The Grid

Manor Competition savoured its second podium result in three races yesterday, Sunday, 13th July, after seeing Alexander Sims achieve a well deserved third place finish in round 14 of the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship at Snetterton in Norfolk – the result backing up the 20-year-old’s stunning victory during Saturday’s rescheduled 10th round.

By far the Nottinghamshire team’s most successful weekend of the season so far, the Snetterton triple header race meeting saw Sims achieve a win, a third place and sixth position from the three rounds contested.

Team-mate Kris Loane secured a best finish of fifth during round 14, climbing through from seventh on the grid and setting the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate tour with a time of 1m 05.345 seconds (107.53mph).

The Northern Irishman also rose from ninth in round 13 to finish inside the top seven, welcome strong points finishes after losing an almost certain top four on Saturday when his front wing came away late in the race as a result of lap one contact from the duelling cars of Adam Christodoulou and Adriano Buzaid.

Henry Surtees wasn’t able to repeat his season’s best result of sixth from Saturday’s 10th round but he recorded 11th and 10th place finishes to boost his championship placing and show improved consistency. Tom Armour, meanwhile, posted two frustrating retirements having run competitively in each of Sunday’s encounters.

Speaking on the team performance, Manor Competition team boss Tony Shaw said: “It’s been a much better weekend than we first thought it would be after qualifying. Taking the first win of the year on Saturday was incredible, it’s been a long time coming, and then for Alexander to be back on the podium on Sunday was great too.

“Kris was very strong in both of Sunday’s races, his quickest lap in the last race was outstanding and he deserved at least one podium. Henry was much more consistent in race conditions this weekend than he has been recently and showed some good pace while Tom was very unfortunate to post two DNFs. Again, he raced very well.”

At the start of round 14, Sims passed a poor starting Riki Christodoulou to move from fifth into fourth position and he then overtook Buzaid into the Esses to move into third place where the Manor star would remain to the chequered flag.

By lap two, Surtees and Armour were into 11th and 16th positions – having started 16th and 18th respectively – while Loane was circulating inside the top six after gaining one place on the opening tour.

Following an off for Buzaid on lap seven, Surtees moved into the top 10 where he would stay to the finish after handling terrific pressure from Buzaid and Riki Christodoulou. In the meantime, Loane held a solitary fifth place although the 20-year-old did catch the top four during the last third of the race.

Reeling in Adam Christodoulou and team-mate Sims, Loane posted the fastest lap on the penultimate run to gain two well deserved bonus points. Armour, meanwhile, was forced to retire on the last lap following contact with Ross Worswick.

Round 13 saw Sims line up in seventh place, Loane in ninth spot, Surtees 14th on the grid and Armour in 17th position. Gaining two positions off the start, Sims produced a determined pass around the outside of Adam Christodoulou at Riches to take fifth.

He held off the championship leader until the penultimate tour when Christodoulou produced a late braking move into the Esses which Sims wasn’t able to defend. Armour had a spin on lap 17 and failed to finish the race – having run well scrapping with Kieran Clark – so his day ended with double disappointment.

Loane raced strongly to a seventh place finish and was just four 10ths of a second behind Sims at the chequered flag. Surtees had another of his strongest runs of the year to finish in 11th place, keeping the attentions of Oli Webb at bay.

Taking the overall points scores into consideration, Sims’ excellent weekend has lifted him into second position in the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship standings with Loane in seventh place, Surtees in 13th and Armour in 18th position. In the entrant’s championship, Manor Competition is in third place with 537 points.

Formula Renault UK entrant Manor Competition celebrated its sixth podium finish of the 2008 season at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit on Sunday, 8th June – MSA British Race Elite member Alexander Sims racing strongly from sixth on the grid to the third step on the rostrum in front of an incredible 70,000-strong crowd.

Starting round 12 from the third row of the grid, one place behind team-mate Kris Loane, Sims ran in sixth place for the first few laps before starting to carve his way through the upper order. Pressuring fifth-placed Dean Stoneman on lap four, Sims was ultra-late on the brakes into Abbey to take the position.

