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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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Final 2009
Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship Standings: |
mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk DEAN SMITH – 2009 FORMULA RENAULT UK CHAMPION!
Driving for Manor Competition, the team with which the last two F1 champions won their respective Formula Renault UK titles, 21-year-old Dean clinched the championship in sensational fashion at the 2.3-mile Kent track with a faultless victory during round 19 of the campaign. Making a perfect getaway from pole position at the beginning of the first of the day’s races, the Wolverhampton racer ensured the championship was his with one round to spare and then backed the result up with yet another podium, his 15th of the year, with third place in round 20. “I’m lost for words, it’s been a fantastic year and we’ve worked so hard to win this championship”, said the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star, “The car has been phenomenal again this weekend, I had a brilliant start to the first race from pole, did what I needed to do and then backed off towards the end. It’s been a perfect weekend and an amazing year.” Only returning to Formula Renault UK this year – having become Vice-Champion in 2007 – in time for the second event at Thruxton in Hampshire, the Black Country driver’s title bid began on the back foot with chief rivals James Calado and Oli Webb already having claimed 52 points and 50 points respectively during the season curtain-raiser at Brands Hatch. Dean’s first podium of the season came with victory during round five at Donington Park which sparked an incredible run of nine further rostrums, including three more wins. After a top five result in round 15 at Silverstone National Circuit, Dean hit the podium trail again and during the final five races he secured three more victories, one second place and one third position. The story of his phenomenally consistent season can also be told with seven pole position starts, six fastest laps and two ‘Driver of the Day’ awards. Furthermore, when looking at Dean’s points tally it’s clear to see he managed to seal the championship within 15 of the 18 races he contested. He added: “We knew it would be a tough year when we decided to come back to the championship, especially coming in two rounds late. We had an uphill challenge from the start and having finished runner-up in 2007, we had to win the title this time. “It’s been fantastic working with Tony (Shaw) and my race engineer Sarah (Shaw) this year, everyone at Manor has done an incredible job. I’m really happy to be a part of a championship win for them as much as for myself and, personally, it’s great to add another title to my Formula BMW one.” Having already impressed in a Formula 3 car during a one-off outing at the end of 2008 in the British F3 International Series, where he secured a brace of superb top four results on his debut, Dean is now looking ahead to a potential graduation to F3 full time in 2010.
Discussions
are already taking place with John Booth’s Manor Motorsport F3
Euroseries squad but sponsorship negotiations are also ongoing regarding
possibilities in the pipeline for a possible move straight into Formula
One support category GP2.
SMITH INCREASES SERIES LEAD WITH ROCKINGHAM MASTERCLASS
In a class of his own throughout the course of the ninth event of the season, the Wolverhampton racer didn’t put a wheel wrong as he not only scorched to his fifth and sixth wins of the year but also secured a brace of pole position starts and added a maximum 68-point total to his tally courtesy of a pair of fastest race laps – including a new International Super Sports Car Circuit lap record. Making it 13 podium finishes from the last 14 rounds, the 21-year-old’s season continues to be a masterclass in consistency and his pace this weekend was nothing short of exceptional. Heading to Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit a fortnight from now, 3rd/4th October, Dean is in a fantastic position to fight for his first title victory since becoming Formula BMW UK Champion in 2005. “It’s been an unbelievable weekend, the car has been absolutely perfect and the team has done a fantastic job”, said the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star, “First practice was good, in second practice things were perfect and in qualifying we were strong – especially in the second session which showed what we really had, to be four 10ths of a second quicker than anyone else. “The first race was fantastic. It’s always hard work and you have to be careful not to make any mistakes but the car felt so good and I was able to keep extending my lead lap after lap which is always a great feeling. In the second one the car was absolutely perfect as the race progressed, even stronger than on Saturday. The weekend couldn’t have gone any better for us.” Qualifying on pole position for round 17 with a time of 1m15.298 seconds (92.75mph), Dean got away well at the start and although championship rival James Calado attempted to go with him side-by-side around Turn 1 of the Rockingham Oval banking, the pole-sitter held firm into the hairpin. Into lap two, Dean’s advantage was already seven 10ths of a second and he proceeded to post faster times than anyone else on each of the encounter’s 16 laps. Storming to a winning margin of 6.5 seconds, on the fourth tour he also posted a new benchmark time for Rockingham with a lap of 1m15.935 seconds (91.97mph) – the only racer under the 1m16 second barrier. In Sunday’s 18th round, which Dean again started from pole after posting a qualifying time of 1m15.675 seconds (92.28mph), some four 10ths of a second quicker than his closest challenger, he made a better getaway to open up a good lead immediately. The Safety Car was deployed at the start of lap three due to an early incident and at the re-start on the fifth tour, the Manor Competition ace made no mistakes as he judged it to perfection and pulled away once again. Continually building his lead as on Saturday, Dean pumped in faster and faster lap times which improved throughout the race. His quickest lap, 1m16.299 seconds (91.53mph), actually came on the 15th tour and on lap 18 he took the chequered flag by a margin of 4.5 seconds as he coasted across the line to celebrate with his team along the pitwall.
