The Grid

Alexander Sims recorded a top 10 points scoring finish on his debut in the Formula Renault West European Cup at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium over the weekend, 4th/5th October.

The 20-year-old British star, who resides in Wansford, battled hard to a ninth place result during his first competitive run in WEC on Saturday afternoon, having started the race in 12th position in his Manor Competition prepared car.

Qualifying on Saturday morning, which determined the starting order for the first race, took place on a wet track following overnight rain although the surface did begin to dry and slick tyres were certainly the correct choice during the closing minutes.

After pitting for slick tyres, Alexander had just two laps in which to secure a top grid slot but on his full flying lap he was held up by traffic and lost around 1.5 seconds. His previous best time of 2m 27.194 seconds, therefore, placed him on the sixth row.

Making an excellent getaway at the start of the race, the 20-year-old superbly gained four places to climb into the top eight on the opening lap alone but from that point on, his lower downforce setting compromised his chances of passing the cars ahead.

Losing eighth place late on, Alexander took the chequer in ninth just seven 10ths of a second behind the next car but a full 3.5 seconds clear of Frenchman Tristan Vautier.

“Saturday’s qualifying session was a bit of a shambles really”, he said, “After overnight rain the track slowly dried but I lost time to traffic on my second lap on slick tyres and we ended up 12th on the grid which wasn’t great.

“Before the race we took some rear wing off the car to try and help passing on the straights but, in hindsight, we should have stuck to our guns as I think we had the pace, wet or dry, to run with the others and make good progress. In all honesty, running less wing didn’t pay off. It’s a bit annoying but we still finished in the points on our debut.”

Sunday morning’s qualifying session wasn’t as Alexander would have liked at all after he ended up with an uncharacteristic 23rd best time following a spin in very wet conditions, leading to an impact with the barriers.

He did manage to recover to the pits, where the Manor mechanics worked hard to try and repair the damage as best they could. Going back out onto the circuit with just enough time for a couple of laps, Alexander was unable to improve when yellow flags compromised his sole flying lap at the end.

Due to the atrocious conditions at Spa for race two, the encounter started behind the Safety Car and with spray making it impossible to see more than a couple of metres ahead, when the race proper finally got underway it became a total lottery.

With overtaking seriously restricted, Alexander was one of the few drivers to make inroads up the order. However an unfortunate spin, enforced as he took avoiding action part way through the race, ended in a disappointing retirement.

“The racing certainly didn’t provide the results we wanted or expected but the main aim this weekend was to learn the track”, he said, “Things didn’t turn out as we’d hoped but it was good to come to Spa and get some valuable experience of the track.”

Alexander Sims produced two thoroughly outstanding race performances at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on Sunday, 21st September, to secure a double podium finish and ensure he concludes the 2008 season as Formula Renault UK runner-up.

In actuality, the Wansford-based 20-year-old scored the most points of any driver this year with an overall total of 473 but when the championship’s double ‘drop score’ ruling is applied – each driver having to subtract their two lowest scores of the year from final tallies – the Manor Competition star finishes runner-up to Adam Christodoulou.

Finishing every one of the 20 races contested this year inside the 10, Alexander has been by far the most consistent driver with two victories, 10 other podiums and no result lower than ninth place.

“To get two podiums at Brands Hatch this weekend is fantastic, it’s been a very good end to the year for us and as far as the championship goes, on overall scores, we scored more points than Adam”, said Alexander, “That was a little aim I had, ironically it’s my better consistency over the course of the season which has cost me the championship!”

At Brands Hatch, third place in round 19 – having superbly overtaken title rival Christodoulou on the opening lap – ensured the championship would go down to a final race decider. During the 20th round on Sunday afternoon, an outstanding drive from fifth on the grid to second place brought Alexander to within touching distance of the 2008 crown.

As the second Formula Renault UK encounter was broadcast live on ITV4, the MSA British Race Elite sensation certainly gave the armchair enthusiasts watching at home plenty to cheer when he produced, arguably, the overtaking manoeuvre of the season around the outside into the daunting Paddock Hill Bend on lap 18 to take second place.

Having started round 20 fifth on the grid, Sims certainly had his work cut out to try and beat Christodoulou to the title but he gave it his absolute all. Climbing from the third row of the grid to second place at a circuit where overtaking in Formula Renault UK cars is nigh-on impossible underlined the brilliance of the performance.

Making a textbook getaway from fifth on the grid, Alexander moved ahead of both Christodoulou and Adriano Buzaid to grab third position at Paddock Hill Bend and, knowing he had to score as heavily as possible, immediately set about closing down second placed Riki Christodoulou.