Next in the sights of the 20-year-old Manor driver was James Calado who, battling hard to defend his position while carrying a broken front wing, succumbed to Sims’ pressure at Priory on lap six.

Some three and a half seconds shy of third placed Josh Scott heading into lap seven, Sims closed the gap down to nothing by lap 11 and on the 14th tour he forced his rival into a mistake under braking for Stowe, Sims taking third to the delight of the team.

Northern Ireland 20-year-old Loane, meanwhile had problems getting away from the grid cleanly and headed into Copse corner for the first time at the tail of the field having qualified in a competitive fifth place. He produced a superb recovery though, lapping with pace comparable to that of fifth-placed Stoneman.

By lap three he was into the top 14 and on lap nine had climbed to within touching distance of the top 10 in 11th position. Ending the race in 10th spot, Loane crossed the line just four 10ths behind James Calado and around two seconds clear of Kieran Clark.

Rescuing a terrific top 10 finish from what looked set to be a low points score at the start of the race, Loane faired better in the first of the weekend’s races – round 11 – where he maintained his starting position of sixth throughout and was the quickest Manor driver with a best lap time of 1m 49.033 seconds.

For Sims, round 11 produced a top five result – again where he started on the grid – but he did come under huge pressure from team-mate Loane during the closing stages. The pair were separated by just seven 10ths of a second at the chequered flag.

Henry Surtees didn’t enjoy the best of weekends in terms of the races, although qualifying went quite well with his consistency delivering an 11th place start for round 11 and a top 10 grid placing for round 12. On lap two of Sunday’s first race, Surtees had a spin while battling for position heading onto Hangar Straight and was forced to retire.

In race two, Surtees ran wide as he headed towards Becketts and bounced over the grass, spinning but luckily rejoining, albeit with damage to his front wing.

Arriving at the pits a long way down on the leaders, the Formula Renault UK rookie headed back into the race after the team had worked on his car and although a lap down he did finish in the final points-paying place of 20th position having also set the sixth fastest lap in the process – proof of what might have been possible without the spin.

Manor’s most inexperienced driver, Tom Armour, once again raced well to out-perform more established rivals. From the last row of the grid in round 11, Armour climbed into the top 14 at the finish while in round 12 he achieved a top 15 finish having begun the race in an improved 20th place.

Posting a best race lap of 1m 50.559 seconds, just half a second shy of the quickest times managed by drivers in the lower end of the top 10, Armour made good progress throughout the championship’s biggest weekend of the season – Formula Renault UK racing in support of the British round of the World Series by Renault.

Speaking on the Silverstone event, Manor Competition team boss Tony Shaw said: “To end the weekend on such a high with the podium was a great feeling. We didn’t quite get it right in qualifying and in the first race we were disappointed not to have challenged for a podium there.

“We’re happy we’ve made some very good progress this weekend with the set-up and it’s given the whole team a boost ahead of Snetterton in three weeks. We need to start recording some race wins now, that’s our aim for the next two rounds of the season.”

Manor Competition made its fifth podium visit of the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship season at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire on Sunday, 1st June, with Alexander Sims racing to a very competitive second place result for the New OIlerton based team.

Moving the 20-year-old into the top three in the driver standings, his fourth rostrum finish of the campaign came during a fairly processional ninth round of the season which took place on a drying track after earlier heavy rain.

Team-mate Kris Loane has also risen one place up the championship table into fifth spot after a solid eighth position finish while Tom Armour gained four positions from his grid slot of 15th to match his previous best result of 11th place – a very encouraging drive in difficult conditions.

Qualifying second on the grid, Sims made a good start from the front row and although he was never more than a few 10ths of a second adrift of the tail of race leader Adam Christodoulou throughout the 15 lap race, he had to settle for the runner-up spot just half a second shy at the chequered flag.

