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

  ^News

The team site www.3ksracing.co.uk and KC’s site www.kierenclark.com

The next Rounds of the Formula Renault UK championship are at Cheshire’s Oulton Park on July 26th and 27t

Continued from news:

 E mail the editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk for details

Kieren Clark - 3Ks Racing

Another top ten for Clark at Snetterton rounds of Formula Renault UK 

Kieren Clark posted his fourth top ten finish at Snetterton this weekend, but missed out on capitalizing from his best qualifying position of the season, when a broken front wing from the punishing track conditions caused handling problems. 

Rounds 12 and 13 of the Formula Renault UK series were run at the Snetterton during the British Touring Car Championship event at the weekend, with the 10th round, left over from the rain soaked Croft event at the beginning of June, adding to the busy schedule. As an added attraction Clark’s car was chosen to run with the ITV4 on board camera.

Having already qualified at Croft, for the postponed round 10, a 15th position on the grid was a tough one. A fast start saw KC climb 2 places, but loose out to his team mate Josh Scott, who made an even more impressive get-away.

An accident on the first corner brought out the safety car for the next 2 laps, then both Apotex Scorpio cars set about pressurising Yamamoto, with Josh and Kieren passing by either side of the CR Scuderia car on the entry to the Esses. Sadly Scott was later served with a drive through penalty for a jumped start, putting him out of the fight.

Capitalising on a last lap error from the pair in front, Clark  finished a creditable10th.  “It was a great move we did on Ryuji (Yamamoto) passing either side of him” commented KC, “once we passed him, he was really pushing, but I managed to pull a gap to get the pressure off so I could concentrate on chasing Adriano (Buzaid). I couldn’t make any challenge, but made up a place as he and Kris (Loane) had a scrap on the last lap. The car was spot on though.” 

The Sunday morning round saw Kieren start in his best grid position this season of 11th, only missing out on being inside the top ten by less than 2 tenths. However, not making the best start, he was soon dropping down the order, and seemingly unable to make any headway, finishing 15th. After the race, the front wing was found to have cracked under the rough Snetterton curbs and was providing little in the way of downforce on one side.  

Round 13, run on Sunday afternoon, saw KC in 15th  ,with the grid being so close it was only a tenth away from a top ten start. After a hard race with some challenges to move forward resulting in him frustratingly loosing places, then having to make them back, finish where he started in 15th. 

h

Clark shines under pressure at Renault Formula UK Silverstone Rounds 

The Silverstone rounds of the Formula Renault UK championship formed part of the Renault World Series event and attracted a bumper crown of well over 100,000 over the weekend.

 Qualifying didn’t quite go to plan, with an engine problem robbing any chance of any improvement during the session, to leave Kieren 16^th on both race grids. After a frantic engine change, KC was back on the grid ready for the 2 Sunday races. 

A stunning start in Race 1 made up 3 places into Copse and picking off 2 more along the straight into Becketts. Lining up to overtake again into Becketts, a spin ahead of the hard charging pack, caused some quick braking and Kieran was unfortunate enough to just catch his front wing on the car in front. With the front wing rattling loose, there was no choice but to pit and change the nose. Some quick work by the Apotex Scorpio team got KC out, but by now 2 laps down. Treating the session as race practice, KC was consistently lapping with times around the top 10, to finish 17^th from the 22 car field for some valuable points. 

Another good start in race 2, once again from 16th on the grid, Kieren streaked to 9th after the first lap, ahead of his more experienced team-mate Will Bratt. After 4 laps of being pressured by Will, KC had to defend off line and Will got through, then stormed on to pass Calado. 

On lap 8, KC passed Calado at Stowe for 9th, but Calado fought back to regain the place. After the tussle with Will and Calado, Loane managed to sneak through, having had a bad start from 5^th on the grid, and was looking to make up his lost positions. Keeping out of trouble for the remainder of the 16 lap race, KC crossed the line for a well deserved 11^th. 

"My tyres felt awful after going off line for so long, defending against Will.” Said KC “the car was excellent up to that point. I tried to make the place on James (Calado), but went into the corner too fast and he had the better line on the way out so kept the position. After that, it was proving to be a real struggle to keep ahead of Kris (Loane). After the agro of the engine yesterday, it was good to make up places in the race. The team did a great job of getting me back out on track, and I’ve picked up some good points. I can’t wait until Snetterton now!"

Clark climbs to top ten finish at Thruxton Formula Renault UK. 

Thruxton proved to be good challenge for Kieren Clark, the 19 year old from Royston, Cambridgeshire, notching up final positions of 14^th and 10^th in rounds 7 and 8 of the Formula Renault UK championship, both from qualifying positions at back end of the grid. Sunday’s races were watched by a packed crowd at the super fast Hampshire circuit, and round 8 featuring live on ITV4. 

