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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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Hillspeed now has a five week break from competitive Formula Renault BARC Championship action with the aforementioned season finale, rounds 12 and 13, taking place at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire on Sunday, 11th October. During the sojourn in the lead up to the last two races of the campaign though, Hillspeed will begin an intensive test programme in readiness for the 2010 Formula Renault BARC Championship. After a meeting at the weekend with category organisers regarding next season and a series of proposed regulation changes, it has been confirmed the team can proceed with a series of test outings.
Provisional
2009 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Driver Standings (after Rd11): pics Jakob Ebrey Photography
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ROCKINGHAM PODIUM BOOSTS AL HARTHY’S VICE-CHAMPION HOPES
The Omani racer, who celebrated his 28th birthday last Monday, took a deserved third place finish in round 11 of the championship – his first visit to the rostrum since round four of the season at Croft back in mid-July. During the earlier 10th round, Al Harthy finished in sixth place so, taking into account overall scores, he is currently fourth in the standings just four points shy of the Vice-Champion’s spot. However, with each driver’s lowest finish deducted – as per championship rules – the Hillspeed ace is seven points adrift of the runner-up spot. For team-mate James Theodore, his weekend in Northamptonshire was very much a bittersweet affair with outstanding pace unfortunately not bringing the results it deserved. Fifth place in race one proved to be a good start but a spin out of second position, while catching race leader and eventual winner Josh Mulholland, meant he missed out on his first podium of the year in race two. Lining up fifth and sixth on the grid respectively for round 10, Theodore and Al Harthy were both shuffled back in the pack as cars jostled for position at Deene Hairpin and into lap two Theodore was sixth but Al Harthy had been pushed back to ninth. At Deene on the third tour the Omani got past Joe Crook for eighth place and two laps later at Turn 1 on the oval banking, Al Harthy produced an incredibly brave pass up the inside to take seventh spot off Steven Durrant. Theodore, meanwhile, gained ground himself on lap four with a superb move up the inside into Deene to take fifth position from locally-based driver Kourosh Khani and that’s where the Liberty Properties-backed racer remained to the chequered flag to claim his best finish of 2009. Al Harthy also managed to find a way past Khani on lap 10 at the same corner to take a top six finish.
First podium of year still eludes rapid Theodore
Al Harthy made an incredible getaway himself to climb into the top three behind his team-mate and following a one lap Safety Car period, necessary to clear away debris from the scene of the first corner incident, Theodore set about chasing down the race leader. In doing so, he posted the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1m20.091 seconds (87.20mph). On the eighth tour though, Theodore pushed that little bit too hard going through Pif Paf and the resulting spin meant he slipped from his deserved second place to 15th position. Very disappointing for the Telford teenager, he battled back to an eventual finish of 12th. Al Harthy, meanwhile, slipped to fourth behind Brett Parris on the previous lap but with Theodore’s spin he moved back into third. Speaking on the weekend, Hillspeed principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “It’s great to be back on the podium, Ahmad did a good job and the weekend’s results certainly keep him in with a very good chance of the runner-up spot in the championship. “James showed fantastic pace this weekend, setting the fastest lap in race two while he was catching (Josh) Mulholland was proof of that. He felt he could chase him down, and he was doing so by a couple of 10ths of a second per lap at that point, but he was just caught out. James is a true racer though, he showed spirit and although the non-finish was a shame his efforts can’t be criticised.” Ollerenshaw added: “It’s disappointing we weren’t able to make more out of race one but we’re looking forward to the final rounds at Thruxton next month, we think we have a chance of some good results there. Ahmad’s certainly gone well at Thruxton in the past and James produced an impressive effort when we tested there.”