Loane’s race was similar in many ways, the 20-year-old never quite able to force a mistake from the car ahead and he too ended the race in his starting position, eighth, just five 10ths of a second behind James Calado.

Armour made up four places on the opening lap before gaining another position on lap seven when Adriano Buzaid spun off out of ninth spot at Sunny In. Although slipping back to 11th on lap 11, the result was still a welcome boost for the 18-year-old.

For Henry Surtees, his race lasted mere yards when contact from Ryuji Yamamoto on the entry to Clervaux forced both cars into retirement. Having qualified in 11th place, less than seven 10ths of a second off pole position, hopes were high for the 17-year-old to achieve his fourth top 10 of the campaign.

“Second place was the best result we could realistically have hoped for so we’re pretty happy with that”, said Manor Competition team boss Tony Shaw, “Alexander did a great job to keep the leader under pressure. Kris was in very much the same position, it was quite processional and without a big mistake from someone a pass was very tough.

“Tom raced well, he continues to improve at every event, and Henry’s accident was just one of those unfortunate things at a corner like Clervaux. All in all we’re fairly happy with how things turned out in the end.”

Due to restrictions imposed on the race schedule due to the poor weather, the 10th round of the Formula Renault UK season wasn’t able to be held yesterday and a decision is awaited from series officials to see when, if at all, the race will take place.

UNEXPECTED PODIUM LIFTS MANOR AT DIFFICULT THRUXTON

Manor Competition came off the back of its most difficult race meeting of the season at Thruxton in Hampshire over the weekend, 17th/18th May, still with something to celebrate after an outstanding effort by Alexander Sims during round eight.

Although the weekend was largely a disappointing one for the New Ollerton team, there were some highlight performances – Sims’ incredible rise from 13th on the grid to the podium in round eight and Henry Surtees’ top six qualifying effort during session two.

Qualifying saw Kris Loane emerge as Manor’s fastest driver during the round seven session, his best lap a time of 1m 10.868 seconds (119.68mph) to place him eighth on the grid, one spot ahead of Sims who was a 10th of a second slower. Surtees qualified with the 16th fastest time, a shade quicker than team-mate Tom Armour in 17th place.

The round eight session saw Surtees leap to the fore, a lap of 1m 10.725 seconds (119.92mph) good enough for an excellent sixth on the grid while Loane set the 10th fastest time, Sims the 13th quickest lap and Armour qualified in 18th position.

In race trim, Sims led the Manor charge in both outings in the end with a battling seventh position in the first encounter and a superb climb through the order from the seventh row of the grid to a rostrum placing in race two.

He did rise as high as second at one stage but had to settle for a, nonetheless very welcome and richly deserved, third place result – his third podium in as many race meetings and a truly superb effort.

Having made an excellent start to round seven, Loane found himself blocked in the centre of the track as he tried to make headway on the run through Allard and was boxed out to 10th position – contact from other cars breaking his front wing which slowed him in a straight line and made the race very difficult.

The Northern Irishman did battle hard and apply pressure as best he could but the handling problems meant 10th would be the best he could muster.

Surtees climbed to 12th on the final lap after a decent drive while Armour had plenty of work to do on lap one following an enforced spin. After managing to claw back time and get on terms with the tail of the field, he did well to make his way into the top 17.

The second of the weekend’s races at the country’s quickest circuit was notable for Sims’ sparkling drive through the order. By lap two, Loane had moved up into ninth position with Sims 11th but Surtees unfortunately couldn’t make the most of his stellar qualifying effort and slipped down the order to 12th.

Lap three saw huge disappointment for Loane when he was forced to retire at the complex as he tried to make up further ground. Looking to move into an undefended gap alongside Oli Webb, he went for the pass as his rival then made a late decision to cover the line. The result was contact which sent Loane into the path of Dean Stoneman.

Sims took over from that point on as the highest placed Manor driver and on lap four he had already climbed into the top five. But following a Ryuji Yamamoto crash and the serving of a drive-through penalty for race leader Adam Christodoulou, Sims found himself in third.

