Formula
Renault BARC racer Ollie Hancock enjoyed an impressive first visit to
Spa-Francorchamps in a one-off historic racing outing at the weekend,
taking a class win in the World Sportscar Masters and setting the
fastest class lap in the Sports Racing Masters.
The two series ran together during a one-hour race at the legendary
Belgian circuit, with Hancock switching between the Lotus 23B he shared
with David Cooke in the SRM and the Lola 212, co-driven by his father
Anthony, in the WSM.
Having qualified the Lotus on the class pole and fifth overall,
Hancock charged up to third in the first half of the race, setting a
fastest lap of 2:49.929, almost three seconds quicker than his nearest
category-rival, and was comfortably leading his class when forced to
pit with a misfire. Having lost two laps undergoing repairs, Cooke took
over the driving duties some way down the field, recovering to finish
16th overall and 11th in class.
Hancock’s race wasn’t over though as he jumped into the Lola 212
which Anthony had piloted off the grid. Stepping into the car for the
first time at Spa having missed qualifying due to a wheel bearing
failure, Ollie’s second flying lap saw him go two seconds faster than
the Lola’s previous best of the weekend and he climbed to third overall
and into the class lead. A fuel pressure problem with two laps to go
looked to have curtailed hopes of a win, but as Ollie crawled to the
pits to retire, the chequered flag was waved securing fifth overall and
the class victory.
“Because of the fuel pressure issue, the car
kept cutting out in the high-speed corners and which can be really
dangerous, especially at Spa,” Ollie revealed. “But as I pulled into the pitlane the chequered flag came out meaning I still took the class win!
“This was my first time racing at Spa and the
circuit is absolutely mega. It is so challenging to drive and to get
the high speed corners right you have to push really hard. The historic
racing I’ve done this season has seen me race at places such as Spa and
the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit and hopefully that will stand me in
good stead for my single seater career.”
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