SILVERSTONE NATIONAL PODIUM EARNS SMITH CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD
The Manor Competition racer, who took a battling fifth place finish in the earlier 15th round, is now tied on 336 points at the top of the driver standings with long-time series leader Oli Webb. However, when all competitors deduct the two lowest scores from their totals – as per category regulations – Dean has a seven point advantage over James Calado with Webb a further 16 points shy. “Obviously I’m really pleased to have taken another podium, it’s our 11th from 14 races, but I’m a bit disappointed we weren’t able to fight for a win today”, said the 21-year-old, “In the championship things worked out quite well this weekend but we do need to get back on top at Rockingham next time out to try and put some distance between ourselves, Oli (Webb) and James (Calado).” Lining up fourth on the grid for the second race of the weekend, Wombourne-based Dean made a cracking start in slippery conditions but found himself completely blocked in on the run to Copse behind a sluggish Webb. Holding fourth place at the first corner, the Manor ace immediately set about chasing down third placed Dean Stoneman and he passed him for third at Luffield. Reeling off some impressive lap times during the early stages, Dean then grabbed second place from Harry Tincknell – again at Luffield – and he then proceeded to pull well clear of his pursuers while also catching race leader Calado. By lap six, the gap to Calado was down to just seven 10ths of a second but as the track progressively dried Dean wasn’t able to lap as quickly as his rival and the front two positions remained the same all the way to the chequered flag on lap 22. In this morning’s first race, round 15, the Black Country racer started from sixth on the grid as a result of a tricky qualifying session affected by an oil spillage on the circuit. Dicing for pole position throughout, Dean just missed out by a couple of 10ths of a second in the end but with a handful of other drivers improving on their final run, he slipped to sixth. Making a good start, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star instantly moved into fifth place and looked set to go into fourth spot but he was boxed out at Copse and slipped behind Bahraini driver Isa Yousif as a result. Dean quickly hit back though into Brooklands to move ahead again into the top five. Pressuring fourth-placed Harry Tincknell, Dean was clearly the quicker of the two drivers but he just couldn’t find the space to make a clean pass and in the end had to settle for fifth position, albeit just eight 10ths of a second behind at the flag. “I was much happier with the car in the second race”, commented Dean, “We set it up to favour slippery conditions more and we were really quick early on. Towards the end, even though it was still quite damp, we started to struggle a bit more compared to (James) Calado. His car just seemed to come on stronger as the track dried. “Overall it’s not been a bad weekend and it’s been important to score well in both races for the championship. I’d have liked to have taken two podiums, and a win ideally, but we’re in good shape heading to Rockingham in three weeks.”
