7th November 2011

Jordan King took Manor Competition back onto the Formula Renault UK podium during round three of the 2011 ‘Finals Series’ at Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norfolk over the weekend with new team-mates Nick McBride and Hector Hurst both enjoying top 10 success.

The first weekend of the six-race championship, which concludes at Rockingham near Corby this coming Saturday, provided a mixed set of results for King with a couple of on-track incidents and one highly unfortunate retirement finishing off his title aspirations.

As ever, his pace was rapid and in Saturday’s wet qualifying session he secured a spot on the front row of the grid for round one and fourth on the grid for race two. Unfortunately for the Manor racer, he was bundled back to fourth on lap one of the opening encounter but worse was to follow when a couple of moments, on laps three and five, resulted in an 11th place finish.

Determined to make amends in round two, the 17-year-old wasn’t able to get away from the line as well as expected and was shuffled back to seventh. Climbing into sixth following a brief Safety Car interlude, King piled on the pressure to Josh Webster ahead but was himself mugged on the inside at Agostini by Stefan Wackerbauer to slip to seventh.

In Sunday’s qualifying session King secured second on the grid for round three, just 0.1 seconds shy of pole position, and although pushed back to second at the hairpin he immediately fought back through Agostini to retake second place from Oliver Rowland. Slipping back to third at Riches on lap two, the Manor driver remained there to the flag to make a welcome return to the podium.

Starting sixth for round four, King shot through into third place off the line and on lap eight he was right on the tail of second placed Webster but with Jake Dennis piling on the pressure too. Trading third with Dennis, several attempts to pass at Riches were thwarted by yellow flags and then – on lap 13 – there was contact between the pair which led to a damaged nose and retirement for King.

McBride and Hurst impress on respective Formula Renault UK debuts
Formula Ford graduate McBride delivered an impressive account of himself on his first weekend in ‘slicks and wings’ single-seaters, the 20-year-old posting three top 10 finishes from the four races contested with best results of ninth in rounds two and three.

Showing good pace in wet and dry conditions, the Australian debutant qualified 13th fastest for his maiden Formula Renault UK race in challenging wet conditions and drove well in round one to take the flag as the top Manor driver in 10th position.

Making a particularly good start, McBride did just that in round two to climb from 11th on the grid into ninth and he ran as high as seventh place midway through before being pushed back to ninth. In terms of his pace, the newcomer’s best lap was within just 0.3 seconds of the race winner’s quickest.

For round three on Sunday, McBride qualified just a second shy of pole in ninth place and although edged to the tail of the top 10 he battled back into ninth to cap another strong performance. He then rounded-out the weekend with 13th place in race four, impressively fighting his way through from the 10th row of the grid.

Formula Renault BARC front-runner Hector Hurst improved with each run on his maiden outing in the headline UK series, culminating in an excellent eighth place finish during the last race of the weekend at Snetterton. With only one season of car racing under his belt, the 19-year-old’s rise has been impressive and he made a big impact in Saturday’s wet qualifying with the eighth best time.

Pushed outside the top 10 early on, the Hampshire racer slipped to 14th during the final third of the race. He turned the tables in race two though by climbing into the top 10 from 15th on the grid with a strong performance, notably lapping within half a second of the race winner’s best.

Lining up for round three in 15th position, Hurst was prevented from repeating his race two result when caught-up in a lap one incident at Oggies. Managing to return to the pits to obtain repairs, by the time he rejoined the race the Manor driver was a lap down so he ended the encounter in 22nd.

Thankfully, round four provided a much cheerier outcome with Hurst starting in 12th place and making his way into eighth on lap one. Although dropping to 10th on the second tour and back to 12th on lap eight, he maintained good composure and gradually worked his way back into eighth place as the top Manor finisher.

“It’s been a mixed start to the Finals Series but we’re obviously pleased Jordan managed to get back onto the podium”, said Manor team co-owner Sarah Shaw, “He definitely had the pace to be on the podium in all four races but it didn’t work out that way unfortunately.

“Nick and Hector both did a fantastic job on their first weekend with us, Nick’s adapted very strongly to the aero of the car and put in a series of great performances. Hector is the least experienced racer of the three but, again, he did a terrific job and showed a lot of promise. Hopefully we can enjoy even better results at Rockingham.”

Rounds five and six of the 2011 Formula Renault UK Finals Series will take place this Saturday, 12th November, at Rockingham in Northamptonshire.