The Grid

Alexander Sims raced to a pair of superb podium finishes at a baking hot Oulton Park yesterday, Sunday, 27th July, to help strengthen his hold on the runner-up spot in the 2008 Formula Renault UK title race.

The Manor Competition star, a member of the highly prestigious MSA British Race Elite programme, secured a third place finish in round 15 and went one better in round 16 with second position. The 20-year-old also took the fastest lap of 1m 19.826 seconds (100.38mph) during the first race to grab two vital bonus points.

With 16 of the 20 rounds now completed, Wansford-based Alexander is 55 points shy of series leader Adam Christodoulou and 21 points clear of third placed Adriano Buzaid.

At the end of round 16, Alexander said: “Obviously I’m very pleased to have taken two more podium finishes, it’s been a nice solid weekend, but with Adam (Christodoulou) winning both races we haven’t closed him down in the championship. We’re less than 40 points behind on overall scores but with drop scores the gap is over 50.”

Taking the drop-score ruling into consideration, Alexander’s consistency of scoring well in every race so far this season is actually working against him but with four rounds remaining in the 2008 campaign he’s confident he still has a good opportunity to fight for the Formula Renault UK title.

During qualifying on Saturday, 26th July, Alexander missed out on the round 15 pole position by just six 100ths of a second and instead had to settle for third place on the grid with a time of 1m 18.886 seconds (101.58mph). In round 16 qualifying, he was third fastest again with a lap of 1m 19.164 seconds (101.22mph).

At the start of the first race of the weekend, Alexander wasn’t able to make the start he wanted due to a problem with the clutch and slipped to fourth on the run through the first couple of corners. But as the cars approached Knickerbrook Chicane, he was all over the back of third placed James Calado; the latter having actually started on pole position.

It soon emerged Calado was going to be served with a drive-through penalty for a jump start and so at the end of lap three, with Alexander tucked up under his rear wing, the Fortec driver pitted. Free of the slower car ahead, Alexander rapidly made inroads into the advantage held by second placed Dean Stoneman and leader Christodoulou.

Closing to within half a second of Stoneman, Alexander posted a new lap record on the 10th tour and went quicker still on lap 11 with a time of 1m 19.826 seconds (100.38mph) to gain two extra championship points. Crossing the line on the 15th and final lap just 0.495 seconds shy of Stoneman, Alexander recorded his eighth podium of the year.

Ahead of round 16, the Manor squad changed the clutch in Alexander’s car to hopefully give him a better chance of making a cleaner getaway but, with a tricky biting point, he was unable to get the start he wanted.

Dropping to fourth behind a fast-starting Jordan Oakes, Alexander immediately started to pressure his rival and into Old Hall Corner at the beginning of lap two, the Cambridgeshire star produced a quality, textbook move up the inside to grab third place.

Alexander then set his sights on catching second placed Adam Christodoulou but drama followed on lap four when race leader Dean Stoneman was given notice of a drive-through penalty for a jump start. Pitting at the end of lap seven, Stoneman slipped down the order and Alexander assumed second place where he remained to the flag.

Once again, his pace was very impressive and he posted the third fastest lap of the race with a time of 1m 20.033 seconds.

“It was a shame about the start in both races”, said Alexander, “The clutch didn’t bite too well at the start of race one but after that we were fast and it was just a shame I got stuck behind James (Calado) early on as it allowed the front two to get away. We could, and should, have been higher but third place wasn’t a bad result.

“We put a brand new clutch in for the second race but the biting point was really fine, it was either nothing or biting so it made a good getaway difficult. It was quite cat and mouse between Jordan (Oakes) and I for a while as we were using different gear ratios but our pace was good and I felt comfortable. Overall I’m pleased with the weekend.”

Manor Competition’s Alexander Sims reignited his bid for the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship title at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk over the weekend, 12th/13th July – an outstanding performance seeing the 20-year-old take his first win of the campaign on Saturday and his seventh podium of the season on Sunday.