The Safety Car came onto circuit while Yamamoto’s stricken car was removed and as the race got back underway, Sims immediately made up further ground by passing Joshua Scott for second place at the complex. Surtees, meanwhile, was up to seventh place while Armour was inside the top 14.

Although Sims did lose out to Scott at Segrave on lap 15, third position was a terrific result. Having worked hard to climb back into the top seven, a small problem for Surtees saw him lose momentum and slip down the order on the final lap. He took the chequered flag in 11th place, just four spots ahead of Armour in 15th position.

Reflecting on the Thruxton weekend, Manor team owner Tony Shaw said: “It’s certainly been one of our most disappointing outings this year but Alexander’s podium and Henry’s pace in the second qualifying session were good highlights.

“We’re really gutted for Kris as there was nothing he could in the second race when he got taken out at the complex. He went for a gap that was certainly there and then the door was closed, he had nowhere to go. Tom had a couple of decent runs and is getting to grips more and more with the formula.

“We’re going to work incredibly hard to find out where we went wrong and what we can do to ensure we improve for the next event at Croft in two weeks. Hopefully there we’ll be able to get our championship challenge back on track.”

Manor Competition pairing Kris Loane(left) and Alexander Sims(right) both made visits to the Donington Park podium on Sunday, 4th May, during the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2008 Formula Renault UK season respectively.

While for Northern Irishman Loane it marked his first visit to the podium of the season, and his maiden rostrum finish in the main Formula Renault UK series, Sims’ podium was his second of the year.

Team-mates Henry Surtees and Tom Armour also achieved season’s best results with the former finishing in seventh place during round six and the latter fighting his way through to 11th position for the New Ollerton team.

Taking all of the weekend’s results into consideration, Sims is fourth in the championship on 120 points, Loane has climbed to fifth place on 111 points, Surtees is tied in 12th position, with the more experienced Sho Hanawa, on 58 points and Armour has also moved up the order into 17th position with 32 points.

Lining up on the front row of the grid for round five, Sims made a good start and as he rounded the outside of pole-sitter Adriano Buzaid at Redgate Corner, contact resulted in the Manor star dropping a wheel off the circuit and into a spin.

Dropping down to about 12th position, the 20-year-old battled back hard and although bitterly disappointed to see a potential race win go begging, he came home in ninth for what could be valuable points when all is said and done at the end of the season.

Loane, meanwhile, made great progress from seventh on the grid and after moving into the top five and then the top four, his moment of the race came on lap 11 when he produced a superb overtaking move on championship leader Adam Christodoulou.

Pressuring Christodoulou for several laps, it paid off on the 11th tour when he slid slightly wide on the exit of McLeans allowing Loane to get inside on the run to Coppice. He then sealed the move to take third place with a fantastic piece of driving into Goddards.

Armour raced to a 14th place result to equal his previous best from Rockingham while for Surtees, the outing turned into a nightmare after being given a drive-through penalty when deemed to have jumped the start. He eventually finished a lap down in 17th place.

“From seventh on the grid I really didn’t expect to be on the podium so I’m really pleased”, said Loane after the race, “Things worked out for me, our pace was good and I was definitely quicker than Adam (Christodoulou). I’m very happy to be on the podium, it’s great for me and the team.”

Round six saw Loane, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Saturday, start on row two in fourth place with Sims in sixth, Surtees(pictured) in 12th and Armour in 18th. At the start, Loane got away from the grid well to move into third place at Redgate and while Sims was hung out to dry a little on the outside, he made it through unscathed.
Challenging fourth placed Ryuji Yamamoto at the Old Hairpin and McLeans, Sims was determined to take the place and make amends for the earlier race. Looking ultra-quick, he made a pass up the inside at Coppice to take fourth and then set after his Manor team-mate Loane.