BRACE OF SNETTERTON PODIUMS BOOST SMITH'S TITLE PUSH
Easily the most consistent of the front-runners over the course of the last 10 races, all of which he has finished on the podium, the Wolverhampton based Manor Competition driver is now only six points shy of the outright series lead. Taking 'drop scores' into consideration though, each driver's lowest two scores deducted from totals before the end of the season, Dean leads by 19 points. The weekend started very well for the 21-year-old with the fastest time in pre-event testing on Friday and in qualifying on Saturday he secured his fourth pole position start of the year during the round 14 session by an impressive two 10ths of a second, a time of 1m04.851 seconds (108.35mph). In the earlier round 13 session Dean was on course for pole position with several minutes remaining but was blocked at Russell Chicane which cost him vital time. This also ended up being his final lap as the qualifying period was halted early following an accident involving Matias Laine. Therefore, Dean lined up third on the grid for the first race of the weekend. At the start of round 13, Dean and namesake Dean Stoneman both made better getaways than the pole-sitter James Calado so the Manor driver moved into second place on the run to Riches Corner but slipped back to third position at the Esses halfway through the lap. With Stoneman leading, Calado second and Dean in third place, the top three were covered by mere fractions of a second during the early laps with nothing to choose between them. Working hard at the wheel of his Manor car to deal with some understeer issues, the Black Country racer moved back into second place on lap 16 following a moment for Stoneman which dropped him down the order. Dean's second top two finish of the weekend also came coupled with the fastest lap of the race, a time of 1m05.429 seconds (107.40mph). At the start, he moved away cleanly from pole position but before he had a real chance to press home the advantage, the Safety Car was deployed after a tangle at the Esses involving several midfield cars. At the re-start on lap six he led away well, but three laps later Stoneman managed to edge ahead at the Esses as Dean battled with oversteer. Although he was unable to retake the lead, Dean adapted his driving style well to drive around the issue and lapped quicker and quicker as the race neared its conclusion before posting the fastest time of the race on lap 16. Closing to within just seven 10ths of a second of Stoneman as they headed into lap 18, any further progress was halted when the race came to an early finish following an incident involving Manor Competition team-mate Alice Powell and Swedish driver Fredrik Blomstedt. Dean was nonetheless very happy with yet another podium result. Speaking on another hugely successful weekend, the Kiddisave, Rotech, Cosatto, Britax and Dorel supported racer said: "My start to the second race was good, we changed the car drastically really from the first race as we had a lot understeer but then in the second one we had oversteer! "To cope with that my driving style had to change so much throughout the race but in the end I worked out what I needed to do and that's why we started to catch Dean (Stoneman) and I set the fastest lap at the end." He continued: "As a team, we all worked together on the changes and we thought we'd got it just right but it was just a little bit too far. Two podiums is still a very good weekend though and we got two bonus points for the race two fastest lap. It's been hard to catch up having missed the first two rounds and with Thruxton not being a good weekend for us, but the championship is right there now. We need to keep pushing on though to try and get some more wins."
SMITH SECOND IN CHAMPIONSHIP WITH SILVERSTONE PODIUM DOUBLE
The 21-year-old, supported by Kiddisave, Rotech, Cosatto, Britax and Dorel, didn’t quite get the qualifying laps he wanted on Saturday, 4th July, and concluded the session fifth on the grid for round 11, with a time of 1m46.646 seconds (173.5km/h), and an improved fourth quickest for the round 12 grid with a lap of 1m46.762 seconds. At the start of the opening encounter on Sunday, 5th July, the Wolverhampton racer got away well and was in third place by the time the field rounded Copse Corner for the first time. Remaining right on the tail of second placed James Calado and pole-sitter Josh Scott for the duration of the 16-lap encounter, the Manor Competition driver was happy to have continued his faultless podium streak, On lap six, a Safety Car period was called after a couple of cars made contact at Club on the previous tour and at the re-start on lap eight Dean did come under some pressure but he stretched out an advantage of around 2.5 seconds during the latter part of the race. Ending round 11 just nine 10ths of a second shy of race winner Scott, Dean was a mere six 10ths of a second behind Calado. Round 12, which concluded the weekend’s track action, produced another fine performance from the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star as he not only finished in third position again to seal his second podium of the day, Dean also posted the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1m47.985 seconds (171.4km/h) to grab a potentially crucial two bonus points. Although getting away fairly well, a fast-starting Jordan Oakes dived up the inside heading into Copse and on the exit of the corner he pushed Dean back to fourth position. Challenged hard during the first lap, Dean survived intact and by lap five he was a mere four 10ths of a second adrift of Oakes in third place. At the end of lap six, Dean got excellent drive out of Luffield and Woodcote to sling-shot himself alongside Oakes on the run to Copse for the eighth time and with a very brave and determined pass, the West Midlander moved into the top three once again. Immediately pulling away from Oakes, Dean set about catching the top two who had, by that point, already opened up a fairly substantial gap. Posting the fastest race lap on the 10th tour, Dean cut down the advantage held by Calado in second place and then went quicker still on lap 13. Closing to within about 1.5 seconds of the lead duo a couple of laps from the finish, in the end he had to settle for third but the result, his eighth podium visit out of a possible 10 this season having missed the first two rounds of the campaign, means he is now second overall in the title race. “I got a brilliant start to the second race but at the first corner there was a lot of dust and the car almost got away from me”, explained Dean, “ By the time I’d got it all sorted out, I’d dropped a couple of places. As the race went on it showed the changes we made to the car after the first race worked as I got fastest lap and caught the top two. “Being on the podium for both races is obviously really good but I had hoped to win at least one race this weekend. Consistency like this is what we need for the championship though but, hopefully, we’ll be in a position to get back to winning ways at Snetterton next time out.” The weekend’s action at Silverstone was in support of the British round of the international World Series by Renault and over the course of the two-day event, a record crowd of 135,000 spectators attended the race meeting – 50,000 on Saturday and 85,000 on Sunday.