Driving faultlessly during all three of the weekend’s races, the first time in the history of the championship a triple-header has taken place, Alexander leapt from fourth in the driver standings to the runner-up spot on overall scores and is determined to continue his winning momentum with just six races remaining.

On a weekend when consistency would most certainly count, the Wansford star didn’t disappoint in race trim and along with a win and third position, he also achieved a further top six finish in the second of the three encounters.

“I’m obviously very pleased to have taken our first win of the year – hopefully more will follow now during the last six rounds”, said Alexander, “We didn’t plan on the first win taking this long but the team has worked very hard all year, both at the track and back at the workshop. Big thanks go to everyone at Manor.”

Saturday’s encounter was the rescheduled 10th round of the season which had been postponed from the race meeting at Croft in North Yorkshire at the beginning of June due to terrible weather conditions. With the round 10 qualifying times still relevant, Alexander would begin the race from second on the grid.

Making a perfect start, the MSA British Race Elite sensation pulled alongside pole-sitter Riki Christodoulou on the run to Riches Corner and moved into the lead before the first turn, streaking away from his pursuers through the first half of the lap.

An accident further behind involving Adam Christodoulou and Adriano Buzaid resulted in the Safety Car being deployed though so Alexander’s healthy advantage was negated. When racing resumed on lap four, the Manor driver again got away superbly well and from that point on he was never headed.

Second placed Dean Stoneman did place Alexander under intense pressure but he held firm and didn’t put a wheel wrong as he took his first win since his Donington Park success almost exactly a year ago.

Alexander commented: “It was a slightly strange sensation really as it’s the first car race I’ve led from start to finish over a full distance. It was pretty straightforward, I made a fantastic start and from there I just had to control things without making any mistakes. I capitalised on the start well which is something we’ve been doing lately.”

Seventh podium of season lifts Sims to second in championship
Qualifying for rounds 13 and 14 didn’t quite go according to plan with Alexander losing out in straight-line speed terms and only managing to qualify seventh fastest for round 13 and fifth on the grid for round 14. Once again though, the Cambridgeshire star shone in race conditions.

At the beginning of the 13th round, Alexander made another excellent start and after dispatching Scott Jenkins off the line he then went around the outside of championship leader Adam Christodoulou at Riches to seize fifth place with a great move.

Challenging fourth placed Buzaid hard for several laps, Alexander then started to come under pressure from Adam Christodoulou who clearly had the benefit of a quicker car in a straight-line. Skilfully maintaining his position into the braking zones, Alexander was finally forced to succumb on the penultimate lap at the Esses and slipped to sixth place.

The last of the weekend’s three races, round 14, saw Alexander make his second podium visit of the weekend with a terrific drive from the third row of the grid to a richly deserved third place finish.

Following a terrible getaway by Riki Christodoulou from row two, Alexander threaded his way through into the top four and after chasing Buzaid hard on the run down Revett Straight he then produced an excellent pass into the Esses to take third.

Producing fastest lap pace as he set after second placed James Calado, the Manor star couldn’t quite create the opportunity he needed to sneak past his rival but third position was a terrific result. In the end, he took the chequered flag on lap 18 just three 10ths of a second shy of Calado and a mere 1.7 seconds adrift of winner Stoneman.

“After qualifying I didn’t expect two podiums from the weekend”, commented Alexander, “To win the first race was fantastic and to finish on the podium again was great. There was a big difference in engine speed down the straights and we were on the lower end of that so suffered as I couldn’t get into the tow properly. Nonetheless, we scored well.

“We made good starts to each race and kept our nose clean as others faltered around us. I think we’ve come out of this weekend very well. Coming in to Snetterton I had very high expectations but during the weekend the expectations changed as our qualifying pace wasn’t what we wanted. The end result was good though and quite satisfying.”

Alexander Sims raced superbly in front of 70,000 fans at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit today, Sunday, 8th June, to record his fifth podium of the season during the 12th round of the Formula Renault UK Championship – the result tasting all the sweeter for the series front-runner having faultlessly carved his way through from sixth on the grid.