SOLID
POINTS HAUL KEEPS AL HARTHY IN FR BARC TITLE PICTURE Hillspeed’s Ahmad Al Harthy produced two determined race drives at Donington Park National Circuit over the weekend, 8th/9th August, bouncing back from a tricky qualifying run to post a pair of solid finishes in rounds six and seven of the 2009 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship. Likewise, team-mates James Theodore and Alexander Jeffrey also had a troublesome weekend but both emerged with impressive performances under their belts. The net result of the Donington action means Al Harthy is fourth in the driver standings, Theodore holds seventh position and Jeffrey remains in the top 20 after just four race outings in Formula Renault BARC. Qualifying on Saturday, 8th August, didn’t go as smoothly as expected for Derbyshire-based Hillspeed with Al Harthy seventh on the grid for round six, Theodore 10th quickest and Jeffrey – making his return after sustaining a hand injury at Snetterton in June – in 14th place. The round seven session was slightly better with Al Harthy fifth fastest, Theodore 10th again and Jeffrey 13th on the grid. At the start of Sunday’s opening race, Al Harthy got away well and immediately made good progress to move into the top six. On lap two, the 27-year-old produced a great move at Redgate to grab fifth position from ex-Formula Renault UK competitor Sasha Radola and he gained another place on lap 10 when Don De Graaff pitted from fourth after receiving a drive-through penalty for a false start. Just prior to this, car racing rookie Jeffrey was involved in a fairly hefty accident at Goddards Chicane at the end of lap nine while dicing with category returnee Pierre Renom. Under braking for the turn, Jeffrey went wide over the grass and on the exit he was involved in a collision with Jack Piper which resulted in both drivers having to retire on the spot with damage. Due to the cars being stranded in a dangerous position, the Safety Car was deployed and the re-start then came on lap 13 with Al Harthy’s Oman Air, Sultanate of Oman, Oman Tourist Board and Sport Oman-backed Formula Renault in fourth place and Theodore’s Liberty Properties-sponsored car in seventh position. At the end of the 14th tour, Theodore slipped back to eighth at Goddards with four cars all vying for position and that’s where he remained to the chequered flag. Impressively, the 17-year-old posted the third fastest race lap with a superb time of 1m09.280 seconds. Al Harthy also unfortunately lost out in the closing stages, front-running rival Brett Parris snatching fourth at Redgate on the last lap. Round seven proved to be the most trying race of the season so far for Hillspeed with Al Harthy and Theodore both falling victim to contact which cost both drivers the chance to challenge for top six results. Lining up fifth on the grid, Al Harthy was punted off the circuit on the very first lap and dropped to the tail of the field almost, before battling back brilliantly into eighth place. Theodore finished just behind his more experienced team-mate, contact from another driver also proving his downfall. Again though, the Shropshire racer fought back impressively to a ninth place result. He and Al Harthy also posted the sixth and fifth quickest lap times respectively. Jeffrey had a much improved outing in round seven, only his fourth ever single-seater race, to achieve a career best finish of 11th position. Lapping with a best time of 1m10.323 seconds, the young Scotsman circulated with pace just six 10ths of a second shy of that of his team-mates.
“It’s a great shame for the whole team, particularly with Donington being our home circuit, but there are plenty of positives to take away with us and we’re heading to Brands Hatch two weeks from now looking forward to being back in the mix at the front. Qualifying didn’t go as we wanted but the pace of all three drivers showed in the races, especially James who set the third fastest lap in race one.” He added: “With our pace we should have come away with more this weekend but that’s the way things turn out sometimes. Alex produced good speed as he continues to improve and although his accident in race one was unfortunate, he bounced back very well indeed in the second one.”
CAREER BEST FINISH AT CROFT FOR OMANI DRIVER AL HARTHY
The Omani 27-year-old, at the wheel of his Sport Oman, Sultanate of Oman, Oman Air and Oman Tourist Board backed car, converted an excellent second-fastest qualifying performance into a very mature and controlled race drive to move into a clear runner-up spot in the championship standings. Lapping with a best time of 1m21.959 seconds, Al Harthy was one of just three drivers – including race winner and championship leader Kieren Clark and Hillspeed team-mate James Theodore – to post laps under the 1m22 second mark. “I controlled my race and managed to push really, really hard in the opening laps as I knew that was key to allow me to relax more later on”, said Al Harthy after round four, “The car felt good and I managed to do my job and get my highest ever position in BARC so I’m really pleased. It’s very motivating for me to get a result like this. “The team did an amazing job set-up wise with the car, you need a complete package it’s not simply down to the driver. It’s been a good weekend for us on the whole and I’m really looking forward to Donington now where I hope we can be on the podium again.” In round five Al Harthy backed up his earlier result with a fine fifth place and heading to Donington Park in Leicestershire a month from now for the next two rounds of the season, he has a 10 point cushion over third placed Josh Mulholland in the driver standings. Liberty Properties-supported team-mate Theodore enjoyed a good top six result in the second of the weekend’s outings but was denied a potentially higher race finish in round four after contact off the grid involving Croatian driver Sasha Radola – the pair starting sixth and seventh respectively. Pitching Theodore onto the grass on the inside and into a major spin, the incident meant he fell to the tail of the field and by the end of the opening lap he was some 20 seconds adrift of Al Harthy. Battling back superbly, and posting the second quickest race lap in the process, 17-year-old Theodore took a highly creditable ninth place result and is now up to seventh in the driver standings. Ellis Harkins, meanwhile, produced two steady performances to achieve 14th and 16th place finishes in rounds four and five. The Philippine-born Irishman concluded the weekend’s action with a total of 34 points in the championship standings, just nine points shy of the coveted top 10. Looking back on the weekend, Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “It was fantastic all ends up for us in race one. Ahmad did a superb job to finish second and while it was disappointing James was taken out at the start, his recovery and pace was exceptional. Ideally, it was one of those situations where you’d have wanted to see a Safety Car to bunch the pack up. “In the second race neither James nor Ahmad made quite as good a start as they would have liked but their pace was good and it was an indication of how close the battle around them was in that nobody really gained or lost ground. Ellis had two solid drives again this weekend and scored points in both races which is always the aim.”
