OULTON PARK CHALLENGE UP NEXT FOR FORMULA RENAULT BARC

Official Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship News...

For immediate release: Friday, 20th May 2011

Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire hosts the fifth and sixth rounds of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship next Saturday, 28th May, and as the 2011 title battle reaches its midway point things couldn’t be much closer.

With four winners from the first four races and just 17 points covering the championship top five, it’s anyone’s guess who will leave the picturesque parkland track in the box seat as the season rapidly develops into a real classic.

James Thorp (Evesham, Gloucestershire) continues to lead the driver standings following last weekend’s outing at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. Despite a second place finish in round four though, the MTech Lite racer wasn’t all that satisfied so he’ll be aiming to get back on the winning trail.

Dino Zamparelli (Bristol) surged into title contention at Brands, largely thanks to his first victory of the season in round four, and is now just 11 points adrift of Thorp. The Antel Motorsport racer is one of the most experienced of the front-runners and this could well come into play at one of the UK’s most challenging circuits.

Kieran Vernon (West Chiltington) added his name to the list of winners with a tremendous drive under pressure from Fortec Motorsport team-mate Josh Webster (Stowmarket, Suffolk) during round three. He’s a little way off the championship leaders though due to a non-finish in round four, caused by a spectacular excursion off the circuit when his throttle stuck open.

Webster is the other of the four winners and after the disappointment of a non-finish himself during the season opener at Donington Park, two strong finishes at Brands mean he’s only six points adrift of Zamparelli. In between those two in the points table are Archie Hamilton (Hook, Hampshire) and Steven Durrant (Oxford), each having started the season with four consistently good performances.

One of the highlights of the second weekend of the season was a maiden category podium for London-based Kourosh Khani (Ealing), the first driver from Iran to ever stand on a Protyre Formula Renault BARC rostrum. With confidence high, he’ll be challenging for more silverware at Oulton.

As next weekend’s event takes place on a single day, there will be one 20-minute qualifying session for rounds five and six with each driver’s fastest lap setting the grid order for the first race and second quickest times determining the starting positions for race two. Qualifying will begin at 09.30 on Saturday, 28th May, with round five following at 12.05 and round six at 16.15.

Along with headline sponsor Protyre, the championship is additionally supported by ELF, Michelin and NGK Spark Plugs.

Provisional 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Points (after Rd4):
1st - James Thorp / MTech Lite  99pts
2nd - Dino Zamparelli / Antel Motorsport 88pts
3rd - Archie Hamilton / Fortec Motorsport 86pts
4th - Steven Durrant / RPD Motorsport 83pts
5th - Josh Webster / Fortec Motorsport 82pts
6th - Kieran Vernon / Fortec Motorsport 73pts

ENDS

Note to editors:
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Championship Media Officer:
Marc Orme
Tel: +44 (0)7920 886985
Email: marc@grovewood.co.uk

Issued by Grovewood PR, P.O. Box 1416, Beaconsfield, HP9 9AP