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Apotex Scorpio Motorsport’s Ollie Hancock (Hook) secured his first victory of the new season by winning round two of the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship on Easter Monday, 24th March at Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Alpine Motorsport’s Bahraini racer Isa Mohammed (Southampton) finished second while Hillspeed’s Menasheh Idafar (Kensington, London) completed the podium line-up after starting the race from pole position – his first ever in his UK racing career.

Scottish privateer Fraser Smart (Kilsyth) added a round two Club Class victory to his earlier podium finish with Heuthsports of Royston’s Edward Heinzelmann (Royston) claiming second ahead of another privateer Steven Durrant (Rayleigh).

After the earlier snowstorm that hampered round one, clearer skies and a dry line on the tight 1.20-mile circuit emerged for round two. Despite qualifying on pole position, Idafar was unable to retain the lead heading into the run on the first corner, having been pipped at the start by Hancock and an over enthusiastic Ash Davies (Taro Motorsport), whose false start from fifth on the grid propelled him into second with Idafar back to third.

Unfortunately, Hancock had little time to establish a lead as the red flag was deployed on lap two as Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Pierre Renom (London) spun at Graham Hill Bend and SSS Motorsport’s Lee Dwyer (Huddersfield) also stopped in a dangerous position, causing the Clerk of the Course to halt the race.

For the restart, the race was shortened to a scheduled 12 laps and Davies was given a 10-second penalty for his earlier false start dropping him from second to 12th on the reformed grid. As they got under way for the second time, Hancock made the most of his pole position and led the pack into Paddock Hill Bend closely followed by Mohammed who had squeezed his way into second from fourth with Idafar tucked in behind him.

With a clear, dry track, Hancock was quickly able to establish a lead, forging a gap of just over one second by the end of lap two.

The midfield remained evenly spaced on the short circuit, although Davies, eager to make amends for his false start, was already up to seventh and continuing to pressure Welch Motorsport’s newcomer Nathan Coulter (Hillsborough) for sixth place. After much jostling, Davies was finally able to pass the debutant at Druids Hairpin, although with Coulter earlier recording a provisional pole for round one nullified only by his status as a reserve entry, the 17-year-old showed his potential for the season by finishing seventh.

In the battle for victory in the Club Class, Smart showed his experience by developing an early lead in his Tatuus RC98 ahead of round one winner, Heinzelmann. On lap four, Russell Racing’s FR2000 Class driver Don De Graaff (Weybridge) came between the pair allowing Smart some breathing space, while Durrant had to settle for third.

By lap four, Hancock had stretched his lead over Mohammed to 1.246 seconds – scoring a bonus point for setting the fastest lap of 49.469s (92.85mph) in the process - with Idafar, Hillspeed’s Ahmad Al Harthy (Hathersage) and Russell Racing’s Aaron Steele (Rochester) making up the top five.

Double M Racing’s Ellis Harkins (Barry) unfortunately led to the second red flag of the race being produced on lap five as he ran into the gravel trap at Paddock Hill Bend. With his car in an unsafe position the Clerk of the Course deployed the red flag and declared the race complete, leaving Hancock to secure the 15 points for the race win to put him third in the drivers’ standings just four points behind early Championship leader Menasheh Idafar.

Commenting on his first victory, Hancock said: “After the disappointment of the first race I was happy to get my first win in the bag. The car has had great pace in testing so I was keen to be able to show this in the race. I was able to get in front early on - although Ash Davies certainly gave me a scare with his start – and then I just put my head down through to the chequered flag.”

Second placed Mohammed commented: “I was very pleased with my second spot and my first podium in the UK. My new team has been fantastic and I feel very comfortable with the car already. I could have gone quicker at Paddock Hill to maybe put more pressure on Ollie but second place is very good.”

Third placed Idafar said: “I was a bit nervous before the start of the race given it was my first ever pole. I soon settled down though and began to enjoy it and am really pleased with how the car is running.”

Club Class winner Fraser Smart said: “That race was much more enjoyable than this morning and I was able to enjoy it. I got a bit of a cushion with the newer car separating me from the drivers chasing me so compared to the earlier race it was relatively comfortable.”

Second placed Edward Heinzelmann, who leaves Brands Hatch leading the Club Class drivers’ standings, said: “I’ve had a really good weekend of racing and I’ve already emptied one of my bottles of champagne! I’m looking forward to Rockingham but have realised that I need to work on my starts.”

Third placed Steven Durrant said: “It was a very frustrating race because just as the Club Class cars settled in together to have a proper race the red flag came out. It happened again in the second race so it’s a shame I didn’t get the chance to try any overtaking but the car has been great all weekend so I can take some positives.”

Rounds three and four take place at Rockingham Motor Speedway circuit on 19th/20th April.

Formula Renault BARC Championship provisional drivers’ standings – FR2000 Class

1 Menasheh Idafar                  GBR                Hillspeed                                 21 pts

2 Ash Davies                           GBR                Taro Motorsport                      18 pts

3 Ollie Hancock                       GBR                Apotex Scorpio Motorsport     17 pts

4 Johannes Seidlitz                 GER                Mark Burdett Motorsport         15 pts

5 Ahmad Al Harthy                  OMA                Hillspeed                                 13 pts

6 Isa Mohammed                    BRN                Alpine Motorsport                    12 pts

7 Aaron Steele                        GBR                Russell Racing                        12 pts

8 Lee Dwyer                            GBR                SSS Motorsport                       8 pts

9 Kourosh Khani                     IRI                   Welch Motorsport                    7 pts

10 Nathan Coulter                   IRL                  Welch Motorsport                    4 pts

Formula Renault BARC Championship provisional drivers’ standings – Club Class

1 Edward Heinzelmann           GBR                Heuthsports of Royston          29 pts

2 Fraser Smart                        GBR                Driver                                      26 pts

3 Steven Durrant                     GBR                Muzz Race                              23 pts

4 James Simons                     GBR                Driver                                      8 pts