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[Formula Renault UK] Party at the Park for Mark Burdett Motorsport |
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Monday, 15 May 2006 |
Party at the Park for Mark Burdett Motorsport
Mark Burdett Motorsport showed an impressive return to form in rounds 3 & 4 of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Oulton Park at the weekend.
Heavy rain for qualifying for round 3 on Saturday morning saw the team return to the front of the grid with Finn Markus Niemela taking pole position by an enormous 0.3 of a second from Fortec Motorsport’s Sam Bird. Norway’s Stian Sorlie struggled to get a clear lap in, ending the session a disappointing 19th.
With rain rapidly moving in as the start of qualifying for round 4 approached all the teams and drivers were undecided whether to use dry or rain tyres. As the session got underway, Sorlie immediately demonstrated that all the hard work that he and the team had been doing since brands hatch was paying off, running comfortably in the top 10. Niemela was suffering from the same problem Sorlie suffered from in the previous qualifying session, not being able to find space for a clear lap early on, before the rain started, ending any opportunity for the drivers to improve on their times. Niemela ended the session 16th overall and Sorlie in an impressive 8th.
Round 3 on Saturday afternoon was to take place in similar conditions to the first qualifying session. Both drivers made a brilliant start, Niemela being far enough ahead to avoid the clash between the Fortec and AKA cars of Bird, Hohenthal and Hogan. Sorlie managed to make 4 places off the line and then avoid the chaos exiting turn one, ending the lap 11th.
The safety car was immediately out to allow the debris from the first corner accident to be cleared. After several laps behind the safety car, Niemela was able to set in fastest laptime for almost every lap and won the race by 2.9 seconds gap before Jeremy Metcalfe. Sorlie continued his impressive progress by finishing 8th under difficult conditions.
Markus Niemela:
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