MIXED OULTON PARK WEEKEND FOR MANOR COMPETITION

New Ollerton-based Formula Renault UK entrant Manor Competition experienced a mixed bag of results over the weekend, 23rd/24th June, at Oulton Park Island Circuit during the ninth and 10th rounds of the 2007 season.

Alexander Sims did produce the most competitive performance of the team’s three drivers during qualifying on Saturday and also the 10th round on Sunday but an unfortunate spin in the first race prevented the 19-year-old from retaining his position inside the championship top 10.

Starting round 10 from the fifth row of the grid, a good opening lap saw Alexander gain two positions. While focused on pressurising Nathan Caratti in a bid to move further up the order, the Manor star also had to keep a close eye on his mirrors to keep ‘Graduate Cup’ rival Riki Christodoulou at bay which he did with great aplomb.

Alexander crossed the line on lap 15 just seven 10ths of a second shy of Caratti but, impressively, he produced the sixth fastest race lap with a time just two 10ths of a second shy of the best managed by eventual race winner Jeremy Metcalfe.

Unfortunately, Saturday’s round nine was less favourable and after an opening lap spin dropped him right down the order and some distance from the tail of the field, the Peterborough-based driver did recover to retrieve an 18th place finish.

During pre-event testing on Friday, Northern Ireland’s Kris Loane enjoyed a tremendous run to post the sixth fastest time in the afternoon with a lap just three 10ths of a second shy of the best managed by championship front-runner Duncan Tappy.

Unfortunately though, Kris couldn’t quite match the performance in qualifying and so posted a 13th place start for round nine and 15th position grid slot for the second encounter – higher on the grid than Welsh team-mate Alex Morgan who secured a brace of 17th place starts.

In round nine though, Morgan enjoyed the stronger race of the two by climbing from row nine to finish the race in 12th place, just over a second ahead of Loane in 13th. In contrast, the second encounter saw Loane get the better of his fellow Manor driver by finishing two spots ahead, again in 13th position.

Having seen his Croft weekend compromised due to University exams, Alex now has the benefit of a four-month hiatus from his University of Birmingham commitments as he doesn’t return to campus until October, so he is looking forward to the upcoming official test at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in a little over a week’s time.

In addition, the Oulton Park race meeting caught the attention of BBC Radio Wales with Alex interviewed live by telephone for a prime-time feature on the station’s weekly Saturday Sports Show.

Reflecting on the weekend’s action, Manor Competition team boss Tony Shaw said: “We didn’t achieve the results we wanted at Oulton but in the second race Alexander’s lap times were good, our pace isn’t too far away from the podium now. Qualifying is where we need to improve the most but I’m confident it will come together soon.
“Our main problem is the lack of testing our young drivers have had, that’s why we’re looking forward to the upcoming test at Brands Hatch as it will give Alexander, Alex and Kris the essential time in the car they need. The more time in the car they have, the faster they’ll be so hopefully all three will be able to move forward during the next round.”

Manor’s next race action will come at Donington Park National Circuit in Leicestershire three weeks from now, 14th/15th July, with the 11th and 12th rounds of the season. Before then, an exclusive Formula Renault UK test session will take place at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent on Tuesday, 3rd July.