lap 7, Rossi
caught KC under braking into Lodge, to emerge side by side for a thrilling duel
along the pit straight, but Rossi had the line into Old Hall, and KC slipped to
3rd.
With
a good margin to 4th place man Stoneman, it was looking like KC’s first podium finish in the
shortened 12 lap race, when on lap 9, a dramatic late braking lunge at the
hairpin, saw Stoneman contact KC’s rear wheel to send him spinning out.
Rejoining in 7th, this was to be the final position.
Putting a brave face
on, after his disappointing finish, KC said ”I had track position, got the line
into the corner, then - bang, I was spinning on the grass. I was lucky to
rejoin in a big enough gap to get time to settle back down. I thought I was
last, and when I saw 7th place on the pit board, I thought it was a
mistake. So I’m pleased to salvage some points. There was no good reason for
any contact - I’m gutted.”
Team
Principle, Diana Clark said “I’m so disappointed for Kieren, he has worked so
hard this weekend to get his 2nd on the grid, recovered from his
first start mistake, then robbed of his first podium.”
“This
season has been a learning experience, but I think we have finished 10th
in the championship, including some rounds we couldn’t get to, and one non-finish.
Kieren has really shown he can compete with the top drivers here, and the team
has worked hard all year, so we are optimistic about how we can go forward. “
“It’s
all down to money, but there are some excellent opportunities being discussed,
so we are actively seeking partners who can benefit from Kieren’s success”.
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