The Grid.co.uk    the national & club motor racing website - est1998          

  ^News

Provisional Final 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings:
Champion: Ollie Hancock, 130pts; 2nd Johannes Seidlitz, 101pts; 4th Menasheh Idafar, 76pts

mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk

IDAFAR ROUNDS OUT SEASON IN STYLE WITH PODIUM RETURN 

Teenage single-seater racer Menasheh Idafar concluded the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship season in style at Silverstone National Circuit on Sunday afternoon, 5th October, by making a welcome return to the podium during round 12. 

At the wheel of his Hillspeed run FR2000 Class car, the British-born Bahraini secured his fifth podium of the campaign with a fighting third place finish which, in turn, cemented fourth position in the final championship standings. 

Menasheh was actually on course to finish runner-up to German driver Johannes Seidlitz in the second of Sunday’s races but two corners from home he lost out to Brett Parris after a slight moment on entry to Luffield. 

Nonetheless, the 17-year-old was delighted to be back on the podium after a run of bad luck in recent months. He said: “I’m very happy to have finished in third place. It’s a bit frustrating I couldn’t hold on to second but (Brett) Parris was quick through Luffield and I hadn’t been as fast there all weekend. It’s a great way to finish the season.” 

Round 12 took place on a largely dry track, albeit with a few damp patches off the racing line. Lining up third on the grid after a good run in qualifying on Saturday, Menasheh got away quite well off the line but slipped to fourth on entry to Becketts.  

Heading towards the complex for the first time, Menasheh then gladly accepted third place after Isa Yousif crashed out of the lead at Brooklands after running wide into the gravel trap on the outside of the corner.  

By lap four, Menasheh was really starting to catch second placed Ross Curnow but he soon had to start thinking about defending as he came under pressure for third from a trio of cars. At Becketts on lap nine though, Curnow had a spin which allowed Menasheh to take second place. 

Soaking up the pressure from behind very well during the closing stages, the Hillspeed driver looked set to hold on to second but Brett Parris pounced when Menasheh got slightly out of shape on a damp patch at Luffield two corners from home.  

The first of the day’s races, round 11, started late after overnight rain and further bad weather throughout the morning had left the 1.64-mile National Circuit water-logged. 

Lining up third on the grid when the race finally got underway in very wet conditions, Menasheh initially left the grid cleanly but as the cars filed through Copse for the first time, he had an unfortunate spin as he battled over third position. 

Dropping him down the order to 15th place, the young racer had a big task on his hands to fight his way back into a points-paying position but this he managed with a determined performance. Moving into 11th by lap three, Menasheh was delayed on lap six at Luffield due to a backmarker spinning in front of him. 

Forced to lose a couple of places as he rounded the errant car, Menasheh fought back into the top 12 by lap eight and then gained a further place on the next tour. Soon back inside the top 10, he grabbed ninth on lap 13 at Brooklands when Kazuki Hiramine ran into the gravel. 

Over the course of the final lap, Menasheh did look well placed to mount a challenge on Kenny Andrews for eighth place but he was once again delayed by a backmarker at Luffield which cost him vital time and meant he would settle for ninth and a couple of championship points. 

“It’s been a good season”, added Menasheh, “We wanted to finish in the top five and we managed to go one better than that in fourth place so I’m very happy. I’ve learned a lot this year and I’ve definitely improved as a driver thanks to the guys at Hillspeed.”

IDAFAR MAINTAINS SERIES TOP FOUR AT TRICKY THRUXTON 

Menasheh Idafar saw his hopes of challenging for the podium during the 10th round of the Formula Renault BARC season slip away at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire yesterday afternoon, Sunday, 7th September – the Hillspeed driver ending the race in seventh position to maintain fourth place in the championship. 

Hoping to make inroads into the top three in the FR2000 Class driver standings during the 14-lap encounter, the British-born Bahraini’s quest was handicapped during qualifying when he could only achieve the eighth fastest time, 1m 15.080 seconds (112.96mph), after being boxed in by traffic throughout the session. 

Lining up for the race on the fourth row of the grid alongside Ollie Hancock, who would later be crowned 2008 Formula Renault BARC Champion, Menasheh passed Lee Dwyer on lap two to move into seventh place and then climbed into the top six on the next tour as he continued his excellent progress. 

On lap four, the Hillspeed racer gained another position to move into the top five but with lap times at the front all very evenly matched it would prove difficult to make inroads on the podium places.  

Running line astern with team-mate Ahmad Al Harthy at the midway point of the race, with the Omani in fourth place and Menasheh in fifth, the Ortolan, Gulfol and Gulf Computer Services supported driver had an unfortunate spin.  

He did manage to fight back into seventh before the chequered flag though to take four championship points which could be crucial with just two more rounds remaining of the 2008 season. As it stands following the Thruxton race, Menasheh is 10 points shy of the coveted top three in the headline FR2000 Class standings on overall scores. 

“Unfortunately we didn’t find the space we needed in qualifying so we ended up much further down the grid than we expected”, said the 17-year-old, “We definitely had the pace to be on the front row so that was a shame. In the race it went quite well for the first half but after my spin we had to be happy with seventh place.” 

Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw added: “Menasheh did thoroughly enjoy the race but he was disappointed not to achieve more with the pace he had. It was a fairly frustrating day but with two rounds still to go next month, Menasheh does have a chance to end the year in the championship top three – that’s our aim and focus.”

IDAFAR HAPPY TO BE BACK IN POINTS AT SNETTERTON

Formula Renault BARC Championship racer Menasheh Idafar made a welcome return into the points at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk on Saturday, 9th August, to remain firmly in the battle for the runner-up spot in the driver standings with just three races now remaining in the 2008 season. 

Two contrasting encounters weather-wise made things very tricky for the drivers and teams today but through it all, 17-year-old Menasheh emerged with a solid fourth place finish in round eight before shadowing Omani team-mate Ahmad Al Harthy home in round nine to achieve a seventh place result. 

However, following the conclusion of scrutineering checks on the highest placed cars at the end of round nine, Ross Curnow was excluded from third meaning Menasheh is now credited with a top six result to go with his earlier fourth place. In the driver standings, this means the British-born Bahraini now has 61 points and is in the top four. 

“I’m happy we scored well in both races, especially in the second one as the rain was bad and it was very difficult not to make a mistake”, said Menasheh, “We didn’t quite get the lap times we wanted in qualifying because of stoppages but it’s not been a bad day and we’re only 10 points away from second place in the championship.” 

During the morning’s 20-minute qualifying session, the Hillspeed driver saw both of his quickest laps compromised due to the emergence of red flags so he had to be satisfied with a pair of second row starts having posted the fourth fastest time of 1m 08.186 seconds (103.05mph) and a second fastest lap of 1m 08.216 seconds. 

Round eight took place in dry conditions, although the threat of light rain did hang in the air throughout, and saw Menasheh end the race in fourth position after duelling with third placed Ross Curnow for the majority of the encounter. Pressuring experienced single-seater campaigner Curnow from lap four onward, he couldn’t quite find a way past. 

Red flags brought the race to a premature end three laps before the scheduled finish due to an accident involving Nathan Coulter and Brett Parris, so the result was declared after 10 racing laps on count-back. 

Persistent rainfall during the three hours leading up to the ninth round of the campaign made track conditions very treacherous indeed and to finish the race inside the top 10 points-paying positions would be the chief aim.  

The race was red flagged on lap three due to a car off the circuit and so, having slipped to seventh position during the first couple of laps, Menasheh would take the re-start from the fourth row of the grid.  

Sensibly taking things cautiously, the Gulf Computer Services, Ortolan and Gulfol backed racer did lose some ground early on but as he started to gain more and more confidence, he fought his way back through into a top seven finish. This, of course, then became sixth position with the removal of Curnow from the race result. 

Hillspeed team boss Richard Ollerenshaw commented: “We’re very pleased Menasheh managed to score some good points today after a particularly difficult time at Croft last month, he needed to get a couple of good finishes under his belt again and now he has we’ll hopefully be back on form at Thruxton a month from now.” 

IDAFAR SUFFERS DOUBLE CROFT DISAPPOINTMENT 

Formula Renault BARC Championship racer Menasheh Idafar suffered his most disappointing day of the 2008 season at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire today, Sunday, 20th July – although race winning pace in the first of the weekend’s encounters did underline his undoubted potential. 

Concluding the fourth race meeting of the campaign with a double non-score, Menasheh has already put today’s setback behind him and the British-born Bahraini is instead focusing on the next two rounds of the championship which will take place at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk three weeks from now. 

Lining up third on the grid for the first of today’s outings, round six, the 17-year-old had to concede the place on the run to Clervaux for the first time but by the end of the lap he was back into the top three after making a good pass at the hairpin.

Visibly quicker than the two cars ahead, Menasheh started to close in on second placed Johannes Seidlitz and on lap three the Hillspeed ace set a superb lap of 1m 21.410 seconds as he started to assert his presence.  

Unfortunately, just two laps later, an attempted overtaking manoeuvre at the chicane didn’t work out and Menasheh made contact with the rear of Seidlitz. Working miracles to race on to a hard-earned third place finish with a broken front-wing, Menasheh later had the result taken away as a result of the lap five collision. 

The outcome was all the more disappointing when considering the fact the Gulfol, Ortolan and Gulf Computer Services backed driver achieved the second fastest race lap overall, proof if it were needed he unquestionably had the pace to fight for the win. 

Round seven promised much with Menasheh starting the race on pole position but his luck didn’t improve for the weekend’s second race when he was forced to retire at the first corner having led away from the grid. On the outside at the entry to Clervaux, his car was tagged from behind and the impact was enough to put him into the gravel. 

Bitterly disappointed to conclude the weekend taking away just one championship point, his reward for taking the round seven pole position, Menasheh knows the title has moved further out of reach but he aims to continue challenging just as hard when the series resumes in early August at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk. 

“I expected much more from this weekend, especially after we were so quick in testing and qualifying, but I have to accept what has happened and learn from it”, commented Menasheh, “We know we have the pace to be at the front and win races so I need to put today behind me and concentrate on the rest of the season.”    

OULTON POLE-SITTER IDAFAR LOSES CHANCE OF MAIDEN WIN 

Menasheh Idafar made a perfect start to the fifth round of the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship at Oulton on Monday, 26th May, by claiming a dominant pole position – but a chaotic race, with three enforced stoppages, didn’t offer the result the 17-year-old was aiming for. 

Sustaining a broken front wing on the approach to Old Hall Corner after contact from rival Ash Davies during the final re-start, the British-born Bahraini had to battle hard to maintain anything like front running pace. Brilliantly managing to bring his car home in seventh position, Menasheh still maintains the runner-up spot in the championship. 

“It’s really disappointing to lose the chance of a win today, especially having started on pole position”, said the Hillspeed ace, “During the first start I got away in the lead and I know I could have won the race from there. The first re-start wasn’t as good for me but (Ollie) Hancock wasn’t pulling away. I’m sure we would have pushed him hard. 

“I didn’t feel as though the third start was bad. I got hit from the right hand side and then the contact broke my front wing. After that, it was difficult to drive the car so we’re quite lucky to have finished in seventh place. My friend Isa (Yusuf Mohammed) finished on the podium today though so I’m really happy for him, he deserves it.” 

After securing his third career Formula Renault BARC pole start over half a second clear of his nearest rival with a tremendous lap of 1m 22.175 seconds (97.51mph), Menasheh led away well at the initial race start but it was red flagged almost immediately due to an accident on the grid further behind. 

At the re-start, the teenager got away cleanly again but was edged into second place at the first corner by his main championship rival Hancock. Racing strongly during the first three laps, Menasheh kept the leader in check and into the fourth lap was just four 10ths of a second behind and looking good value to mount a serious challenge. 

An accident at Cascades though saw the race stopped for a second time. At the re-start, Menasheh didn’t get away quite as well from the front row and as he headed for Old Hall Corner he was sandwiched between the cars of Nathan Coulter and Ash Davies. 

Contact from Davies on the right-hand side resulted in a break to the front wing on Menasheh’s car. The Welshman then speared off in front of the Hillspeed ace, colliding with Coulter, but Menasheh had the presence of mind to lift off the throttle as the two cars came together. 

Although safely negotiating the corner and avoiding the chaos, the Ortolan, Gulfol and Gulf Computer Services backed racer did run wide due to the lack of downforce from his damaged front wing.  

Rejoining in eighth position, Menasheh battled hard with his ill-handling car and then just five laps into the race it was red-flagged for a third and final time. Classified in seventh place at the finish, Menasheh added four points to his championship total. Including the point he achieved for pole position, Menasheh is now on 47 points in second place.

Bouncing back quickly from his disappointment, Menasheh will be back in his Hillspeed car tomorrow, Tuesday, 27th May, for a test session at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire  - the venue for the sixth and seventh rounds of the 2008 Formula Renault BARC season which take place a lengthy eight weeks from now on 19th/20th July.

pics jakob Ebrey