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Adrian Quaife-Hobbs brought his 2007
season to a close at the final round of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0
Championship in Barcelona this weekend. The MSA British
Race Elite/BRDC Rising Star has contested just a handful of Formula Renault
races in preparation for next season and has regularly impressed the regulars
in both the Eurocup and North European championship.
With the aim of using the additional
outings for valuable experience after his 2007 FBMW campaign finished, the
Tonbridge teenager has always been on the back foot, competing with far more
experienced drivers and racing on brand new tracks. However, with some good
results already under his belt Adrian headed out to Spain looking to reproduce the form that has previously led to
a podium finish and third quickest time in the race.
The 16 year-old rookie driving for BVM
Minardi, ventured out onto the track for Friday’s two 45 minutes test
sessions hoping for a repeat of the performance last time out at Estoril which
saw him post the fourth quickest time. This time, though, on his first ever
visit to the spectacular Spanish circuit; he could only manage the 27th
and 28th quickest time ahead of Saturday’s crucial qualifying
session.
““After spending most of the
first test in the pits due to red flags, I only really had the second session
to learn the track, which I did in the first half, then in the second half, I
had to just go for it but the car didn’t handle right. I think part of
the problem for me here was that again, this is a brand new track that
I’ve never seen before, whereas the other drivers have all used it
regularly for winter testing and of course the two official test days earlier
in the year”, said Adrian.
The youngster, who just six weeks
earlier had completed his 2007 Formula BMW Championship campaign, has quickly
settled into the FRenault car and next season looks set to contest either the British
or European championship. And, for the former double T-Cars Champion this
weekend saw him once again improve over the course of the weekend leaving him
in confident mood ahead of 2008.
Qualifying saw him post the 24th
quickest lap for both races which would see him line up on the 12th
row for the two 16-lappers held over the weekend. The
weekend’s first race saw him make a superb start, passing several cars
into the first corner, before he was pushed wide on the entry to turn three and
onto marbles, dropping him down to 37th and dead last. A
superb recovery over the remaining 15 laps though saw him claw his way through
the field, passing several cars to gain ten places and cross the line 27th.
Race two held on Sunday, again saw a
good getaway overtaking three cars off the line, before he was pushed out to
the outside and lost the places again. Despite that, another determined
drive, despite a few handling problems which saw his tyres go off four laps
from home, saw him move up through the field, eventually finishing 20th.
“I only entered these last races
for additional experience and testing in preparation for 2008. The
trouble is as soon as you get good results like podium finishes, fourth in
testing, third quickest race laps, well you want it all the time. And
that never happens in motor racing at any level. But I’m glad I
went to Barcelona, despite not getting in the
points, all track time is valuable and every test, qualifying and race I do
gives me valuable track time. I’m improving every time throughout the
course of every weekend, and there’s definitely more to come.”
Results of Race 1 – 16 laps
1. Jon Lancaster SG Drivers Project 28:30.834
2. Jaime Alguersuari Epsilon Red Bull
Team 28:32.008
3. Charles Pic SG Formula 28:32.859
4. Brendon Hartley Epsilon Red Bull Team
28:33.476
5. Alexandre Marsoin SG Drivers Project
28:38.462
6. Stefano Coletti Epsilon Euskadi
28:38.998
27. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs
BVM Minardi 29:13.513
Results of Race 2 – 16 laps
1. Jon Lancaster SG Drivers Project 28:28.113
2. Jaime Alguersuari Epsilon Red Bull Team
28:29.984
3. Charles Pic SG Formula 28:30.663
4. Stefano Coletti Epsilon Euskadi
28:32.121
5. Brendon Hartley Epsilon Red Bull Team
28:33.052
6. Mika Maki Epsilon Red Bull Team
28:35.270
20. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs
BVM Minardi 28:57.617
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