British Formula Renault 2009

[kerrmanningjarv]

^ Doesn't FRUK operate with drop scores? If so, Dean can just drop Brands...

[runshaw]

Indeed it does, good point, forgot about that! Yeah, 2 dropped scores at the end of the season...

[runshaw]

First race was dominated by Dean Smith who kept putting in lap records, although Krohn got the record in the last couple of laps. Behind him though the racing was great. Calado spun whilst battling for 2nd with Krohn and he's now dropped out of the top 6 in the championship.

David Macdonald and Dean Stoneman were banging wheels at 135mph heading into Goddards, and Stoneman still leads the ch'ship. Female racer Alice Powell finished 10th overall and 2nd in the graduate class and was leading Laine, Stevens, Hancock, Pa'l Kiss, Dwyer abd Armour in a huge battle, great racing! From 10th place to Marlon Stockinger in 19th, there was a difference of less than 5 seconds at the finish line!

Round 5 top 10:
1. Dean Smith
2. Jesse Krohn
3. Oli Webb
4. David Macdonald
5. Dean Stoneman
6. Harry Ticknell
7. Fred Blomstedt
8. Lewis Williamson
9. Josh Scott
10. Alice Powell

Jesse Krohn Lap Record: 1:05.862

[runshaw]

James Calado took his 3rd race win, good job too as he hasn't scored any points since winning round 3 at Thurxton. He overtook Dean Smith on the outside of the Craner Curves which is ballsy stuff as the track was very wet.

Hungarian racer P'al Kiss took 7th overall and the graduate win for Hitech, very good result. Stoneman still leads the championship from Oli Webb despite not having won a race yet. Lewis Williamson took his first podium for CRS, another one to watch. Ollie Hancock took 4th, his best result after switching to Hitech from Apotex Scorpio this weekend. Jesse Krohn completed the final 2 laps with 3 wheels and even tried defending his position from Fredrik Blomstedt, entertaining stuff!

Round 6 top 10:
1. James Calado 24:44.047
2. Dean Smith +5.027
3. Lewis Williamson +11.187
4. Ollie Hancock +11.305
5. Oli Webb +11.187
6. Dean Stoneman +19.500
7. P'al Kiss +21.651
8. Josh Scott +32.220
9. Jordan Oakes +32.876
10. Thomas Hylkema +35.939

Standings:
1. Dean Stoneman Alpine Motorsport 134
2. Oliver Webb Fortec Motorsport 124
3. James Calado Fortec Motorsport 118
4. Jesse Krohn Mark Burdett Motorsport 109
5. Joshua Scott CRS Racing 106
6. Harry Tincknell CRS Racing 98
7. Fredrik Blomstedt Fortec Motorsport 93
8. Dean Smith Manor Competition 80
9. Lewis Williamson CRS Racing 79
10. Will Stevens Fortec Motorsport 70
11. Jordan Oakes Hitech Junior Team 69
12. Matias Laine CRS Racing 59
13. David McDonald Manor Competition 55
14. Ollie Hancock Apotex Scorpio Motorsport 45
15. Pal Tamas Kiss Hitech Junior Team 38
16. Lee Dwyer Hillspeed 38
17. Isa Yousif Alpine Motorsport 37
18. Alice Powell Manor Competition 30
19. Tom Armour TA1 Motorsport 30
20. Menasheh Idafar Hillspeed 29
21. Thomas Hylkema Manor Competition 28
22. James Dixon Mark Burdett Motorsport 21
23. Marlon Stöckinger Hitech Junior Team 13
24. Jordan Williams Falcon Motorsport 11
25. Michael Lyons 6
26. Max Dmytrenko Tempus Sport 4
27. Nick Yelloly Hitech Junior Team 4
28. Sasha Radola Tempus Sport 2
29. Ryan Singleton RS Racing

[gomick]

Come on Josh - challenge for race wins...

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by runshaw

James Calado took his 3rd race win, good job too as he hasn't scored any points since winning round 3 at Thurxton. He overtook Dean Smith on the outside of the Craner Curves which is ballsy stuff as the track was very wet.