WIN NUMBER FOUR FOR SMITH AFTER DOMINANT CROFT DRIVE
Added to a very competitive second place finish in round nine on Saturday, 13th June, the hugely talented Wolverhampton racer has finished no lower than the runner-up spot in each of the last six races and now heads into the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit event in July brimming with confidence. “Today’s win was fantastic, we pulled out a gap of about seven seconds and in all honesty over the last five laps or so I was cruising as we had plenty in hand”, said the 21-year-old Manor Competition driver, “On Saturday we did have some understeer and oversteer but the team did a great job with the car and today it was phenomenal really.” In both of Saturday’s qualifying sessions, Dean just missed out on each pole position by the smallest of margins – during the round nine period he was only 0.069 seconds outside James Calado’s best and in the second session he lost the chance to take pole away when forced to back off due to yellow flags being shown at Clervaux after a car had gone off the circuit. During Saturday’s ninth round, Dean maintained second place off the grid and although always within a 10th of a second or so of eventual race winner Calado’s lap times the order at the front never changed with the Manor star taking his fifth podium on the trot to maintain third position in the title race. He explained: “I tried my hardest in Saturday’s race but there was nothing between my car and James’ car in terms of performance. Everything was pretty much the same and we were very evenly matched. Second was a good result but if we’d have got ahead at the start I think we would have been able to keep him behind.” Round 10 produced an untouchable performance from Dean and with four wins under his belt he has actually taken more race victories already this season than he did during the entire 20-round championship in 2007 which he concluded as Vice-Champion. Getting a good start from second on the grid, the West Midlander moved ahead of pole-sitter Calado on the run to Clervaux and never looked back as he opened up a massive lead over his pursuers in double-quick time. Leading by more than a second into lap three, Dean stretched his advantage by another six 10ths of a second on lap four and did the same again on the fifth tour when he posted the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1m18.130 seconds – less than a 10th of a second shy of the existing record. Punching in some seriously quick and consistent laps, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star led by almost seven seconds into the final lap and coasted to a tremendous win to further enhance his title credentials. Dean added: “I’m ecstatic with my fourth win of the year and now I can’t wait for Silverstone in three weeks, the Grand Prix circuit is one of my favourites for sure and I’ve always gone well there. It’s probably my strongest track so we’re really looking forward to it and confident we can be on top again.”
SMITH LEAPS INTO THIRD IN CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER SUPERB OULTON DOUBLE
Sealing his second and third wins of 2009, along with his third pole position start of the year and a brand new lap record, the 20-year-old from Wombourne, near Wolverhampton, is now third in the championship standings after a stunning couple of weeks. Coming into this year’s campaign late after missing the opening two rounds, the Manor Competition racer has done the unthinkable by moving up to third in the driver standings already and is now a serious contender for championship glory – having finished runner-up in the series in 2007. “It’s been an absolutely fantastic weekend, every lap in both races I pushed as hard as I could to make sure we catch up in the championship and with these two wins today we’re definitely getting there”, said the delighted West Midlander. Qualifying third on the grid for the first of the weekend’s races, round seven, with a time of 1m18.171 seconds (102.51mph), Dean made a small change to his car for the round eight session and it worked perfectly as he secured his third pole position of the season with a lap of 1m17.964 seconds (102.78mph). At the start of round seven this morning, Sunday, 31st May, Dean got away from the line fairly well but found himself boxed in through Old Hall Corner which saw him momentarily slip to fourth place but contact between front-row qualifiers James Calado and Dean Stoneman resulted in both being eliminated from the race at Cascades. Holding second position behind leader Harry Tincknell, Dean remained within a second of his rival during the first few laps before the Safety Car was deployed on lap six due to a car stranded in the gravel at Druids. The re-start came on lap eight and Dean did an outstanding job to grab the lead into Old Hall, a move which started at Lodge Corner at the end of lap seven when Tincknell ran wide. Knowing he couldn’t attempt to pass at the re-start until crossing the start/finish line, the Manor ace timed it to perfection and from that point on he was never headed as he claimed his second win of 2009 in front of ITV4’s live television cameras which beamed the action across the UK. Even better was to