BATTLING AL HARTHY EQUAL SECOND IN FR BARC CHAMPIONSHIP AT SNETTERTON
In scorching hot conditions yesterday, Sunday, 28th June, Hillspeed’s Omani racer secured his second podium in as many outings with a fine drive to third place while in the afternoon he just missed out on another visit to the rostrum after losing third position on the final lap at the Bomb Hole. Moving the 27-year-old into joint-second place in the title race after three of the campaign’s 13 rounds, Al Harthy did a sterling job for his Hathersage-based team all weekend and especially so considering he felt far from 100 per cent throughout the race meeting. Shropshire teenager James Theodore secured his first points of the season with a well deserved eighth position in round two on Sunday morning before climbing from ninth on the grid up into the top six in his Liberty Properties-backed car during the afternoon race. Following an unfortunate retirement on the opening lap of the first encounter at Sear Corner, Ellis Harkins stayed out of trouble in round three to post a career-best Formula Renault BARC finish of ninth place – coming through from 20th on the grid – while series debutant Alexander Jeffrey took an impressive 12th place in round two before an unavoidable collision ruled him out of round three. “It’s great to see Ahmad second in the championship, especially in view of the fact we were even considering pulling him out of the race meeting as he felt so unwell all weekend”, said Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “It was a shame he lost third in the second race on the last lap but he did a terrific job to compete as well as he did this weekend. “We’re delighted James scored his first points of the season. Our preparations were compromised due to a fuel-pump issue after testing but the team worked incredibly hard to get that sorted and in the races he did very well indeed.” Ollerenshaw added: “Ellis was unfortunate to have been caught up in an incident in race one but his drive in the second race was perhaps the best we’ve seen from him. Obviously it was Alexander’s first weekend in BARC and he did a very credible job, his pace was competitive and to grab a top 12 finish on his debut was certainly well deserved.” On Saturday, 27th June, Al Harthy qualified his Oman Air, Oman Tourist Board, Sport Oman and Sultanate of Oman-supported car in third position for both races while Theodore posted a brace of ninth position starts. Jeffrey impressed in his first Formula Renault BARC qualifying run with a pair of top 15 grid slots with Harkins lining up 19th on the grid for race one and 20th for race two.
Under very
sunny skies and with temperatures well in the mid-20-degree bracket on
Sunday, round two got underway cleanly at the front with Al Harthy
holding third and then producing an excellent move around the outside of
Don De Graaff at the Esses to grab second place. For team-mate Harkins
though, the opening lap wasn’t as promising as he was forced into
retirement at Sear Corner. Unfortunately for Al Harthy, he slipped behind De Graaff on the final lap at the Esses following a bold move from the latter but still took his second third place of the year. Theodore, meanwhile, finished in eighth after a very solid run. At the beginning of round three, there was a threat of rain in the air but this soon passed. During the early laps places remained fairly constant but on the fourth tour a multi-car tangle at the exit of the Esses led to a disappointing retirement for Jeffrey who simply had nowhere to go with other cars stranded across the track. The Safety Car was deployed for four laps and at the re-start on lap nine, Al Harthy managed to soak up pressure from Josh Mulholland before opening up a small gap. As the race neared its conclusion though, the Omani driver was closed down and Mulholland managed to grab third place from him three corners from the finish. Teenager Theodore emerged from a fantastically fought scrap in sixth place to record his best finish of the campaign and leap up the driver standings a full 10 places into the top eight. Harkins drove a sensible race to come home in ninth and consolidate 12th position in the championship.