Starting from 18^th place on the 21 car grid, Kieren made a good start to move up 2 places in the first lap, but narrowly avoided being clipped by his team mate Sho Hanawa, who had taken to the grass and spun back on track, just behind Kieren. As the race settled, Kieren was chasing Surtees for all of the remaining laps and both catching the pack in front until, an unfortunate Rossi spun off on the last lap.

The second race, with its usual live ITV4 slot, again saw Kieren with a back end view of the grid, starting from 17^th. A good start was eclipsed by his Apotex Scorpio team mate, Tom Mun, as both made up places, and Kieren quickly took Tom back, to latch onto Pentus. On lap 3 the safety car was deployed, after a spectacular roll from Yamamoto, which he fortunately quickly emerged from, demonstrating the ruggedness of the Formula Renault carbon fibre monocoque. After 6 laps of the safety car, racing resumed, but Kieren couldn’t get to make a challenge, but on the last lap, both managed to make up a place for Kieren to take the tenth position.  

“This is the first time I’ve finished a race here”, reflected KC “after some bad luck in previous years, so that and a tenth place, it’s been a good day.  Race 2 was a great start for me and made up places, but Tom flashed past on the grid, so I had to get past him quickly. After the safety car, I didn’t really get my tyres fully up to temperature so didn’t really manage to get any advantage there, but kept chasing Sten (Pentus) and we managed to make a place up on the last lap, so good result. I struggled in qualifying, with no testing here on Friday, so didn’t get into the track at all, and a fast lap is all about getting the lines right. ” 

The next Rounds of the Formula Renault UK championship are at Croft on May 31st and June 1st, as part of the British Touring Car Championship weekend, with big crowds expected, along with live ITV4 coverage on the Sunday, of the afternoon’s events, its one not to miss.  

Steep learning weekend for Clark at Donington Formula Renault UK rounds 5 and 6.

A difficult weekend at Donington for Kieren Clark, the 19 year old racer from Royston, Cambridgeshire, resulted in finishes of 13th and 16th in rounds 5 and 6 of the Formula Renault UK championship, with round 6 watched live by hundreds of thousands of ITV4 viewers. 

Testing before the event did not go to plan for the Apotex Scorpio driver and qualifying on Saturday morning proved to be more of an exploratory session.  This unfortunately meant that the all important ‘new tyre lap’ was not capitalized on and he ended up 15th on the grid. As usual in the Formula Renault UK series, the times were so close, especially in the Apotex Scorpio team, with only seven hundredths of a second to Kieren’s mate Josh Scott in 13th and two hundredths of a second back to Sho Hanawa, in 16th. For the second qualifying session, KC again ended in 15th position, one tenth in front of Sho.  

“We left our qualifying laps to the end of the session”, explained KC, “but after a red flag stopped the session near the end, it all got a bit manic as everyone tried to squeeze a time from the last few laps. I seemed to be getting lots of understeer from the tyres and I couldn’t get the car to turn into the apex.” 

After a reasonable start in race 1, KC slotted behind Pentus and kept the gap to a few tenths but was never able to mount a serious challenge, but did benefit from some drive through penalties for jumped starts at the head of the grid, and ended his race 13th. 

“I didn’t get the best start as my car just started to creep, and I could see the marshal watching me, so I covered the brakes just as the lights went out and took a fraction to get going. I didn’t loose any places, but had hoped to make a better start.” 

The second race of the day started with light rain falling, the conditions looking a bit more difficult. A poor start relegated KC to 17th and then on lap 2, a move down the inside of Armour got him onto a damp part of the track, which of course  lacked  grip and relegated KC another 2 places to 19th. Over the next few laps some steady driving allowed KC to get back into contention and benefit from others mistakes on the greasy off-line track. Some fast sector times put him back in contention with Blomstedt towards the end of the race, and close enough for a last corner lunge, which didn’t come off, but did make some entertaining TV coverage. 

The next Rounds of the Formula Renault UK championship are at Thruxton on May 17th and 18th, as part of the British Touring Car Championship weekend, with big crowds expected, along with live ITV4 coverage on the Sunday, of the afternoon’s events.  

Determined Top ten finish for Clark in Rockingham Formula Renault UK.

A stunning start from Kieren Clark, the 19 year old racer from Cambridge, enabled him to score another top ten finish in round 4 of the Formula Renault UK championship, watched live by nearly 450,000 TV viewers. 

With the cars at the head of the race in procession, the cameras focussed on the battles surrounding the Apotex Scorpio driver for much of the race, giving sensational live TV coverage. 

The qualifying sessions on Saturday did not yield the promise hoped for, and grid positions of 16th and 15th were the best Kieren could achieve. So once again, if there was to be any good finishes, it had to come in the races. 