The 20-year-old, from Wansford near Peterborough, didn’t put a wheel wrong in 16 laps of action during the second of the weekend’s races at the home of the British Grand Prix and is confident he and his Manor Competition team have turned a corner in terms of performance and car set-up for the remainder of the campaign.

Added to the points for fifth position during the first race of the day, Alexander’s third place finish in round 12 sees him leave Northamptonshire just 18 points shy of the runner-up spot in the driver standings. Heading into the World Series by Renault supporting event, he was 31 points adrift of second place.

“This result has really lifted the spirits of the team”, said Alexander, “As I kept picking the cars off in the second race I thought we had a good chance to fight for the podium. (Josh) Scott was a long way up the road when I had moved into fourth place but I got my head down and it worked well.

“The first race didn’t go our way, the car wasn’t quite right and our pace wasn’t what it should have been but for race two the car was fantastic. The team did an incredible job with the car between the two races and I could do exactly what I wanted.

“I was able to attack people and had the pace to fight for the podium, we weren’t all that far from second place in the end either. Our performance was completely different during race two, I could put the car where I wanted, I could push where I wanted to push and I didn’t suffer coming out of the corners as a result. I’m very pleased.”

Starting this afternoon’s encounter in sixth position, Alexander thankfully emerged unscathed from chaotic scenes at Club on the opening lap to remain in the top six where he would remain until the fourth tour.

Having pressurised fifth placed Dean Stoneman for several laps, the Cambridgeshire ace then produced a determined overtaking manoeuvre on the brakes into Abbey to seize the position.

Clearly the quicker of the two cars, the MSA British Race Elite member started to close rapidly on fourth placed James Calado. Scything his was past into Priory on lap six, he then set about closing the substantial 3.5 second gap between himself and the podium.

Reeling in third placed Josh Scott during the next five laps, heading into lap 11 the Manor Competition star was just seven 10ths of a second behind Scott and looking far quicker than his rival.

The decisive moment came at Stowe on lap 14 when, under severe pressure, Scott made a mistake under braking. Needing no second invitation, Alexander shot up the inside and made third place his own.

Immediately pulling clear of the Australian, Alexander then closed to within one second of championship leader Adam Christodoulou before the finish on lap 16. Confirming his superb race pace during the second of the weekend’s encounters, Alexander was one of only three drivers to lap under the 1m 49 second bracket – his best time of 1m 48.873 seconds was the second quickest lap of the race.

During the earlier 11th round, Alexander secured a top five result having run as high as third position early on. Defending as hard as he could up until mid-distance, he had to concede to Calado and Riki Christodoulou before the finish.

“Fifth place in the first race wasn’t a disaster but if the car had been as good then as it was in race two, we’d have been on for a double podium I’m sure”, said Alexander, “I’m very pleased with the progress we made though, especially after qualifying didn’t go so well, and I’m looking forward to Snetterton with a lot of optimism.

“The changes we made between race one and race two were quite substantial changes, pretty elementary car set-up changes rather than just a tweak here or a tweak there. I’m confident we should be able to carry that through and show some proper pace for a full race weekend when we’re back on track next month.”

Immediately prior to the Silverstone GP race weekend, Alexander appeared live on the BBC Look East early evening news broadcast to talk about his season so far in Formula Renault UK. He also helped promote the World Series by Renault event which, with a combined crowd of 110,000 over the weekend, is set to be the second biggest motor racing meeting of the year behind the 2008 British Grand Prix.

Alexander now takes a five week break from competitive action before the season resumes on 12th/13th July at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk, Formula Renault UK returning to its regular slot on the British Touring Car Championship package.

The Snetterton event is scheduled to host rounds 13 and 14 of the Formula Renault UK season. However, the 10th round of the campaign – which was postponed a week ago due to adverse weather – will also take place at Snetterton. With the results of round 10 qualifying still applying, Alexander will begin that particular race from second on the grid.