come in round eight for the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star when he produced a tremendous lights-to-flag victory and also set a new Formula Renault UK lap record for the Oulton Park Island Circuit with a time of 1m18.926 seconds (101.53mph). Getting away from pole position with perhaps the best start he has ever made, Dean controlled the race and eased to his third win in four races to really stoke the fire on his title bid. Second placed Oli Webb, the current championship leader, did trade fastest laps for a while during the latter part of the race but he didn’t have an answer for Dean’s extra lap record push on the penultimate lap. After round seven, Dean moved up from eighth in the title race into the top six but his second win of the day saw him move ahead of early-season pace-setter James Calado, Finnish racer Jesse Krohn and Swedish driver Fredrik Blomstedt into the top three. Dean commented: “I had to back off at the re-start in the first race as (Harry) Tincknell ran wide at Lodge and I had to make sure I didn’t pass him before the line. It all worked out really well though and I’m obviously really happy with the result, it was a fantastic win for me and the team. “In the second race I think I made the best start I ever have, it was great as I didn’t even need to think about blocking the first corner. Once Oli (Webb) was in second place, fair play to him, he did very well and pushed hard. “All weekend at the second corner I’d been down about two 10ths of a second and I knew during the last few laps I had to find something extra. I did, and that’s why I went a lot quicker towards the end before bringing the car home for the win. We need to keep pushing forward and improving all of the time, there’s still a long way to go in the championship but this has been a fantastic weekend.”
DOUBLE POLE AND FIRST WIN OF SEASON FOR SMITH AT DONINGTON
Showing exactly why he is a serious contender for this year’s title, even though he arrived in the series on the back foot having missed the pre-season and the first two rounds, the 21-year-old’s stunning performance at the East Midlands track – in very tricky conditions – has lifted him into the top eight of the driver standings already, now just 54 points behind series leader Dean Stoneman. Dean also had the honour of being awarded the Donington Park Racing Association Club (DPRAC) trophy as the driver to have scored most points during this weekend’s Formula Renault UK races, a prestigious accolade held in the past by star drivers including Kelvin Burt, Dario Franchitti and Jamie Campbell-Walter. “It’s been a fantastic weekend, two pole positions and a win speaks for itself really”, commented Dean, “In the dry we know we’ve got the pace to win and we showed that this weekend, the test we had at Croft recently gave me the time we needed to work with the team towards a good set-up, we brought that set-up to Donington and it worked really well. “In the wet second race we didn’t have the same edge but as a team we haven’t done enough wet testing yet. With our deal coming so late I haven’t had a chance to run in those conditions with Manor but we know what we need to do now to the car if we’re faced with the same conditions.” He added: “When you haven’t had any pre-season testing you’re always going to be coming from behind but to have taken two pole positions and a win this weekend shows how much progress we’re making. I’m really pleased and I can’t wait for Oulton Park now in a couple of weeks.” The weekend started well for Dean with a top three performance during pre-event practice but better was to follow in qualifying on Saturday morning when he secured his – and the Manor Competition team’s – first pole position of the season before going on to do the double with the fastest time in second qualifying as well. Getting off the line well at the start of round five on Sunday morning, Dean hugged the inside into Redgate Corner to keep James Calado at bay and then had to fend off the challenge of Jesse Krohn who battled past Calado for second. Reeling off fastest lap after fastest lap during the first half of the race, the Wombourne-based driver pulled away from his pursuers without trouble and was never headed on his way to a winning margin of over three seconds from Finnish racer Krohn. In race two, which took place on a wet track to begin following earlier rain, the Manor star did get some initial wheelspin as he lit up the rear tyres off the grid but still managed to get a better start than second placed Calado to lead through turn one. Following a multi-car tangle at Redgate on the opening lap, the Safety Car was deployed and when the re-start came on lap four, Dean handled it well to maintain his place at the head of the pack. As the track started to dry more and more, it became apparent Calado had a faster car for those conditions. Fending off his rival brilliantly, Dean finally had to succumb on lap 11 at the Old Hairpin. Maintaining second place without problem, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star crossed the line on lap 18 in second place to bag 28 more points and firmly announce himself as a true championship contender with six of the 20 rounds completed.