Pushing hard and setting fastest lap pace early on, Alexander was driving beautifully and after pressuring Riki Christodoulou for a number of laps, the breakthrough came on lap 18 at Paddock Hill Bend with his simply stunning move around the outside.

Although pulling away instantly, pole-sitter and race leader Dean Stoneman was just too far ahead with too few laps remaining so the win was out of the question. Nonetheless, the performance enabled Alexander to conclude his season on a fantastic high.

“I didn’t really think about the move on Riki a lot”, commented Alexander, “I knew from the few laps before I was much stronger than him through Paddock. I braked a lot later than he did and carried much more speed around there so I knew if I could get close enough I had a really good chance to go around the outside of him – and I did!”

During the first race of the day the Manor driver again started fifth on the grid, two places behind Adam Christodoulou, but a tremendous start saw Alexander move into third place at Paddock Hill Bend as he darted up the inside of Christodoulou who oddly left a gap.

From that point on, the soon to be declared Vice-Champion shadowed team-mate Kris Loane all the way to the chequered flag on lap 24 to claim third place, crossing the line just seven 10ths of a second behind the Northern Irishman.

Thoroughly delighted with both outings, Alexander is now excitedly looking ahead to the 2009 season where he plans to move up the single-seater ladder as he continues in his quest to reach the pinnacle of motorsport, the FIA Formula One World Championship.

“It was always going to be a very big task this weekend due to the drop-score situation but I did as much as I possibly could and I have to thank the guys at Manor Competition for giving me a good car”, added Alexander, “We haven’t had as many wins as I’d have liked this year but there have been plenty of podiums.

“Between last season and this season I changed a lot as a driver. The biggest thing for me is the consistency we’ve shown. Consistency is a very big factor as you go up the ladder to Formula 3 and beyond so I’m very glad to have that at this early stage of my motor racing career.”

British single-seater driver Alexander Sims made his presence felt on his Eurocup Formula Renault debut at Le Mans Bugatti Circuit in France over the weekend, 6th/7th September, by taking a brace of well deserved top 10 points-scoring finishes – a terrific return at a track he has never previously visited.

Joining the renowned SG Formula squad for his first ever run in the category, the 20-year-old from Wansford in Cambridgeshire enjoyed the valuable track experience against a hugely competitive field, especially bearing in mind the championship deciding rounds of the Formula Renault UK series are just a fortnight away.

Speaking after the second Le Mans encounter today, Sunday, 7th September, Alexander commented: “It’s been a pretty useful weekend really, I only came here to learn the track. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to race at Le Mans and I think we did a decent job. During today’s race in the dry the car was quite well balanced and we ran fairly well.

“We didn’t have the best straight-line speed but I’m still quite pleased with our lap times, especially considering we hardly had any dry running over the course of the weekend. Before the first race we’d only had six laps in dry conditions so to come away with a couple of points finishes isn’t a bad result at all.”

During his first group test session on Friday morning, Alexander produced the seventh fastest time before going on to improve in session two with the fourth quickest effort. Like the practice runs, qualifying on Friday afternoon took place on a wet track and the SG driver concluded the session 10th fastest.

With his performance good enough to take him through to the coveted Superpole session – which determines the top 24 positions on the grid for the weekend’s races – Alexander’s penultimate lap saw him qualify for his first ever Eurocup Formula Renault race in a solid 10th place with a lap of 1m 38.944 seconds (152.1 km/h).

At the start of Saturday’s encounter, he made an excellent getaway and carved his way past several cars to move into fifth position before the end of the first sector of the opening lap. Just behind, a number of cars made contact which resulted in the deployment of the Safety Car, the re-start coming on lap five.

Into lap six, Alexander was just two 10ths of a second shy of fourth placed championship leader Valtteri Bottas but a moment later in the lap saw the MSA British Race Elite star slip behind German driver Tobias Hegewald.

Remaining in sixth position for the remainder of the race, Alexander was very happy to come away with a result inside the first half dozen cars on his Eurocup Formula Renault debut and his first ever appearance at Le Mans.

He said: “The car was solid from the off during testing on Friday so I’ve had no complaints there. Qualifying was a little frustrating as we should have been faster but at least we went through into Superpole which was the main thing.