Hungarian racer P'al Kiss took 7th overall and the graduate win for Hitech, very good result.

Although I could only observe from the tv screen, it looked like Calado was going to throw it off in the early laps as he was very lary but then got into a consisent 'groove' and hunted Smith down impressively.

P'al Kiss was nothing shy of phenomenal I reckon? In both races he came from a long way back and went past a lot more recognised upcomers like they were stood still!!!! He even had a bent front wing or something??

He could be one to watch?

[runshaw]

Yeah P'al Kiss is certainly improving, and as you say his front left wing endplate was missing, yet he was doing some great overtaking! He could be one to watch, early to say though. To be honest, there are several drivers in this years field who definately should be ones to watch! The level always seems very high in Formula Renault across Europe every year.

Its obvious Stoneman and Calado are great drivers. I think the battle will come down between those two. Jesse Krohn certainly has raw pace in Formula Renault and F3, and Oli Webb is quick and consistent. Ticknell, considering he is a rookie, is right up there and is very impressive. As is his team-mate Lewis Williamson. Will Stevens is another one to watch, currently 2nd in the Graduate Cup behind Ticknell. He has dominated karting the last few years and is backed by Brawn GP. He was signed by Honda F1 last year as a development driver and Brawn are continuing the support.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by runshaw

Its obvious Stoneman and Calado are great drivers. I think the battle will come down between those two.Will Stevens is another one to watch, He has dominated karting the last few years and is backed by Brawn GP. He was signed by Honda F1 last year as a development driver and Brawn are continuing the support.

Yes although I can't confess to having seen much of them other than on the box recently but they do seem good. If Dean Smith does the whole year, surely he will figure strongly too, although I suspect that he's just keeping himself race ready should an 'cheap' F3 or WSR drive come up at short notice?

Interesting that Brawn are continuing where Honda left off with Stevens, looking long term driver wise is pleasing!

[runshaw]

Yeah Smith should definately figure, and I think he plans to see out the year because he doesn't have the budget for F3. Which is ashame because he finished 4th on his British F3 debut last year at Donny behind only Alguersuari, Hartley and Turvey! He was also quick in World Series testing. He has the experience to be winning consistently.

[gomick]

James Calado & Dean Smith grabbed the Oulton Park poles.... Joshua Scott is not liking this track qualifying well back for both races

[runshaw]

Times are on http://www.tsl-timing.com/toca/2009/92203frn.pdf 2.1 seconds covering all 28 cars round Oulton Park for race 1.

Usual men at the front, Dean Stoneman has a good chance to take his first win of the season starting from second in the first race. Manor now seem to be going better since Dean Smith came on board, Macdonald and Powell are both well up for the two races. Oli Webb is showing the form that took him to round 1 victory with second on the grid in race 2. Harry Ticknell very impressive again and the leading graduate driver, starting 4th and 3rd for the two races.

[gomick]

Dean Smith won both races at Oulton Park

Joshua Scott, that was a poo weekend

[runshaw]

Dominant performance by Smith again, he's already up to 3rd in the standings, I can well see him winning the title, despite everyone expecting Stoneman and Calado to have dominated this year. Calado had his 3rd none score of the season in a tangle with Jordan Oakes. Oli Webb took two more podiums and now leads the standings from Stoneman. Josh Scott had his first bad weekend, I think he missed the Oulton pre-season tests though due to his visa problems. He is heading for the F3 Euroseries next year if all goes to plan gomick, watch this space.

Standings after 8 races:
1. Oli Webb 177pts
2. Deab Stoneman 162
3. Dean Smith 146
4. Jesse Krohn 143
5. James Calado 140
6. Fred Blomstedt 133
7. Harry Ticknell (G) 130
8. Josh Scott 106
9. Will Stevens (G) 94
10. Matais Laine (G) 86
11. Lewis Williamson 85
12. David Macdonald 85
13. Jordan Oakes 81
14. Thomas Hylkemma 55
15. Ollie Hancock 50
16. Lee Dwyer (G) 50
17. Isa Yousif (G) 45
18. Tam'as P'al Kiss (G) 44
19. Alice Powell (G) 42
20. Tom Armour 41
21. Menasheh Idafar (G) 35
22. James Dixon 33
23. Marlon Stockinger (G) 24
24. Michael Lyons (G) 17
25. Jordan Williams (G) 12
26. Ryan Singleton (G) 9
27. Nick Yellowly (G) 6
28. Maksym Dymtrenko 4
29. Sasha Radola 3

[andrewc]

I was a photographer at Cascades and had to run away when I saw this coming towards me.

