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British-born Bahraini Menasheh Idafar continues to go from strength to strength at the wheel of his Formula Renault BARC car – the teenage racer producing yet another excellent testing performance today, Tuesday, 1st July, at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk.With a little under three weeks to go until the 2008 season resumes at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire, 17-year-old Menasheh has been making the most of test opportunities with his Hillspeed team and will remain at Snetterton tomorrow, Tuesday, 2nd July, for a second day of running alongside competitors from the sister Formula Renault UK series.
During today’s four, 30-minute sessions, the Gulf Computer Services, Ortolan and Gulfol backed star performed consistently well. Using unofficial timings, he posted a best lap of 1m 08.6 seconds, approximately half a second to the good over his nearest rival.
Commenting on Menasheh’s terrific performance, Hillspeed driver coach and British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star Matt Shawyer said: “It’s been a really good test, compared to last year’s Formula Renault BARC pole position time Menasheh’s laps were very competitive even though the temperatures were extremely hot.
“Due to the weather the track was a bit on the slow side and didn’t offer the best conditions for quick times. He did a mega job though, he was very consistent all day and the car ran well. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow now. There’s a chance it could rain according to the forecast but extra experience of wet weather driving is always welcome.”
With Snetterton playing host to the Formula Renault BARC Championship three weeks after the upcoming Croft race meeting, every mile Menasheh completes at the Norfolk track in the meantime can only be of benefit as the second half of the season begins to gather momentum.
To that end, the BARC front-runner is aiming for another fault-free outing tomorrow when he joins the Formula Renault UK regulars for the first of their two days of testing at the 1.95-mile track.
Provisional 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings (after Rd5)
1st Ollie Hancock, 64pts; 2nd Menasheh Idafar, 47pts; 3rd Johannes Seidlitz, 38pts
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