With both drivers racing well, Sims managed to find a way through on lap two and then began to pull out a gap over the 20-year-old from Co. Fermanagh. Reeling off fastest lap after fastest lap, six on the trot to be precise, Sims closed on second placed Buzaid but in the end he couldn’t quite get fully on terms with his tyres having given their best.

Nonetheless, third place from sixth on the grid was a terrific result and he also received two bonus points for setting the fastest lap, 1m 06.680 seconds (105.67mph). Loane finished a highly creditable fourth to claim another good sharing of points.

“I’m pleased to be on the podium but we had hoped for more this weekend”, commented Sims, “Donington has always been very good to me and after testing we were very strong. We should have had at least two podiums and, preferably, a win but I’m aiming to make that happen during the next two rounds of the season.”

Surtees made good ground early on and certainly put the thoughts of his start-line indiscretion from round five firmly behind him. By lap three he was into the top eight and he snatched one more position just before the finish when Jordan Oakes hit problems.

Armour lapped impressively and clearly made big strides during the weekend. In race conditions in round six he thrived, running in the top 14 before middle distance with some good overtaking, he progressed into the top 11 before the chequered flag.

Manor Competition team boss Tony Shaw said: “Two podiums isn’t a bad return at all, and Henry and Tom both achieved their best results of the season which was good to see. We’re confident we had the pace to achieve more this weekend, it’s a shame we didn’t, but we know more podiums and wins are there for the taking.

“It was a good birthday present for Kris to finish on the podium, he raced very well and we’re absolutely delighted he’s finally been able to finish in the top three during the main championship season.”

New Ollerton based Manor Competition enjoyed podium success over the weekend, 12th/13th April, at Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit during the third round of the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship.

The first of the event’s races saw 20-year-old Alexander Sims make a great start from the third row of the grid and after passing Manor team-mate Kris Loane for fourth on the inside of Turn One, he then made his way past Adriano Buzaid at Deene Hairpin.

Remaining in third place to the chequered flag on lap 16, Sims took his first podium of the campaign to the delight of the team.

Northern Irishman Loane, meanwhile, finished round three in sixth position and impressively posted the second fastest race lap with a time of 1m 16.778 seconds. He had to concentrate hard on defending his place from the attacking Riki Christodoulou during the closing stages and managed to stay ahead by six 10ths of a second.

Graduate Cup runners Henry Surtees and Tom Armour both made up ground on their grid positions, 17-year-old Surtees claiming his first overall top 10 finish of the season, having defended well from Scott Jenkins, while single-seater rookie Armour was 16th after a successful battle with the vastly more experienced Jordan Oakes.

Sunday’s fourth round, which was broadcast live on ITV4, saw 19-year-old Loane secure his second top six result of the weekend while Sims finished in fourth place having seen an early challenge for third fail to bear fruit.

Surtees enjoyed another strong top 10 run in ninth position, having been in eighth place for the majority of the race, while 18-year-old Armour – in only his fourth ever Formula Renault UK race – secured a career best finish of 14th as he continues to improve with every outing in Manor colours.

Commenting on the Rockingham action, Manor team boss Tony Shaw said: “It’s been quite a frustrating weekend as we didn’t manage to get qualifying right and that set the scene for both races. Alexander did a good job to bag his first podium of the year and Kris scored two solid top sixes which haven’t done his championship position any harm.

“Henry had his best ever weekend results-wise, he’s certainly starting to show more of the form we saw during the pre-season. Tom is still at the start of a big learning curve but he improved throughout the weekend so we’re pleased with his progress.”

Even though the Rockingham race meeting didn’t quite live up to what the team had hoped for, all four drivers have climbed the Formula Renault UK standings with Sims up to fourth, Loane in sixth, Surtees in 12th and new-signing Armour in 19th position. In addition, Manor is third in the 2008 entrant standings.

Rounds five and six of the Formula Renault UK Championship will take place three weeks from now on 3rd/4th May at Donington Park National Circuit in Leicestershire, the team’s most local race track.

Before then though, Manor Competition will return to action at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire on Tuesday, 22nd April, and Wednesday, 23rd April, for two days of official championship testing.

