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An astonishing first 24 hours of registration for the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship ended with all 36 places on the grid filled. A total of 60 pre-registrations were received in December and many teams and drivers queued at the Renault Sport UK stand at Autosport International to secure their entry.

The two-class Championship has exploded in interest as an ideal entry-level Championship run with full Renault Sport UK support, producing Formula Renault UK driver Richard Singleton and Formula Three driver Hywel Lloyd as its two most recent champions. The huge interest meant registrations were limited to 26 FR2000 Class cars and 10 Club Class cars.

Registration opened at 09.00 on Thursday, 10th January and all 26 FR2000 Class places were full by approximately 11.00. By midday, nine of the allocated 10 Club Class positions were filled with the final place taken on Friday morning by privateer Paul James (Calne, Wiltshire).

In FR2000 Class, Mark Burdett Motorsport leads the way with four cars registered, including French duo Denis Autier (London, W2) and Pierre Renom (London, SW1) who continue their partnership with the team. James Dixon (Stockbury) and German racer Johannes Seidlitz, who raced in the 2007 Formula Renault UK Winter Cup, complete the quartet.

Hillspeed has three cars registered with Omani racer Ahmad Al Harthy (Hathersage) and British-born Bahrani Menasheh Idafar (London) returning for a second season in the Championship. They are joined by Michael Lyons (Felsted) after his privateer outing in the 2007 Formula Renault UK Winter Cup.

Several established Formula Renault BARC teams have a two-car entry. Alpine Motorsport, which finished second last season with Dean Stoneman, will run Briton Kenneth Andrews (Orsett, Essex) alongside Bahrani driver Isa Yusuf Mohammed. Russell Racing combine 2007 front-runner Aaron Steele (Rochester) with Don De Graaff (Weybridge).

Falcon Motorsport pairs Formula Renault BARC newcomer Andy Flynn (Fradley) with the experienced Robin Palmer (Yelverton), while Welch Motorsport has two series debutants in Joseph Bailey (Fawkham) and Iranian Kourosh Khani (Corby).

Reon Motorsport augments its Club Class commitments with Roberto Tirone (Amberley) stepping up to FR2000 Class in 2008 alongside a team-mate to be named by the team shortly. Tempus Sport enters the Championship with James Tanser (Astley) and the returning Mohammed Al A’Ali as its driver pairing.

Single-car entries come from HS Motorsport Antel’s Brett Parris (Southampton), Taro Motorsport’s Ash Davies (Conwy), Apex Engineering’s Belgian racer Jordi Weckx, Boulevard Team Racing’s Joshua Brooks (Spilsby), Triple D’s Nathan Coulter (Hillsborough, Lisburn), Double M Racing’s Ellis Harkins (Barry) and SSS Motorsport’s Lee Dwyer (Huddersfield).

In Club Class, privateers Bill Allen (Hungerford), Adrian Dixon (Harpenden), Steven Durrant (Rayleigh), Steve Hanselman (Mayland) and Fraser Smart (Kilsyth) have previously raced in Formula Renault BARC. They are joined by privateers Edward Heinzelmann (Royston), James Simons (Stanbridge), Paul James and Reon Motorsport duo Dave Rees (Morton) and Neil Cooper (Farnham).

Commenting on the record response to the first day of registrations, Championship Manager Simon North said: “Never before, in 34 years of one-make Renault racing in the UK, has a Championship been full within 24 hours and it’s quite a remarkable situation. The Championship has flourished in recent seasons and today’s events have confirmed how highly rated it is by drivers.”

2008 Formula Renault BARC Registered drivers (to 11th January)

* denotes Club Class

  2 Brett Parris                         GBR              HS Motorsport Antel

  3 Kenneth Andrews               GBR              Alpine Motorsport

  4 Ahmad Al Harthy                 OMA              Hillspeed

  5 Menasheh Idafar                  GBR             Hillspeed

  6 Denis Autier                          FRA             Mark Burdett Motorsport

  7 Joseph Bailey                       GBR            Welch Motorsport

* 8 Bill Allen                                GBR            Driver

  9 Isa Yusuf Mohammed           BRN            Alpine Motorsport

* 10 Adrian Dixon                       GBR            Driver

  11 Ash Davies                         GBR            Taro Motorsport

  12 Jordi Weckx                         BEL            Apex Engineering

  14 Joshua Brooks                    GBR            Boulevard Team Racing

  15 Robin Palmer                      GBR            Falcon Motorsport

  16 Nathan Coulter                    GBR            Triple D

  17 Andy Flynn                          GBR            Falcon Motorsport

* 18 Steven Durrant                   GBR            Driver

  19 Aaron Steele                       GBR            Russell Racing

* 20 Edward Heinzelmann        GBR             Driver

* 21 James Simons                   GBR            Driver

  22 Ellis Harkins                        IRL              Double M Racing

* 23 Dave Rees                         GBR            Reon Motorsport

* 24 Neil Cooper                        GBR            Reon Motorsport

  25 Roberto Tirone                   GBR            Reon Motorsport

  26 James Dixon                      GBR            Mark Burdett Motorsport

  27 Johannes Seidlitz               GER            Mark Burdett Motorsport

  28 Don De Graaff                    GBR            Russell Racing

  29 James Tanser                    GBR            Tempus Sport

  30 Mohammed Al A’Ali            BRN             Tempus Sport

* 31 Steve Hanselman             GBR              Driver

  32 Lee Dwyer                         GBR             SSS Motorsport

  33 Driver name withheld pending announcement by Reon Motorsport

* 37 Paul James                       GBR             Driver

* 41 Fraser Smart                     GBR            Driver

  56 Michael Lyons                    GBR            Hillspeed

  88 Kourosh Khani                   IRI                Welch Motorsport

  97 Pierre Renom                    FRA             Mark Burdett Motorsport