[runshaw]

Good pic! That's the Hitech Junior car of Jordan Oakes after he tangled with Calado, shame as they have both dropped down the championship order.

[chunterer]

Yep, cracking image that one, you were lucky!!

So Dean Smith is on a bit of a roll then? Mind you Calado was the man at Donington so who will come to the fore next time out?

The 'Demon of Donington' P'al Kiss didn't figure much at Oulton then?

[andrewc]

I was very lucky. I got most of the sequence of one car spinning off but then noticed Oakes car coming straight for me. I got one extra shot after this before ducking and diving for cover, and then feeling the stinging sensation of being hit by gravel. The impact caused the armco barrier behind the double thickness tyre wall to move and they had to prop up the armco with a hefty piece of wood.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by andrewc

I was very lucky. I got most of the sequence of one car spinning off but then noticed Oakes car coming straight for me. I got one extra shot after this before ducking and diving for cover, and then feeling the stinging sensation of being hit by gravel. The impact caused the armco barrier behind the double thickness tyre wall to move and they had to prop up the armco with a hefty piece of wood.

Crikey even more lucky than I thought!!

Will you think twice about where you position yourself for shooting pics in future?

[andrewc]

The car just skimmed over the gravel trap like a stone over water. The tyre barrier was two rows deep with armco behind.

This is one of the perils of being permitted trackside!

[runshaw]

There's a video of the first action packed lap here, including Jordan Oakes skimming over the gravel. Also shows Josh Scott spinning off at Lodge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9j0-UuH7bc

Rounds 9 and 10 are held at Croft this weekend, with testing on Friday. Calado really needs to get his season back on track, after all I would say he is the quickest out there with Smith, but is having some very bad luck. Oli Webb and Dean Stoneman only have 1 win between them but sit at the top of the standings with consistent performances.

[gomick]

That was carnage everywhere - crazy move by Joshua Scott... How good is the racing though, huge field, very exciting...

These races are obviously televised in the UK? Great viewing, would love to watch them...

[runshaw]

Yeah, the racing has been excellent this year, which is slightly unusual for Formula Renault! And yes the races are televised live on ITV4.

[ivanalesi]

Live? Formula Renault live, thumbs up for ITV4 then!

[runshaw]

Croft Round 9 Result:

1. James Calado 19:41.354
2. Dean Smith +1.397
3. Oli Webb +5.619
4. Dean Stoneman +8.993
5. Lewis Williamson +10.233
6. Matias Laine (G) +16.233
7. Will Stevens (G) +17.438
8. Josh Scott +19.146
9. Jesse Krohn +19.627
10. Fred Blomstedt +19.872

So Calado takes his 4th win of the season but unfortunately for him- Smith, Webb and Stoneman finished right behind him so he didn't make much of a dent in the championship standings, although he got a further 2 points for setting the fastest lap. Finnish racer Matias Laine scored the graduate win from Will Stevens. Jesse Krohn and Josh Scott seem a bit off form this weekend. Graduate leader Harry Ticknell only managed 11th, just ahead of P'al Kiss and Michael Lyons, who races historic F1 cars alongside his Formula Renault campaign. British F3 racer Max Snegirev has made an appearance this weekend and finished 22nd from the 28 starters.

[jondownunder]

Originally Posted by gomick

These races are obviously televised in the UK? Great viewing, would love to watch them...

Originally Posted by ivanalesi

Live? Formula Renault live, thumbs up for ITV4 then!

It's shown as part of ITV4's live BTCC coverage, which covers most of Sunday's action including supports.