AL HARTHY STARTS BARC SEASON WITH FINE PODIUM AT OULTON
The returning Hillspeed driver, who finished last year’s BARC campaign fifth overall in the driver standings, bagged a fine third place at the 2.23-mile Island Circuit during the 15-lap season opener to also occupy a top three position in the championship. Central to the 27-year-old’s result was a truly sublime overtaking move into Old Hall on lap four where he gained not one, but two places to leap back into third after unfortunately being boxed out at the first corner at the start of the race having started at the head of the second row of the grid. Creating a pass which will take some beating in terms of brilliance and execution, Al Harthy – who is supported by the Oman Tourist Board, Oman Air, the Sultanate of Oman and Sport Oman – held the outside line heading into the corner as Brett Parris and Joe Crook battled over third spot. While his two rivals were focused on the inside line on entry and then ran wider on the exit, Al Harthy cut back to the inside at the apex with a perfectly timed move and passed both on the run down The Avenue. He then remained in a comfortable third place all the way to the chequered flag. For up and coming Liberty Properties-backed teenager James Theodore, round one had a bitterly disappointing outcome when contact from another driver to the rear of his car, as he rounded Cascades on lap five, resulted in a very unfortunate retirement for the Telford racer. Qualifying fourth on the grid, just four 10ths of a second shy of team-mate Al Harthy’s top three time, the 17-year-old couldn’t quite make the progress off the grid he had hoped for due to a little too much wheelspin. Slipping to seventh place after being boxed out, like Al Harthy, through Old Hall on lap one, the reigning BARC Class Winter Champion set about making his way back up the order as he piled immense pressure onto sixth-placed Kenny Andrews. Heading down The Avenue at the beginning of lap five, Theodore pressed on but was then pitched into a spin at Cascades as he committed himself to the apex of the corner. Understandably disappointed to have been forced out of the first race of the year, Theodore still underlined his pace and credentials as a genuine front-runner in the 2009 championship. Hillspeed team newcomer Ellis Harkins enjoyed by far his most competitive and rewarding race since debuting in Formula Renault BARC last year, the 22-year-old producing a solid performance to net a well deserved 12th place finish. He was then promoted to 11th position post-race after original ninth place finisher Steven Durrant was excluded. Lining up 13th on the grid the Philippine-born Irishman, who resides in Barry, South Wales, did drop a few positions early on but then made good, steady progress as he made his way back into 13th position and then 12th in the aftermath of Theodore’s enforced retirement. Commenting on the team’s first podium of 2009, Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “It’s a good start to the championship, we’re very pleased for Ahmad and Ellis and obviously very disappointed for James as he didn’t do anything wrong, he was hit from behind at Cascades and there was nothing he could do about it. “In general, qualifying was very good but Ahmad and James didn’t quite put their best laps together as traffic was a bit of an issue. Realistically, we had the pace to be on the front row. Ahmad made a reasonable start to the race but James lost some ground after getting too much wheelspin and he was then stuck behind slower cars. Ahmad was held up too which allowed the top two to get away.” He continued: “Ellis posted the best result he has had in Formula Renault BARC, he found half a second between qualifying and the race so he’s moving in the right direction. We’ll keep working hard to bring all three drivers on but, overall, we’re satisfied with a good start to the season.”
mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk
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Hillspeed’s
Ahmad Al Harthy made a welcome return to the Protyre Formula Renault
BARC podium at Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit on
Sunday, 6th September, to boost his hopes of ending the season as
category Vice-Champion with just two races left to run. 
For
round 11, Theodore started fourth on the grid with Al Harthy’s Oman
Tourist Board, Sport Oman, Sultanate of Oman and Oman Air backed car on
row three again in sixth position. Theodore made a good start to hold
his top four placing but a collision between front-row starters Kieren
Clark and Dino Zamparelli at Turn 1 elevated the Shropshire star into
second position behind Josh Mulholland. 
Protyre
Formula Renault BARC Championship front-runner Ahmad Al Harthy produced
the best performance of his single-seater racing career at Croft Circuit
yesterday, Sunday, 12th July, with an excellent second place finish for
Hathersage-based Hillspeed during round four of the campaign. 
Protyre
Formula Renault BARC Championship front-runner Ahmad Al Harthy battled
valiantly through illness over the weekend, 27th/28th June, to move up
the driver standings into equal second position following rounds two and
three of the 2009 season. 
Omani
single-seater racer Ahmad Al Harthy got his Protyre Formula Renault BARC
Championship bid off to an excellent start at Oulton Park in Cheshire
yesterday afternoon, Saturday, 23rd May, by taking a podium finish
during the opening round of the 2009 season.