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[BARC Formula Renault] Double Podium For New Championship Leader Singleton |
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Monday, 22 May 2006 |
DOUBLE PODIUM FOR NEW CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER SINGLETON
Richard Singleton (Conwy, Wales) won his second race of the Formula Renault BARC Championship in round three at Croft on Saturday, 20th May to regain the lead in the drivers’ standings. He added a second place finish in round four on Sunday, 21st May to consolidate his position, with James Littlejohn (Warwick) winning the race to claim a debut victory in the low-cost single-seater series.
In the Club Class category, for pre-2000 cars, Andrew Webb closed within eight points of reigning champion and Championship leader Ian Pearson (Didcot, Oxon) with two victories in the wet conditions, setting the Fastest Lap in both races. Pearson finished third in round three and fifth in round four and now leads the standings by just six points from Mark Terry (Chatham, Kent) who came second in both races.
The star of the weekend was Tom Arme (Cauldon, Staffs) who qualified on the front row of the grid for both races in his first competitive outing in a Formula Renault 2.0 car. Although the 16-year-old made poor starts in both races, spinning off on lap one of the first race, he recovered to finish second and third for a stunning debut.
Arme’s Mark Burdett Motorsport team-mate Craig Copeland secured pole position for both races and led the field away from the start line in round three. On a drying but still slippery track, the 16-year-old held his lead until the midway point before being passed by Singleton at the chicane.
Singleton was able to open a gap in the second half of the race and went on to win by more than six seconds from Arme and Copeland. Club Class winner Andrew Webb finished eighth overall, beating seven Formula Renault 2.0 cars in his nine-year-old Tatuus RC97.
In round four on Sunday, James Littlejohn drove an exceptional race to storm to victory after qualifying in eighth. The start of the race was delayed by 15 minutes when a sudden downpour with the cars already on the grid resulted in slick tyres being replaced by wet tyres, with even Championship officials helping smaller teams by carrying equipment.
Copeland again made a strong start from pole position while Arme slipped back to eighth, while Littlejohn made up four places on the first lap to run in fourth. A collapsed rear suspension ended Copeland’s race on lap nine, as Arme and Littlejohn continued to enjoy the overtaking opportunities on offer at the North Yorkshire circuit.
Meanwhile, Webb was repeating his superb form of Saturday and was able to keep in contact with the leading group of FR2000 Class cars on his way to ninth overall. James Heffernan scored his first podium finish of the season in Club Class, following Mark Terry home to finish 16th overall.
Littlejohn took the lead midway through the race when Singleton ran wide at Sunny corner and the Hillspeed star was able win by almost five seconds, despite a minor off on the last lap. Singleton fought off pressure from the charging Arme in the closing stages and now leads the Championship by 10 points from Littlejohn. Matt Shawyer, who lead the standings after round two, finished fourth and six to drop to third in the Championship.
Commenting on a successful weekend, Singleton said:
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