MIXED WEEKEND FOR SMITH ON FORMULA RENAULT UK RETURN
The 21-year-old Wolverhampton ace, who was Formula Renault UK Vice-Champion two seasons ago, took the decision to return to the high-profile junior single-seater series after careful consideration with sponsors as he bids to continue climbing the ladder towards Formula One. Although having seriously impressed in an excellent sportscar debut three weeks ago at Brands Hatch in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship, Dean’s desire remains with open-wheel racing and so he is now set to complete the year in Formula Renault UK. Although disappointed to come away with a best result of ninth position this weekend during the second Formula Renault UK encounter on Sunday afternoon, Dean was phlegmatic about his first race meeting back in single-seaters and is confident he will soon be back where he belongs at the sharp end of the grid and atop the championship podium. “We didn’t expect to achieve anything special this weekend, it was all about getting back into a Formula Renault and getting reacclimatised after having raced the Porsche at Brands Hatch during the first meeting of the season”, said the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star. “We need to make some improvements and changes but the key thing is that we have a two-day test coming up at Croft in about 10 days so we can hopefully get plenty of work done there to make sure we’re in good shape for the next rounds at Donington.” Having missed the official pre-event test at Thruxton a couple of weeks ago, Dean was still quietly confident of a good run this weekend during rounds three and four but things went awry in round three qualifying when a gamble on slick tyres on a drying track didn’t quite pay off. Leaving him a very uncharacteristic 22nd on the grid, he still fought through in Saturday afternoon’s race to take a creditable 13th place finish but did struggle with some brake issues which he hoped to be able to rectify before the second encounter. Qualifying an improved seventh on the grid for round four, just four 10ths of a second away from pole position, the West Midlands racer had an action-packed race and eventually finished in ninth place after a tight see-saw battle in the midfield involving half a dozen competitors. Taking 20 points in total from his first weekend back in the championship, Dean now has 10 days to wait until the official two-day Formula Renault UK test at Croft, nard Darlington in North Yorkshire. He added: “We would have liked to have managed a couple of top sixes this weekend but it wasn’t to be unfortunately. Things went wrong in qualifying with the tyre call which was just one of those things really. Starting so far down the order was always going to be a big challenge but we came through pretty close to the top 10 in the end. “I’m disappointed with this first weekend back as I know what we’re capable of but I’m sure when we get the two full days of testing at Croft to work on the set-up and a few changes, we’ll be in much better shape at Donington for rounds five and six.”
pics . Jakob Ebrey Photography |
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Aspiring
Formula One driver Dean Smith followed in the wheeltracks of Kimi
Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton before him at Brands Hatch Grand Prix
Circuit on Sunday, 4th October, by winning the highly prestigious
Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship title – his second car racing
crown.
With
just two races remaining in the 2009 Michelin Formula Renault UK
Championship, Dean Smith has opened up a healthy 25 point lead in the
driver standings following an awe-inspiring double victory at Rockingham
in Northamptonshire over the weekend, 19th/20th September. 
Wolverhampton
British
Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) Rising Star Dean Smith continued his
outstandingly consistent Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship season
in fine style at Snetterton Circuit today, Sunday, 2nd August, by taking
a brace of second place finishes in rounds 13 and 14 of the campaign.
Black
Country motor racing driver Dean Smith made it eight podiums from as
many races during the sixth event of the 2009 Michelin Formula Renault
UK season at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit over the weekend, 4th/5th
July, and is now up to second position overall in the championship
standings. 
Dean
Smith scorched to a thoroughly dominant fourth victory of the season
during round 10 of the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship at Croft
in North Yorkshire on Sunday, 14th June, to close to within just 19
points of the lead in the 2009 driver standings. 
Michelin
Formula Renault UK Championship title contender Dean Smith produced a
thoroughly dominant performance at Oulton Park in Cheshire over the
weekend, 30th/31st May, to secure a brace of outstanding victories in
baking hot conditions. 
Wolverhampton’s
Dean Smith got his 2009 Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship season
firmly on track at Donington Park over the weekend, 16th/17th May, with
a fantastic double pole position and classy victory during the fifth
round of the campaign. 
Formula
3 hopeful Dean Smith had a mixed return to single-seater action at
Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire over the weekend, 25th/26th April, after
signing a late deal with Manor Competition to contest the third and
fourth rounds of the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship.