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Epton underlines his quality during season finale

Thruxton specialist David Epton signed-off his Formula Renault UK career with a brace of typically strong raceday performances yesterday, Sunday, 14th October, top eight and top nine results helping secure the Apotex Scorpio Motorsport team its highest ever placing in the entrant standings.

With a move into sportscar racing expected for the 26-year-old in 2008, subject to acquiring the necessary budget of course, David hoped to bring the curtain down on his final season in single-seaters with a podium finish this weekend and although not quite able to achieve his dream, he did further underline his quality as an out-and-out racer.

Having taken part in just six of the 10 race meetings this year, David clearly hasn’t enjoyed the same level of continuity in his car as his front-running rivals but his ability and racecraft shone through on Sunday with two sparkling efforts.

Although the Round 19 qualifying session on Saturday morning saw the Preston-based racer struggle with the handling of his car before ending the run with the 14th fastest time, changes ahead of the Round 20 session enabled him to produce a season’s best performance with an excellent 6th fastest time, just half a second shy of pole position.

As high as fourth quickest with just five minutes remaining, David eventually took a third row start for his final race in a Formula Renault UK car after posting a lap of 1m 11.075 seconds (119.33mph).

Beginning the first of the weekend’s races on row seven, the BAE Systems accountant knew a top 10 finish would be a terrific result but he managed even better than that with a fighting eighth position which ultimately helped Loughborough-based Apotex Scorpio to take third place in the entrant standings by just a single point.

Having been forced onto the grass at 130mph at Goodwood and then receiving similarly robust attention at Church, David unfortunately slipped to 16th position on the opening lap but he mounted a stirring recovery which saw his undoubted racecraft shine through.

After a three-lap Safety Car period, racing resumed on lap nine and David immediately began to make an impression on the cars ahead. Passing Chris Holmes and Ryuji Yamamoto in quick succession, the Honeywell Aerospace-backed ace also benefited like his rivals from a collision at the front between cousins Riki and Adam Christodoulou.

Carving his way through the order, the former Hampshire resident passed Alex Morgan late-on and also moved ahead of Richard Singleton for ninth before the finish. The subsequent exclusion of Adriano Buzaid for a technical infringement then enabled David to claim a deserved top-eight finish.

During the last race of the season, Round 20, David started ahead of Apotex Scorpio team-mate Will Bratt having out-qualified him by a mere 1,000th of a second but it was the latter who managed to edge ahead on lap one.

Embroiled in a close and entertaining battle with Bratt and Jeremy Metcalfe, David emerged in the middle of the trio at the end of lap three but was then forced back to ninth during the next tour. For the remainder, struggling somewhat with straight-line speed, David had to focus on defending ninth position which he did to the finish.

Reflecting on his final weekend in Formula Renault UK, David said: “The first qualifying session was very disappointing, the car wouldn’t handle well at all but we made some changes for the second session and it was much better to drive. We still couldn’t get the set-up we wanted but sixth was pretty good.

“In the first race I had quite a moment at Goodwood when (Chris) Holmes forced me onto the grass and after similar attentions from (Ryuji) Yamamoto at Church I had a lot of work to do. We managed to pick off quite a few places though and I think eighth in the end from 14th on the grid was as good a result as we could have hoped for.”

He continued: “In the second race it was noticeable we lacked pace on the straights, the car felt pretty good in the complex and at the chicane but it was hard work keeping cars behind in the fast section. Nonetheless, I’m fairly happy to take a pair of top 10 finishes away on our final weekend in the championship.

“It’s been good working with the guys at Apotex Scorpio, we’ve known each other a long time and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for everything. We’ll definitely stay in contact but from the point of view of my racing career, sportscars is the aim for 2008

 

Over 130,000 witness Epton's fifth top 10 of season

Apotex Scorpio Motorsport racer David Epton produced a pair of typically sound drives at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit yesterday, Sunday, 9th September, during the 17th and 18th rounds of the Formula Renault UK season – an event attended by an incredible 135,000 spectators throughout the course of the weekend.

In support of the pan-European World Series by Renault, the penultimate race meeting of the 2007 Formula Renault UK Championship saw David make a welcome appearance in Apotex Scorpio colours, his fifth of the season, and the 26-year-old recorded 11th and 10th place finishes to help ensure the team remains third overall in the entrant standings.

Starting Round 17 from the seventh row of the grid, the Preston driver made a decent getaway and by the time the race entered lap three, he was already in the top 10 and pushing hard with a car which was struggling for pace through the faster corners.

By lap six the Honeywell Aerospace-backed star was beginning to come under ever increasing pressure from Adam Christodoulou and so, using his intelligence, he opted to cede the position to the clearly faster car rather than risk any coming together and the possibility of losing the points for a solid 11th place finish.

Having made some slight changes to the car to try and boost performance through the faster turns, David lined-up for Round 18 feeling confident of an improved performance and the 2005 Formula Palmer Audi Vice-Champion raced well to a top 10 result.

Beginning the race in 11th position, David moved into the top 10 on the opening lap when third-placed Alexander Sims picked-up a puncture and after a short appearance by the Safety Car to recover two stricken vehicles from the gravel at the Old Hairpin, the encounter resumed at full race speed on lap five.

Embroiled in a terrific dice with Chris Holmes, Jordan Oakes, Kris Loane and Japanese racer Ryuji Yamamoto for the remainder of the 15-lap race, David emerged from it all in 10th position at the chequered flag.

Crossing the line just four 10ths of a second behind Holmes, the outcome was a little frustrating for David due to the fact he felt the AKA Cobra driver had passed during the cautionary period. Nonetheless, a combined total of 21 points from the weekend’s two events helps maintain Loughborough-based Apotex Scorpio’s third position in the entrant’s championship.

Reflecting on the weekend, the BAE Systems accountant said: “We made some changes after qualifying to eliminate the understeer in the hairpins, but that compromised the faster corners for the races so it was still difficult to find a balance.

“The races weren’t too bad really, almost a top 10 in the first race and then 10th in the second one means more points for Apotex Scorpio which keeps the team ahead of Manor (Competition – multiple category champions) in the entrant’s table. The aim really was to concentrate on bringing the car home sensibly which we did.”

David added: “In the first race there was no point trying to fight Adam (Christodoulou) too hard as his car was much quicker, it wasn’t worth risking contact and losing points. It was a bit annoying with the Safety Car in the second race, I feel I did lose a couple of places under yellow flags, but it’s still been a satisfying weekend, especially for the team.”

Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire will host the series finale five weeks from now on 13th/14th October. As a former resident of the nearby town of Fleet, David is hoping for a sparkling end to the 2007 season on home soil and having achieved a brace of top seven finishes at Thruxton earlier in the year, the race meeting holds a lot of promise.

 

 

HUGE DONINGTON PARK GP WEEKEND AWAITS EPTON 

Although the action on 8th/9th September will mark Formula Renault UK’s second visit of the year to the Leicestershire venue, David didn’t compete in his Apotex Scorpio Motorsport car during the previous National Circuit meeting in July due to the fact he was actually making his sportscar debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship. 

Supporting the highly prestigious World Series by Renault category at Donington, rounds 17 and 18 of the Formula Renault UK Championship will be David’s fifth outing of 2007 in the ultra-competitive single-seater series. Although it hasn’t been the smoothest of seasons to date, the Preston ace is confident of overdue success at the weekend. 

“The World Series weekend is always huge and I’m delighted to be racing with Apotex Scorpio again”, said the 2005 Formula Palmer Audi Vice-Champion, “It’s been a difficult year for us for a variety of reasons but I’m hopeful if we can have a strong finish to 2007 it will act as a good spring-board for next year. 

“Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit is great fun to drive and I’m confident we should be able to have a strong run. Last year it was one of our better weekends with regard to our pace, unfortunately I was taken out of the second race but we climbed from eighth on the grid to sixth in the first race so I’m hopeful we’ll have similar performance this time.” 

Along with his deserved top six finish during the corresponding fixture in 2006, David also posted the fourth fastest race lap to firmly cement his status as one of the quickest drivers in the championship. He will also be hoping for a great team performance from Apotex Scorpio at the squad’s local track, the outfit based in nearby Loughborough. 

Awarded ˜THB Clowes Driver of the Day’ status during round six at Thruxton, David’s original ‘home’ venue having resided in the Hampshire town of Fleet prior to relocating to Preston where he works as a BAE accountant, the experienced racer has every chance of producing a similarly impressive performance this weekend. 

David will step back into the cockpit of his FR 2.0 car today, Wednesday, 5th September, for official pre-event testing at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit. The competitors will take part in three, 50-minute sessions of testing. 

Qualifying for rounds 17 and 18 of the season is scheduled to get underway at 13.15 on Saturday, 8th September, with both races timetabled for Sunday, 9th September, and expected to begin at 09.00 and 16.00 respectively.   

 

EPTON SHOWS STRONG RACECRAFT WITH TOP 10 AT BRANDS INDY
 

Formula Renault UK driver David Epton produced a characteristically strong race drive during Round 16 of the championship at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent yesterday afternoon, Sunday, 19th August, to achieve his fourth top 10 result from eight starts in the 2007 campaign.

 
The 26-year-old Preston driver, competing under the gaze of a number of key guests who attended the event with his chief sponsor, Honeywell Aerospace, lined up 14th on the grid for the race after a difficult qualifying session on Saturday but he cemented his reputation as a thoroughbred racer with an excellent climb to ninth position at the end.
 
David's terrific run in race conditions was boosted further with the news, several hours after the race had concluded, winner Duncan Tappy had been excluded from the results following a protest against his car's legality by Apotex Scorpio Motorsport.
 
After making a good start, David passed both Jordan Oakes and Nathan Caratti to leap into the top 12 and into lap five, the Hampshire-raised driver started to seriously pressurise Richard Singleton.
 
With Adriano Buzaid forced to serve a drive-through penalty on lap 10, David moved up another place and then the Safety Car was deployed on lap 13 after Caratti crashed out of the race. At the re-start on lap 16 though, David enjoyed the benefit of good drive along the pit-straight and passed Singleton as the cars entered Paddock Hill Bend.
 
Having fought his way into the top 10 on a circuit widely considered as one which makes it almost impossible for 'slicks and wings' single-seater cars to overtake, David then benefited from an excursion for Alexander Sims on lap 23 which promoted the Apotex Scorpio star into ninth position, becoming eighth of course with Tappy's exclusion.
 
After being stuck behind Singleton for a number of laps, David was adamant he hadn't passed the Welshman before the line but the Clerk of the Course later penalised the Apotex Scorpio driver one position to demote him back to ninth place with claims his car was a mere eight 100ths of a second ahead over the start/finish line.
 
Frustratingly for David, Singleton's car had completed almost the entire race with a broken exhaust and both he and his Loughborough-based team felt a sterner view could possibly have been taken by race officials regarding this.
 
Nonetheless, Round 16 proved to be the highlight of the BAE accountant's weekend, the earlier 15th round of the championship seeing David and team-mate Will Bratt both struggling with a distinct lack of grip. On a wet but drying track surface, David's car simply wasn't handling well and his result of 18th position was very unfortunate.
 
"Had the car been working well in qualifying we'd have certainly been on for a couple of top eight results at least", he explained, "But we gave ourselves too much work to do, especially on a track like Brands Indy where passing is notoriously difficult. We just had no grip in qualifying which set the scene for the weekend.
 
"That said, we made some ground in the second race and the car felt much better so I was able to push harder. To climb into the top 10 from 14th on the grid at Brands Indy is pretty good going so I'm not too disappointed."
 
T

CHARGING EPTON JUST MISSES TOP 10 ON SNETTERTON RETURN

 
Less than a second separated David Epton from a deserved top 10 finish during the 14th round of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk yesterday, Sunday, 29th July, the 26-year-old Apotex Scorpio Motorsport ace climbing an excellent six positions in the race from a lower-than-expected grid slot.
 
Loughborough-based Apotex Scorpio team principals Jon Pettitt and Tony Trevor were delighted to have David back driving for the third time this year and the Preston racer hoped for a brace of solid top 10 finishes. But the weekend was compromised to a large extent by understeer problems which plagued his qualifying effort on Saturday afternoon, particularly during the Round 14 session.
 
Not too displeased with 13th on the grid for the first race, a lap of 1m 05.397 seconds (107.45mph) just two 10ths of a second shy of the top six, David was less happy with Round 14 qualifying where he was only able to post the 17th quickest time.
 
With a glowing reputation as a quality racer and one of the most consistently strong drivers where overtaking is concerned, David looked set for a solid result in Round 13 but unanticipated contact with Alex Morgan on the opening lap, while attempting to pass the Welshman at Sear Corner, resulted in a broken track-rod and subsequent retirement.
 
David buried his Round 13 disappointment over what he felt was probably an unavoidable incident for the other car and bounced back so strongly during Round 14 later in the afternoon that, from 17th on the grid, by the second lap he had raced into the top 12, before then moving into 11th position a couple of laps later.
 
Locked in a terrific five car battle for eighth position, with the car leading the group over-defending and holding the others back, positions chopped and changed throughout the remainder of the race with David regularly running side-by-side with two or three rivals down the ultra-fast Revett Straight at speeds close to 150mph.
 
On lap 10, David was sandwiched by a pair of Manor Competition cars with Alex Morgan in 10th place, David in 11th and Alexander Sims in 12th spot and a top 10 result certainly looked on the cards for the 2005 Formula Palmer Audi Vice-Champion with very little to choose performance-wise between all of the cars involved in the exciting battle.
 
Try as he might to break into the top 10, David just ran out of laps and crossed the line on lap 18 in 11th position, a good result for the former Hampshire resident considering he started on the ninth row of the grid.
 
"It's been a frustrating weekend, qualifying didn't go as well as we would have liked and it was an uphill battle from there really", commented the BAE Systems accountant, "The first race was disappointing, I made a good start and as I tried to make some places into Sear Corner there was unnecessary contact with another car.
 
"I tried to get out of it but there was nothing more I could do when the car alongside me left me no room and ran over my front wheel. The subsequent broken track-rod meant 'race over' which was a real shame. At least I enjoyed a good battle in the second race, to make-up six places was pretty good. I'm certain we had the pace for more had qualifying gone a little better."
 
 
 

 

FORMULA RENAULT STALWART EPTON HAS MIXED RETURN AT CROFT

 
Rejoining the Apotex Scorpio Motorsport team with which he achieved a brace of top seven finishes during the previous two races at Thruxton, the Universal Weather & Aviation Inc and Imperial Jet-backed star faced a tall order during rounds seven and eight having struggled with an ill-handling car in qualifying on Saturday.
 
Friday's short pre-event test gave the 2005 Formula Palmer Audi Vice-Champion strong hope of a brace of potential top six results but changes made to his car ahead of qualifying didn't quite work out for the Preston resident as he concluded the 20-minute session on Saturday morning with seventh row starts for both races.
 
Nonetheless, David lived up to his status as a quality racer by battling hard to a ninth place finish from 14th on the grid in Saturday's Round Seven and then fought through the adversity of a failing ignition sensor in Sunday's eighth round to cross the line in 12th place.
 
Seriously handicapping any hope of a top 10 result in Round Eight, the electrical glitch on David's car caused intermittent engine failure and loss of gear change which saw him lose a handful of places during the final lap. But determined driving  without the benefit of sixth gear saw him just hold off Nathan Caratti by a 10th of a second at the chequered flag to remain in the top 12.
 
"It's been a frustrating weekend but at least we managed to salvage some points for the team which had to be the aim after",said David, "On Friday things looked promising for us and we genuinely knew we could be in the top six in qualifying but we didn't hook it up at all on Saturday morning and struggled badly for grip.To finish the first race in the top 10 was as good as we could have hoped for really but then race two was a real shame with the ignition sensor problem. I worked my way up to 10th which was good but then the cars ahead of me started to pull away and it became clear we had some kind of intermittent fault." David added: "On the last lap it was horrendous and I couldn't do anything about the cars that came past me, I didn't have sixth gear and so our speed was compromised. It hasn't been the weekend we'd hoped for but it was good to be back out in the car. We're still working with our sponsors to put together a programme for the rest of the year."
 
With an offer on the table to compete in further Formula Renault UK rounds this year, David continues to weigh-up the possibility of contesting selected races in the fledgling International Formula Master series. He is also considering a switch from single-seaters into the world of sportscars, possibly a category such as the Porsche Carrera Cup GB