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Russell Rightly Upbeat After Snetterton Qualifying |
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Sunday, 13 August 2006 |
Harlesden-based racing driver Matt Russell looked set for his best ever Formula Renault UK qualifying performance at Snetterton this afternoon, two incredibly competitive sessions seeing less than a second separating the top 20 drivers.
The 22-year-old Russell Racing ace, who is backed by Leoline Travel and Maltings Leisure & Fitness, ran particularly well during the round 14 qualifying session, but a couple of very minor mistakes were all it took to mean the difference between 21st on the grid for the second of Sunday’s races and a potential grid slot inside the top 15.
Matt’s best lap of 1m 06.203 seconds (106.14mph) was a full four 10ths of a second faster than the next quickest car but an improvement of only two 10ths of a second would have seen him rise at least six places on the grid.
Although frustrated not to have been higher up the order, Matt was very pleased with the progression he has made since Friday’s official test session at the Norfolk venue and is confident he has the race pace to fight for a strong points-scoring finish tomorrow.
During the day’s opening qualifying session, to determine the grid for round 13, Matt posted a quickest time of 1m 06.527 seconds (105.62mph) and will therefore line up 22nd on the grid for the first of tomorrow’s two Formula Renault UK races.
Speaking after qualifying, Matt said: “I can’t fault the car, it felt good today and I managed to go much
quicker through the Bomb Hole in qualifying than I did in the test on
Friday so I’m very pleased with that.
“In the second session in particular the times were incredibly close
and a couple of small mistakes did cost me dear. We could realistically
have been five or six places further up the grid so I think we can be
strong in the races on Sunday.
“I’m happy I’ve improved my times relatively to the pace of the others,
we certainly found quite a bit of time between the test and qualifying
today so hopefully we’ll be able to continue the progression tomorrow.
To be just four 10ths of a second outside the top five is very positive
indeed so we’re looking forward to the races.”
Round 13 of the season will take place at Snetterton tomorrow, Sunday,
13th August, at 11.40 with round 14 expected to follow at approximately
14.40. Both races will be shown live on Motors TV, available to Sky
Digital viewers on channel 413 and to NTL cable customers on channel
173.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 January 2007 )
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