Formula Renault UK Championship title contender Alexander Sims has climbed to third position in the 2008 driver standings after racing to his fourth podium finish of the season during round nine at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire yesterday, Sunday, 1st June.

During qualifying on Saturday, the Wansford-based Manor Competition star produced excellent pace and claimed a front-row start for both of the scheduled races. Lapping with a time of 1m 17.664 seconds (98.49mph) during the round nine session, the 20-year-old was second quickest again in round 10 qualifying with a time of 1m 17.149 seconds (99.15mph).

Well placed to challenge for victory in both Croft races, it became apparent midway through Sunday afternoon only one of the timetabled Formula Renault UK events would be staged due to enforced delays caused by bad weather. As it currently stands, no definitive decision has been taken over when round 10 will be rescheduled.

At the start of round nine, which took place on a drying track, Alexander got away very well from the grid and pressured pole-sitter, and series leader, Adam Christodoulou through the first corner at Clervaux and again as the cars headed to Tower Bend.

Although Christodoulou made a small mistake at Tower, it wasn’t enough to open the door sufficiently for Alexander to make a clean attempt at a pass and so the Manor ace tucked back in to second position.

Following a two-lap Safety Car period, due to two cars off into the gravel at Clervaux on the opening tour, the race resumed on lap four and Alexander made a terrific re-start to tail Christodoulou through the first corner.

Although pressuring the race leader for the entire duration of the 15 lap encounter, the MSA British Race Elite member couldn’t quite find a way through and crossed the line just half a second shy of his rival. His fourth podium of the campaign, the result also sees Alexander move ahead of Adriano Buzaid in the 2008 championship standings.

Reflecting on round nine, Alexander said: “Adam made a mistake on the first lap at Tower so I thought I had a good chance to make a pass but he was able to come across and defend in the middle of the corner so I had nowhere to go and had to settle for second. It was a processional race really.

“The track was slippery so you had to keep your wits about you and stay on the dry line which meant overtaking was all but impossible. The car was good, for these conditions a set-up was always going to be a bit of a stab in the dark and I think Tony (Shaw – Manor Competition team boss and race engineer) did a good job there.”

Alexander Sims produced one of the most determined drives of his Formula Renault UK career at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire this afternoon, Sunday, 18th May, to record a miraculous podium finish from 13th on the grid.

The 20-year-old member of the MSA British Race Elite climbed as high as second place at one stage during the eighth round of the championship and although slipping one position before the finish, Alexander was certainly pleased with his third visit to the podium of the season.

Added to seventh place during the earlier seventh round of the campaign – another battling drive from ninth on the grid by the Manor Competition racer – his points total from the weekend maintains fourth position in the driver standings as the halfway stage of the championship nears.

Commenting on his weekend’s work, Wansford-based Alexander said: “I certainly wouldn’t have expected a podium at the start of the second race, that’s for sure, but to have come through from 13th on the grid to second and then finish in third place is pretty satisfying I guess.

“It’s been quite a disappointing weekend for me and the team, the pace just hasn’t been there, but taking into account the podium it’s not been a complete disaster. I expected to try and fight for a couple of fifth place finishes, something like that, so to take a podium and seventh place means we’re probably about where we expected points-wise.”

Starting round eight, which was televised live throughout the UK on ITV4, from the seventh row of the grid, Alexander knew he had a huge task on his hands to achieve anything like a reasonable result. Making a good getaway, he quickly moved into 11th place where he battled with team-mates Henry Surtees and Kris Loane on lap two.

Having seen Loane crash out of the race with Dean Stoneman at the beginning of lap three at the complex, Alexander then produced one of the highlights of the race with an outstanding move into the chicane where he passed several cars to climb into fifth place, having avoided the barrel-rolling Formula Renault of Ryuji Yamamoto at Brooklands.

As the Safety Car started to circulate while Yamamoto’s car was recovered, it had also become clear race and championship leader Adam Christodoulou was to be served with a drive-through penalty having jumped the start.

