Hillspeed continued its stunning start to the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship at Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit today, Saturday, 19th April, during qualifying for the third and fourth rounds of the season.

 

Menasheh Idafar, the team’s championship leader, produced his second career pole position during the round three session and ended up the only driver to lap below the 1m 19 second mark all day. His timesheet-topping best was a superb 1m 18.948 seconds (88.85mph) and the result also bagged him a bonus championship point.

 

During round four qualifying, the 17-year-old was in the fight for the top spot once again and ended up just missing out on his third pole of the year by only 0.065 seconds. He will still line up on the front row for the second of tomorrow’s races though thanks to a lap of 1m 19.513 seconds (88.22mph).

 

Omani star Ahmad Al Harthy was consistently strong in both sessions to record the fourth fastest time in each. During the round three period his best lap was 1m 19.344 seconds (88.41mph) while in round four qualifying the 26-year-old posted a time of 1m 19.710 seconds (88.00mph).

 

Emerging British talent Michael Lyons ended both sessions with the 11th fastest time, fractions outside the top 10, but having showed great promise and continued progress in only his second Formula Renault BARC event with the Hillspeed team.

 

The 17-year-old, from Felsted in Essex, ran well in both qualifying periods and particularly so during the round four session where he ended up just half a second shy of pole position with a time of 1m 19.958 seconds (87.73mph). His earlier best was a lap of 1m 19.699 seconds (88.01mph).

 

While Idafar obviously has a great opportunity to extend his series lead tomorrow, Lyons and Al Harthy both have a terrific chance to improve their own respective championship positions of 14th and fifth.

 

“Today couldn’t really have gone much better for us”, said Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “We’re delighted with the performance of all three guys. Although Mick was 11th in both sessions, he’s only about half a second off. If he continues to make great progress like he is, I’ve no doubt he’ll be a consistent top 10 runner very quickly, and potentially the top six.

 

“Menasheh produced another faultless performance to take pole position and he was so close to making it the double. He’s in a very good position for tomorrow and Ahmad is looking good on the second row. He had a small excursion in the second session today but pulled it back well and did what he needed to do to grab the fourth fastest time.”

 

“Ollerenshaw added: “To get two drivers on the podium tomorrow would be fantastic and although it will be incredibly tough, I’m confident we stand a good chance. The weather could be a factor if the rain comes as we expect but all three of them are good in the wet. Brett Parris (round four pole position qualifier) will be a threat as he did fewer laps on his tyres today but we’re confident we can do the job.”

The third round of the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship is expected to begin at 10.35 tomorrow, Sunday, 20th April, with round four provisionally scheduled to start at around 15.00. Both races will be contested over 14 laps.