SIMS TAKES THRUXTON PODIUM WHILE LOANE ENJOYS TOP SIX FINISH

Manor Competition’s Alexander Sims secured the third podium result of his maiden Formula Renault UK season at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire on Sunday, 14th October, during an all-action 19th round of the campaign, a race which also saw team-mate Kris Loane enjoy his second top six result of the year.

Sims, the 19-year-old Peterborough ace who is set to remain a Manor driver for the upcoming four-round Winter Championship which takes place in early November, was in good form at Thruxton with a strong second place in the first of the weekend’s races supplemented by a further top six finish during the 20th and final round.

New Ollerton-based Manor arrived at Thruxton locked in a tight battle over third in the entrant standings and after qualifying on Saturday, Sims emerged as the quickest of the team’s three drivers with the fifth fastest time in both sessions.

Northern Ireland sensation Loane, who will join Sims as part of Manor’s winter line-up, was 10th quickest in round 19 qualifying and 16th during the round 20 session while Welsh star Alex Morgan would line-up 16th on the grid for the opening encounter and 14th fastest for round 20.

Sims produced some stunning overtaking during the first of Sunday’s two races, the Manor ace bravely grabbing fourth position from title contender Dean Smith with an outstanding piece of driving through Goodwood and Church. He then latched on to series leader Duncan Tappy who held third position.

On lap 12, Sims gained two further places unexpectedly when cousins Riki and Adam Christodoulou made contact at the chicane, the former crashing into retirement and the latter continuing but a long way down the order.

Running in second position, Sims did come under pressure from a resurgent Smith on lap 17 but dealt superbly with the attention and worked miracles to keep his more experienced rival at bay into the chicane. With Smith grabbing the inside line, Sims somehow outbraked him on the outside to retain the place which he then held to the flag.

Further behind, Loane finished seventh on the track after an excellent drive from the fifth row of the grid but this would soon become his second top six result of the 2007 season due to the post-race exclusion of Adriano Buzaid, the Brazilian’s car having been found to be underweight and therefore contravening championship regulations.

Morgan, meanwhile, achieved his seventh top 10 result of the season having originally taken the chequered flag in 11th place, an overall improvement of six positions on his qualifying slot.

Round 20 was a far less action-packed encounter but at the start Sims produced yet another bold piece of driving by seizing fourth position from newly crowned champion Duncan Tappy at Noble with a terrific pass.

Although slipping back down the order to sixth place over the next couple of laps, the Cambridgeshire racer continued to fight hard but didn’t quite have the pace to challenge at the front as he had during the earlier outing and had to settle for sixth position.

Loane and Morgan had a more difficult outing too this time around, the Manor pair ending the race in 13th and 14th positions respectively. The results mean Sims ends the season eighth overall in the driver standings on 272 points with Morgan jumping into the top 10 on 193 points and Loane ending the year in 11th place on 188 points.

Both Sims and Loane were eligible to score in the Graduate Cup too, a championship within a championship for inexperienced Formula Renault UK racers. Sims’ strong weekend enabled him to finish fourth overall while Loane ended up in fifth spot. In the entrant standings, Manor missed third by just one point!

“It’s been a tough season for us in as much as we had three inexperienced drivers at the start of the year but as we’ve seen during recent races, all three of them have been going much better and we’ve been at the front on merit battling for big points as the year has progressed”, commented Manor team owner Tony Shaw.

“I’m delighted with how Alexander, Alex and Kris have come on throughout the year and we sincerely hope all three of them will return with us in 2008. To be on the podium for the championship finale was good and proves our car is quick. I’m confident next year we’ll be back where we belong, fighting for the championship from the outset.”

Shaw added: “Kris has shown he isn’t very far away at all from becoming a challenger for podiums in Formula Renault UK and, equally, Alex is getting closer and closer all the time, even if this weekend wasn’t his best in terms of results. We’ve enjoyed the year as a team and now we’re really looking forward to the Winter Championship.”

Although the Formula Renault UK Championship has now reached its conclusion, Manor Competition will return to action a fortnight from now on 27th/28th October during the final World Series by Renault race meeting of the year in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the latest instalment of the Formula Renault Eurocup.

Just one week later, the team will be in action at Donington Park in Leicestershire for the opening two rounds of the 2007 Formula Renault UK Winter Championship on Saturday, 3rd November. The series concluding third and fourth rounds will then take place seven days later on Saturday, 10th November, at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire.