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Continued from News
Donington preview
The CR Scuderia team is racing
close to home this weekend in rounds five and six of the Formula Renault
UK Championship as Donington Park is just 15 minutes away from the
team’s technical centre in Bardon. Adam Christodoulou and Ryuji Yamamoto
are out to extend their lead at the top of the scoreboard whilst Scott
Jenkins and Sten Pentus will be fighting for points as they continue to
learn the UK tracks.
The first of the Donington meetings last year was a bit of a washout
when torrential rain turned the results into a lottery so the teams are
hoping for fairer skies this time around. This is the Championship’s
only visit to Donington this year as the World Series by Renault round
has moved to Silverstone for 2008.
Adam Christodoulou
(currently 1st in Championship standings):
“Donington is a spectacular track; I’ve always struggled there a bit
with bad luck and just missing a little bit of pace there, but during
winter testing and the winter series race I think we finally got it
sorted. Last year the best finish I got at Donington was sixth but I’m
positive that we can get a podium this time around. Donington as a track
is definitely an unusual one. It normally takes quite a few laps to get
a decent time during qualifying. I think the surface is less abrasive so
the car seems to slide and move around more on the track. Donington in
the wet is definitely the hardest track to drive on, though I think if
it rains I will have the advantage due to my experience, knowing the
track and knowing what to expect. I couldn't have asked for any more at
Rockingham as I was fastest in both tests, both qualifying sessions,
both races and won both races. I have learnt that the car, myself and
the team have the pace and the belief that it is possible to win this
Championship. The great thing about Rockingham was that I had Ryuji
(Yamamoto) pushing me along all the way in both races; this makes me
push harder to try and always have that extra tenth gap. So far the
season is going incredibly well for me. I have a healthy lead in the
Championship but I’m not about to stop pushing and will be giving it my
all in the races to come.”
Ryuji Yamamoto (currently 2nd in Championship standings):
“Donington is a difficult circuit and can be very slippery but
everything is going well this season so I don’t think I will have any
problems there. I made it onto the podium at Rockingham as I secured
good grid positions but I know that to win a race I have to save my
tyres, by getting the best qualifying time with fewer laps. This is what
I will work hard on at Donington. I have had great support from the team
and I’m very happy to have made it to the podium so early in the season.
I will work hard to score as many points as I can and continue to aim
for the top step of the podium, which is where I want to be by the end
of the year.”
Scott Jenkins (currently 10th in Championship standings):
“I learned at Rockingham just how important qualifying is in Formula
Renault, and this is something I hope to improve on at Donington Park
next weekend. I've been working with a few different people in the team,
and outside of the team, on how to better prepare for qualifying.
Hopefully it will come together soon. Donington is one of my personal
favourites in the UK and my goals are: firstly to finish both races,
having got caught up in an incident at Rockingham; and secondly to get
on the podium for the first time. I've raced at Donington before in the
Winter Series so I know the track pretty well and hope that will help
even things up with drivers doing their second or third year in Formula
Renault. It's pretty crucial that I move up in the championship table in
the coming events as I can't afford to get too far behind early in the
year. We've had a few problems and been a little unlucky in the first
four rounds; let’s hope it changes at Donington!”
Sten Pentus (currently 15th in Championship standings):
“I feel confident going into the next rounds at Donington. It is an
interesting track with great character and I have enjoyed racing and
testing there. I learnt a lot about looking after my tyres at
Rockingham, especially after they got oily during qualifying! At
Donington I will apply what I have learnt and I will be faster, more
consistent, smarter and more professional than ever before. I haven’t
had a great start to the season but this has taught me a lot. Starting
from now I have turned a totally new page in my racing career and my
season starts in Donington. I will give 200% and will not be satisfied
unless I am in the top five. I’ll be happy when I make the podium and I
will be happy and satisfied when I can win.”
CRS Team Director, Andrew Kirkaldy:
“In previous years Donington and Rockingham were not our strongest
tracks. We’ve worked hard over the winter and it certainly did the job
for Rockingham so hopefully the same theory will translate to Donington
this weekend. We haven’t tested there so the drivers will need to be on
the ball but there is no reason to think we won’t do well there.”
The Formula Renault UK Championship is shown on ITV4 in the UK (see TV
listings for details). Adam Christodoulou’s victory in round two at
Brands Hatch was watched by a live TV audience of almost 450,000 people.
This weekend’s races take place at 0910hrs and 1550hrs on Sunday with
both qualifying sessions taking place on Saturday at 1035hrs and
1440hrs.
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