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Nathan Coulter (Hillsborough)
set the fastest time during official Formula Renault BARC Championship testing
at Hampshire’s Thruxton circuit on Monday, 7th April. The Northern
Irish racer was fifth-quickest in the day’s first session but set a time of 1min
13.987s (114.63mph average) in session two to end the day on top of the
timesheets.
Due to local council noise
restrictions at the 2.36-mile circuit, testing is extremely limited at the
Hampshire venue. Although round 10 of the Formula Renault BARC Championship does
not take place until Sunday, 7th September, the two 55-minute
sessions would provide valuable acclimatisation time on the UK’s fastest
circuit.
Session one was held in
overcast conditions but the rain held off allowing the track to stay dry
throughout. Hillspeed’s Omani driver Ahmad Al Harthy (Hathersage) set the early
pace with a time of 1min 14.313s (114.13mph), a mere 0.031s ahead of Apotex
Scorpio Motorsport’s Ollie Hancock (Hook).
Al Harthy’s team-mate and
Championship leader Menasheh Idafar (Hathersage) was third-quickest, with HS
Motorsport/Antel’s Brett Parris (Southampton) fourth ahead of Coulter and SSS
Motorsport’s Lee Dwyer (Huddersfield) completing the top six. Russell Racing’s
Aaron Steele (Chatham) also lapped within half a second of Al Harthy’s leading
time in seventh place, an indication of how evenly matched the drivers are in
Renault Sport UK’s entry-level single-seater category.
As the sun burned through the
cloud for session two, 17-year-old Coulter shaved almost one second off his
previous best to set the day’s fastest time. Idafar was less than one-tenth of a
second adrift in second place, while Hancock and Al Harthy were separated by
just 0.007s in third and fourth.
Alpine Motorsport’s Isa Yusuf
Mohammed (Southampton) was fifth-quickest ahead of his Bahraini compatriot
Mohammed Al A’Ali (London) of Tempus Sport. Hillspeed’s Michael Lyons (Felsted),
Brett Parris, Aaron Steele and Lee Dwyer rounded out the top
10.
Commenting on his leading
performance, Nathan Coulter said: “This was my first time out at Thruxton and it
was pretty fast out there – the quickest I’ve been to so far in my career. In
the first session I found it hard to get used to the circuit, small mistakes
count for a lot because you lose speed later in the lap.
“In session two I concentrated
on driving smoothly, especially through the high-speed corners. Just having the
extra time on track made a big difference. Now I know we’re quick at the circuit
I’ll definitely be confident for the race meeting and it’s good for the races
coming up soon as well.”
Rounds three and four of the
Formula Renault BARC Championship take place at Rockingham circuit on
19th/20th April.
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