In the first race, starting on the outside of the banked Rockingham straight, KC made a good start but Rossi, on the inside position made an even better one and relegated both Kieren and Josh Scott, his Apotex Scorpio team mate, back one place. KC chased Josh hard for 2 laps and made the move coming out of the hairpin to move up 1 place. For the next 3 laps the 2 cars were glued together until Josh made the better line coming out of the turn 1 into the hairpin to reverse the position. On lap 8 Oakes, ahead of the 2 Apotex Scorpio cars locked wheels into the final chicane and KC was able to slip through on the inside, but the unfortunate Josh slid wide to avoid collision and ended his race in the gravel. With breathing space behind, KC got his head down to chase Rossi, now some 4,5 seconds ahead and managed to close the gap to 2,5 seconds at the end of the race, to finish 15^th. 

The second race was scheduled for Sunday mid afternoon, directly after the touring car round 2, and with a packed crowd and live TV coverage, KC was determined to improve on his grid position. Starting on the inside of the track, KC had a stunning start and shot up the inside of the pack and made up 5 places into the first hairpin. In the tussle behind, some contact caused the safety car to be deployed for 5 laps. A good restart got KC chasing Pentus ahead of him and in the next lap managed to take the position on the fast run in to the first hairpin for 9^th place. Behind, Callardo was also moving up, and challenged KC on lap 10 cutting on the inside of the banking for a clean move into the first hairpin. KC wasn’t going to concede the place easily and re-took position at the next hairpin, but Colardo got the better grip on the exit and managed to pull past on the run onto the main straight. With this tussle, Pentus had closed the gap and challenged KC along the fast turn 1 but KC held position and managed to pull some space over the remaining laps of the exciting 24 lap race for a well deserved 10^th place and first car home for the Apotex Scorpio team. 

“That was such a mint start” explained Kieren, “and I managed to keep away from everyone into the tight first hairpin, not sure what happened behind me but the safety car for the next few laps was getting a bit dull. I was ready for it to pull in though, and got away well, but couldn’t make enough speed to get any advantage. It did set me up for the next lap when I got the better line through turn 1 to take Sten (Pentus).  James (Calado) made a good move on me, I was determined to get the place back, but just couldn’t keep it there. Another top ten though, I’m chuffed with that, but I’ve really got to sort out my qualifying!” 

The next Rounds of the Formula Renault UK championship are at Donington on May 3rd and 4^th, again supporting the British Touring Car Championship rounds, with big crowds expected, along with live TV coverage on the Sunday, of the afternoon’s events.  

Top ten finish for Clark in first Formula Renault UK round. 

A determined display from Kieren Clark, the 19 year old racer from Cambridge, at the opening round of this years Formula Renault UK championship, signalled the potential for the rest of the season.  

Stepping up from last years more junior BARC Formula Renault championship, the Apotex Scorpio team youngster suffered 2 difficult qualifying sessions through changing weather conditions, where it was impossible to predict the best set up, as the track conditions where changing throughout the 20 minute sessions.  

In the first race, starting from a disappointing 16^th place, a determined KC had made up 4 places by the time the cars thundered down from Druids. On lap 3, KC lost out to a hard charging Sims, who had stalled from pole, which allowed Rossi to close the gap behind KC. For the next few laps, KC pushed hard, sliding into Surtees Bend to open the gap. On lap 11, KC superbly challenged Stoneman into Druids, passing him on the exit to set off chasing Buzaid for the next few laps, challenging on the way into Surteess but couldn’t pull alongside to make the place. Lapping at only 2 tenths off the second fastest lap time, KC held off some late challenges for a well deserved 10^th place and his first points in the UK championship. 

“That was an awesome race” said KC “the car felt excellent, really planted, but as I had really pushed hard at the start to make up the places, my tyres were shot for the last few laps so I had to work hard to keep it all together. I was determined to make up for the poor qualifying place. I’m really pleased with that.” 

The second race followed later in the afternoon and KC suffered with too much wheel spin at the start to lose out from 14^th grid position to drop down to 16^th which is where he ended after an uneventful race, which saw the intervention of the safety car extend the race distance. 

“After spinning the wheels at the start, there was nothing I could do to catch Sho (Hanawa, KC’s team mate) so I just had to keep the gap behind me. The track was really slippy from the touring car rubber and the car was a real handful. I had a bit of a moment coming out of Clearways with 2 wheels on the dirt, but kept it all together. I was annoyed I didn’t take my opportunity when the safety car came in, I didn’t get close enough to Sho to make a move.” 

Reflecting on the previous days qualifying, KC commented “It was a bit of nightmare, the first session had a drying track, and choosing the time to swap to slicks was something of a lottery. At one point I was 3^rd on the leader-board, it looked like we had made the right decision, but the closing stages of qualifying dried rapidly and by then my tyres had gone off, so I ended qualifying in 16^th place. Not really how I wanted to start my weekend! The second qualifying in the afternoon, was the complete reverse, starting with a dry track, then drizzle started to turn to rain meant that those who got quick times in at the start of the session couldn’t be beaten, and I only managed 16^th place on the second race grid. Now I’ve got to concentrate on improving my qualifying position for future, the grid is just so close ” 

The next Round of the Formula Renault UK championship is at Rockinham, near Northampton on April 12^th and 13^th.