Championship challenger Manor Competition saw its 2008 Formula Renault UK season get off to a lukewarm start at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit over the weekend, 29th/30th March, but the team battled strongly in the face of a number of unfortunate problems.

Having seen Alexander Sims scorch to a terrific pole position during round one qualifying on Saturday, his lap a time of 46.666 seconds (96.60mph) in drying conditions, the New Ollerton squad was confident of fighting hard for victory in the first of the year's races.

However, the rare problem of a broken neutral cable on the formation lap ensured Sims would have to sit on his brakes on the grid to prevent a jump-start, totally ruining his chances of beginning his year in winning style. Nonetheless, the 20-year-old mounted a superb fightback.

Slipping to 14th position at the start, Sims scythed his way through into the top nine before the finish with some excellent passing moves on a circuit which is renowned for being near impossible to overtake on in a Formula Renault UK single-seater.

For fellow team-mates Kris Loane (pictured) and Henry Surtees, the race was one of contrasting fortunes. Northern Irishman Loane raced well to a top five finish as the highest placed Manor driver, having risen from seventh on the grid, and early on he was tailed by Surtees who climbed from ninth position with a great start to shadow his team-mate.

As the race progressed, Loane just managed to hold on to a deserved top five by a mere nine 1,000ths of a second at the chequered flag, during the closing stages he definitely looked to be struggling for grip but he was the quickest of the Manor drivers.

After a strong early run, Surtees fell away from mid-distance and came home in 15th position. All three drivers, however, were victims of circumstance due to the damp track drying up quicker than expected and their cars being set-up to favour wetter conditions.

Round two looked to be an even trickier prospect for Manor after the second qualifying session was affected by rain midway through. With all three drivers yet to produce their ultimate pace at that point, the skies opened and resulted in a swift conclusion to qualifying with no-one able to improve times.

With Sims lining up sixth on the grid, Surtees and Loane faced a greater challenge in 11th and 13th positions respectively. At the start, Sims leapt into the top five immediately while Surtees remained ahead of Loane.

Following a Safety Car period which began on lap seven, the race re-started on lap 10 and saw Sims mount a strong challenge on fourth-placed Jordan Oakes. Five laps later, at Clearways, Sims finally found a way past and seized fourth place where he would remain to the chequered flag.

Surtees and Loane finished line astern in the end in 12th and 13th positions respectively and although both drivers were disappointed, the race proved yet again how it is almost impossible to overtake on the short Indy Circuit when all of the drivers are so evenly matched on lap times.

While Sims lapped with a personal best time of 44.791 seconds up near the front, Loane actually produced a quicker race lap of 44.727 seconds yet he was stuck down in the midfield. Once more, the race underlined the importance of qualifying strongly at Brands Hatch Indy and how the weather on Saturday had a major bearing on the outcome.

Commenting on the weekend, Manor Competition team owner Tony Shaw said: "After Alexander's neutral cable came away on the green flag lap his race was effectively over but he raced brilliantly to fight back. It was all about damage limitation and to rescue a ninth place was good, added to the fourth in race two.

"Kris did a great job to hold on to fifth place in the first race and he was actually our quickest driver in both races but his grid positions meant he couldn't convert that pace into a top result which he deserved. It was a shame Henry drifted back in race one but in the second he lapped well and there was little else he could do to gain ground."

Shaw added: "Basically, the weather worked against us. In race one, we had the cars set-up more for wet conditions, I don't think anyone thought the track would dry as quickly as it did. Had Alexander not had the cable problem he would have been in the box seat without doubt.

"We're not making any excuses though. Our aim was to leave Brands with multiple podium finishes and had circumstances been a little different, we certainly had the pace to achieve much better results with all three drivers."

Rounds three and four of the Formula Renault UK season will be held at Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit on 12th/13th April. Before then, the team will take part in official championship testing at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire tomorrow, Tuesday, 1st April, and then at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire on Monday, 7th April.

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