“I had a good start in the first race, up into fifth place very quickly, and then we had the Safety Car. We struggled a little later on but as we hadn’t really had any dry running before the race it was always going to be about getting a good start, survive as long as possible and then try and find the limits.”
For the second Le Mans race today, Sunday, 7th September, the British driverion lined up 11th on the grid thanks to his second best lap of the Superpole session, 1m 39.902 seconds – less than a second shy of the pole position time.

With the track fully dry, Alexander made a good start and had gained two positions by the time he exited the first corner, running in ninth place. On lap seven, Tobias Hegewald managed to find a way past to demote him to 10th position but Alexander soon gained a place again on the eighth tour when Mathieu Arzeno slipped down the order.

Remaining in ninth place to the chequered flag on lap 17, the British sensation was happy to conclude his maiden weekend of Eurocup action with another points finish.

Cambridgeshire driver Alexander Sims ensured the fight for the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship title will go down to the wire during next month’s season finale after claiming a truly memorable win during the 17th round of the campaign at Silverstone National Circuit on Sunday, 31st August.

Backed up by a storming recovery drive in the afternoon’s 18th round – which saw Alexander fight back tremendously from last place to fourth position at the chequered flag – the Wansford based racer is now within striking distance of championship leader Adam Christodoulou heading into the final two races of the season.

Alexander’s second victory of the year, which also saw him take two bonus points for the fastest lap of the race, was a mature yet determined drive which completely underlined the Manor Competition driver’s growing stature as one of Britain’s most exciting young single-seater prospects.

Speaking after the first race, the 20-year-old said: “I’m absolutely delighted to win, it was a fantastic race and my start was particularly good. We made one minute change to the car between qualifying on Saturday and the race, which I felt quite strongly about due to the change in conditions, and it paid off.

“It was nice to dominate with a really strong win and that’s obviously been a major boost ahead of the last two races at Brands Hatch in three weeks. The whole team, from the mechanics to the truckies, Tony (Shaw – Manor Competition team boss) and his wife Sarah, they’ve all been fantastic. It’s a great result for all of us.”

Lining up sixth on the grid for round 17, Alexander immediately made inroads on the cars ahead with an awe-inspiring first lap. On the run to Copse for the first time he passed three cars and then set about challenging second placed Adam Christodoulou.

Heading into Brooklands on lap one, Alexander thought about taking second away from the series leader and as they rounded Luffield side-by-side, it did look as though the Manor driver would have to tuck back into third.

Bravely, Alexander held his nerve and on the outside line he continued to run wheel-to-wheel with his title rival all the way to Copse at the start of lap two. Forced to give best to Christodoulou through the first turn, Alexander soon mounted another challenge and into Brooklands he managed to take second position.

The Safety Car was deployed on lap four to aid the recovery of a stranded car and at the re-start on the eighth tour, Alexander pushed to pressurise race leader, and pole-sitter Adriano Buzaid. It was then announced, however, Buzaid was to receive a drive-through penalty as he had lined up too far forward in his grid slot at the start of the race.

Buzaid entered the pits at the end of lap 10 meaning Sims instantly inherited the lead which he held all the way to the chequered flag – taking the win some three seconds clear of Christodoulou. Alexander also posted the fastest lap, 54.980 seconds (107.31mph) to gain two extra points and become the only driver in the race to lap under the 55 second barrier.
Superb fight-back provides welcome top four

For round 18, which took place on a wet track in very tricky conditions, the MSA British Race Elite sensation lined up fourth on the grid – missing pole position by just 0.055 seconds during qualifying on Saturday – and again made a terrific start.

Moving to the inside of third placed Buzaid on the run to Copse, drama followed as Alexander had a spin following contact on entry to the corner. Firing his car back up and rejoining the race in 18th, and last, position, he set about hunting down the cars ahead.

At the same corner on lap one, championship rival Christodoulou crashed out of the race while duelling with Jordan Oakes over the lead and so it was of paramount importance for Alexander to try and score as many points as possible.

Far from a simple task, the multiple karting champion produced an excellent drive to fight his way through to fourth place at the finish and 22 richly deserved championship points to add to the 34 he scored in round 17.

After the race, Alexander said: “Luckily we came through to fourth in the end, it was a shame about the spin at the first corner which didn’t make scoring big points easy but it didn’t work out too badly. To take a win, fastest lap and fourth place too from this weekend has been very good for the championship. I’m very pleased.”

In the championship battle, Alexander is a mere 10 points behind Christodoulou now on overall scores. However, when Formula Renault UK’s double ‘drop-score’ ruling is taken into consideration, the Manor star is 34 points adrift by virtue of his greater consistency this year having scored in all 18 of the races contested so far.

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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