With James Calado also pitting due to damage sustained in the Yamamoto incident, Alexander found himself behind the Safety Car in third position and with a great chance of claiming a highly unexpected podium result. The re-start came on lap nine and Alexander immediately pounced, passing Joshua Scott for second place at the complex.

Catching new race leader Riki Christodoulou, Alexander soon had Scott looming large in his mirrors though and would be forced to defend second position rather than pressing on to challenge for the win. On lap 15, Alexander was unable to hold Scott’s faster car behind him any longer and the Australian went through to second with Alexander holding third position to the flag.

This morning’s seventh round saw Alexander start ninth on the grid and after climbing into the top eight he then passed Jordan Oakes on the inside at Allard on lap two to take seventh. From that point on, the Cambridgeshire star was unable to make any further headway and instead had to focus on a sterling defensive effort to keep Oakes at bay.

Reflecting on the day’s two races, Alexander said: “In round eight I think Joshua (Scott) was genuinely faster than me. I didn’t make a mistake when he re-passed me for second place, he just had the speed. I stayed with him for a couple of laps but I couldn’t match him from that point on and had to settle for third.

“The first race wasn’t great, I had to defend from (Jordan) Oakes quite a lot during the second half of the race but at least we scored some reasonable points. Thruxton was never going to be our best track and we did limit the damage with the podium in race two. Now, we really do need to start putting together a true championship challenge.”

PODIUM & FASTEST LAP FOR SIMS AT DONINGTON

Alexander Sims produced a scintillating performance at Donington Park National Circuit yesterday afternoon, Sunday, 4th May, during the sixth round of the Formula Renault UK Championship – the Manor Competition star rising from sixth on the grid to achieve his second podium finish of the season.

Bouncing back very strongly from the disappointment of ninth position during the earlier fifth round of the campaign, the 20-year-old from Wansford, near Peterborough, lapped with stunning consistency and speed in the sixth round – televised live on ITV4 – to secure a fantastic third place result and to remain firmly in the top four of the title race.

Notable for his blinding pace, Alexander strung together a run of half a dozen laps where he set the fastest time again and again without reply from any of his rivals. He actually went on to end the race with two bonus points after seeing his lap 10 best of 1m 06.680 seconds (106.67mph) go unbeaten.

“We hoped for a better weekend, after testing we had reason to be very confident and we should have taken at least two podiums away with us”, said Alexander, “Donington has always been very good to me and after testing we were very strong. That said, I’m happy with the round six performance and confident we can challenge for the title.

“Unfortunately, we were unlucky in qualifying for the first race when I had a yellow flag in the last sector and that cost me a couple of 10ths of a second which would have put me on pole. In second qualifying, I got caught up in traffic and that dropped us to sixth.”

He added: “I’m hoping sooner rather than later we’ll have the consistency we know we’re capable of and begin to dominate the way we were during the pre-season tests. We’re fourth in the championship after this weekend’s races though and not that far away from the guys ahead. For the next event at Thruxton, I’m confident we can be strong.”

The MSA British Race Elite programme member headed into the second of the weekend's races on the third row of the grid, his qualifying performance on Saturday dealt a blow when stuck behind traffic during the optimum laps for his tyres.

Getting away from the grid nicely, Alexander ended up on the outside of the turn for Redgate Corner but came through unscathed in fifth position into the Old Hairpin where he latched on to the rear of Ryuji Yamamoto’s car.

Piling on the pressure on the run through Schwantz Curve and McLeans, Alexander then took fourth position at Coppice with a superb piece of driving. The next target was Manor team-mate Kris Loane and on lap two, Alexander continued his progression by easily dispatching the Northern Irishman for third place.

Reeling off a string of fastest race laps, the Cambridgeshire ace continued to close on the two cars ahead and also extended his advantage over Loane. In the end, he ran out of laps to be able to do anything about the two race leaders but third place – just over a second shy of the victory – was a very impressive result.

First lap tangle costs Sims potential win
Having qualified on the front row of the grid for round five, missing out on an almost guaranteed pole position by just a 10th of a second when he had to lift off the throttle on his last flying lap due to cautionary yellow flags being shown on circuit, Alexander hoped to be able to replicate his 2007 Donington Park performance with race victory.

Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out that smoothly for the multiple karting champion and he ended the race in ninth position after a character-building drive.

Making a good start, Alexander pulled alongside pole-sitter Adriano Buzaid on the run to Redgate Corner and as the pair turned into the right-hander side-by-side, contact forced the Manor ace over the kerbs and onto the dirt, resulting in a spin.

Dropping outside the top 10, a major recovery drive was needed and by lap four Alexander had moved into ninth position as he started to make quick progress to help limit the damage to his championship placing.

Setting the fastest race lap at that point on the fourth tour – and with it a new lap record – he moved into the top eight and then rapidly into seventh place at the expense of Joshua Scott following a terrific move at McLeans Corner.

As the fastest driver on track, Alexander looked set to make even greater inroads but a spin at McLeans late in the race saw him drop to ninth position where he remained to the chequered flag. Nonetheless, the 12 points he achieved in the race could be crucial at the end of the long, 20-round championship.

The fastest circuit on the Formula Renault UK Championship calendar, Thruxton in Hampshire, will provide the next challenge for Alexander two weeks from now, 17th/18th May, for the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2008 season.

Wansford based Formula Renault UK title contender Alexander Sims secured his first podium finish of the 2008 season at Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit on Saturday, 12th April, the result helping lift him into the championship top four.

Backed up with a fourth place finish during the second outing of the weekend yesterday, Sunday, 13th April, the 20-year-old remains firmly in touch with the top of the drivers points table. However, he did leave his ‘home’ venue somewhat disappointed not to have been able to challenge for a win.

Qualifying on Saturday set the scene for the weekend when Alexander had problems with one of his rear tyres but he extracted the best performance he could to take sixth on the grid for round three.

At the start of the first outing, the MSA British Race Elite programme member was at his most spectacular as he scorched away from the third row of the grid to move inside Manor Competition team-mate Kris Loane on the run through Turn One.

Alexander then moved ahead of Adriano Buzaid with a great pass to seize third place at Deene Hairpin and although remaining in touch with second placed Ryuji Yamamoto for the duration of the 16-lap race, there was nothing he could do to make more progress.

Nonetheless, sealing his first podium of the season from sixth on the grid was a terrific return – and an outstanding drive – so he hoped to be able to produce a comparable performance during Sunday’s fourth round, which was screened live on ITV4.

As in the first race, Alexander did make a great getaway but wasn’t quite able to gain additional ground from his grid slot of fourth. He did momentarily appear to be in with a chance of moving into third on the run to Deene but to no avail.

The tone of the race was then set from that point on with the top four remaining relatively static for the full 18 laps. The intervention of the Safety Car on the third tour could have shaken things up a little but at the re-start on lap seven, all remained unchanged.

Alexander did push third-placed Riki Christodoulou hard as the race resumed, particularly through Tarzan, and at the start of lap eight a slipstream attempt through Turn One looked as though it may pay off. Again though, he had to settle for fourth.

On lap 10, he posted his fastest lap of the race, at that point the second quickest time of all behind race leader Adam Christodoulou, but the Cambridgeshire driver had to be satisfied with fourth position in the end and 22 championship points to add to the 25 he secured on Saturday with his richly deserved rostrum finish.

Reflecting on the weekend, Alexander said: “I’m disappointed we haven’t quite been able to hook everything up as we’ve wanted to but it will come, I’m sure of that. We know we’re not where we should be but even so, a podium and a fourth place is good for the championship and keeps us firmly in the picture ahead of the next rounds at Donington.
“Our pre-season was incredibly strong and although we haven’t been able to replicate the same level of performance over the first couple of race weekends, we’ve at least scored decent points in the face of a few difficulties which haven’t been of our making, so I have to be satisfied with that.

“The team is doing a great job and I feel I’m driving well, we just haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly why we’re not right at the front where we should be. There’s no doubt we’ll be back on top form very soon though, I’m confident of that.”

Rounds five and six of the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship will take place at Donington Park National Circuit in Leicestershire three weeks from now, 3rd/4th May.

In the lead up to the Donington event, Alexander will take part in official Formula Renault UK testing at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire on Tuesday, 22nd April, and Wednesday, 23rd April with his Manor Competition team.

Having made a perfect start to the opening race weekend of the 2008 Formula Renault UK season with his first category pole position, Alexander Sims was forced to adopt a damage limitation approach yesterday, Sunday, 30th March, when his neutral cable snapped during the green flag formation lap ahead of the first encounter.

Dominant throughout pre-season testing at the wheel of his Manor Competition run car, the 20-year-old from Wansford near Peterborough began his championship campaign exactly as planned on Saturday morning with a superb pole position lap of 44.666 seconds (96.60mph).

Although unable to repeat the performance in the round two qualifying session due to rainfall at the midway point which prevented him from venturing back out onto the circuit, Alexander wasn’t too displeased with the sixth fastest time in the circumstances.

Overnight rain meant Sunday morning’s first round would take place on a damp track. But before Alexander had a chance to reproduce the sort of wet weather skill he showed at Donington Park last July, en route to his first ever Formula Renault UK win, the neutral cable on his car snapped during the formation lap.

Resulting in the Cambridgeshire ace being unable to access neutral while waiting for the race start, he had to hold the brakes and the clutch to prevent a jump-start which compromised his getaway and saw him struggle away from pole position.

Slipping to 14th position, the Manor Competition star had a huge battle on his hands to make any kind of impression on the top 10 with overtaking almost impossible for Formula Renault UK cars on the short and twisty 1.2-mile Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.

An incredible drive though saw Alexander move into the top 12 on lap three and on lap eight he managed to dispatch Jordan Oakes with a terrific move at Surtees, the latter having offered up stern defence during the interim laps.

Moving into the top 10 two laps later, Alexander set off in pursuit of Adriano Buzaid in ninth place and passed the Brazilian at Druids Hairpin on lap 13. Despite losing out to Buzaid on lap 22, Alexander’s ninth place at the flag was an impressive result considering the start and he was by far the star performer

Round two saw Alexander make a strong getaway from the third row of the grid and he immediately moved into the top five after passing the poor-starting Oli Webb. Chasing second row starter Oakes for almost half the race, Alexander applied huge pressure and it eventually paid off with a great move at Clearways on lap 15.

Running in fourth position, a podium looked possible but with the lead quartet all lapping with a couple of 10ths of a second of each other, Alexander settled for his placing. He could be forgiven for being disappointed with a less than straightforward start to his title campaign, but the single-seater ace remains incredibly phlegmatic about the situation.

“That’s motor racing”, said the 20-year-old, “We’ve shown this weekend we have the pace to be on pole position and we’ll be challenging for podiums and wins regularly, I’m sure of that. After the problem with the neutral cable it was all about damage limitation.

“We had some misfortune in second qualifying too with the rain preventing us from trying to secure another pole start but it’s the way it goes sometimes. I’m pleased with my own performance in both races though and also that of the team. There was nothing anyone could do about the circumstances which affected our weekend but it’s not a problem.

“We know we’re fast and very consistent, at Rockingham we’ll be strong. I’ve ironed out the mistakes from last season, that’s what comes with being a second year driver, and Iâ€™m very comfortable in the car. Although this wasn’t the start to the year we wanted, I’m confident at Rockingham we’ll be back at the front and challenging for wins.”

Rounds three and four of the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship take place two weeks from now, 12th/13th April, at Rockingham International Super Sports Car Circuit in Northamptonshire,“ Alexander’s ‘home’ event.

Before then, he will be back in action tomorrow, Tuesday, 1st April, at Cheshire’s Oulton Park Island Circuit for official testing. Prior to the next race meeting there will also be a further championship test run, this time at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire, on Monday, 7th April.

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FORMULA RENAULT UK