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Jubilant Hancock crowned champion after Thruxton podium

Ollie Hancock wrapped up the Formula Renault BARC championship title with two races to spare after a second place finish at his home circuit Thruxton at the weekend saw him build an unassailable points lead.

The 20-year-old Apotex Scorpio Motorsport driver, who has dominated the series in 2008, taking five wins and four other podiums from the ten races so far, secured the championship with second place at the Hampshire circuit to take his first major title in just his second season of modern racing.

Qualifying was held in damp but drying conditions and Ollie’s hopes of pole position were scuppered when the session was red flagged as he prepared for his flying laps.

Starting seventh on the grid, BRDC Rising Star Hancock made a good start and was third by the end of the first lap, taking second at the end of the second tour by outbraking Ahmad Al Harthy into the chicane. With race leader Johannes Seidlitz having already pulled out a significant advantage, and with Ollie needing just four points to seal the championship, the Hampshire youngster settled for second and the title.

“It’s a fantastic feeling and to have clinched it here at my home circuit, in front of all my family and friends makes it even more special,” said a delighted Hancock. “My only target this year was to win the title and today is a reward for the hard work the team and I have put in this season. I’d like to thank everybody at Apotex Scorpio Motorsport because they have been brilliant all year.”

Hancock closing in on title after dominating at Snetterton

Hampshire based racing driver Ollie Hancock needs just four more points to clinch the Formula Renault BARC title after scoring two pole positions, a first and second place and a fastest lap at Snetterton this weekend. The 20-year-old now stands on the brink of his first major title in only his second year of modern racing.

Race 1

Having clinched pole position by seven hundredths of a second in qualifying, Hancock led away from the grid, holding off a challenge from Isa Yousif into turn one. However, the Bahraini’s Alpine Motorsport car was slightly quicker than Ollie’s in a straight line and on lap 2 he used his advantage to pass on the back straight. Hancock held the gap to the leader at around one second for most of the race, settling for a strong second place and a big points haul.

Race 2

The day’s second race took place in horrendous conditions as the heavens opened leaving the track dangerously wet in places. Again starting from pole, Hancock had some wheel spin off the line and reached turn one in second, behind Yousif. Having closely tracked the Bahraini in the opening laps, a red flag forced a restart and Hancock saw his chance to regain the lead. This time Yousif bogged down from pole and Ollie took the lead around the outside of turn 1 before going on to win the race comfortably by seven seconds. He also claimed a bonus point for a fastest lap which was one second quicker than anyone else on the grid.

Ollie Hancock: “It was a great weekend and it was particularly pleasing to take a double pole position for the first time. I decided to settle for second in race 1 having seen how fast Isa’s car was on the straight but race 2 was a hard fought win. At times I couldn’t see anything in the spray. The start was very difficult as the pole grid slot was particularly wet, so when the restart came I knew Isa would have exactly the same problem.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to the team for giving me a car which was superb all weekend. We’re now within touching distance of the title and I’m hoping to wrap it up at my home circuit Thruxton in the next round.” 

BRDC Rising Star Hancock extends championship lead with double Croft podium

Ollie Hancock extended his Formula Renault BARC championship lead to 34 points after a brace of through-the-field drives earned him a double-podium at rounds 6 and 7 at Croft.

A difficult qualifying put the Hampshire-based driver 10th and 11th on the grid, meaning recovery drives were required in both races. Hancock duly delivered with second and third place finishes, plus a bonus point for race 2’s fastest lap, meaning he comfortably out-scored all his major championship rivals.

Race 1

Starting from eleventh, Ollie nailed two cars off the grid and two more at turn 2 to run seventh. At the back of a long train of battling drivers, he began picking them off one by one to rise to take fourth at the chequered flag. The subsequent disqualification of Hancock’s main championship rival Menasheh Idafar from third position, handed Ollie a podium and a significant boost in the title fight.

Race 2

With light rain falling as the cars sat on the grid, Hancock made an impressive getaway as others chose a more circumspect approach. He dived down the inside of half the cars ahead into the soaking wet turn 1 to jump from tenth to fifth by the first corner, before making another overtaking move to finish the first lap in fourth. After cruising up behind third placed James Dixon, Hancock made his move for the podium at the Tower Hairpin on lap 5 and repeated the pass to take second from Isa Yousif one tour later. While he didn’t have enough time to catch leader Johannes Seidlitz, Ollie added another point to his weekend’s total with fastest lap late in the race.

Ollie: “We’ve taken a solid points score and achieved the best results we could have hoped for after a difficult qualifying. We now have a big championship lead, and if I can get qualifying right in the next round at Snetterton, I’m confident I can add to the four wins we have already this year.”

pic Paul Williams

Four wins out of five as Ollie Hancock dominates again

Ollie Hancock increased his stranglehold on the Formula Renault BARC title race with his fourth straight win and another fastest lap in the latest round at Oulton Park.

The Hampshire-based youngster triumphed from fourth on the grid in a red flag-plagued race and was consistently one second per lap quicker than his rivals as he pocketed another 16 points and extended his championship lead.

With just half a second covering second to 12th in qualifying, Hancock was satisfied with fourth on the grid having improved his time with his final flying lap. He made a strong start to Monday’s race, from the ‘dirty’ side of the grid, immediately jumping to second and going side by side with pole sitter Menasheh Idafar out of the first corner. Unfortunately, an accident further down the field immediately brought out the red flags.

At the restart Ollie made an even better start and went straight into the lead. Having built up a half second lead over the opening four laps, the red flags flew again. This time, Hancock took the restart from pole and had pulled out a four second lead on the first lap. Incredibly, yet another red flag flew at the end of that tour, but after another restart, and with a short three-lap sprint to the line, he kept his composure to pull away to a comfortable victory.

With all his nearest championship rivals missing out on a major points haul, Ollie now has a healthy lead in the title race ahead of the next round at Croft in July.

Hancock said: “I’m really happy to win again and I must say a huge thank you to the guys at Apotex Scorpio Motorsport who have been fantastic once again. The car was excellent all weekend, our race pace was superb and despite all the restarts we were fantastic off the line each time.

Double win for dominant Hancock

Ollie Hancock produced a pair of stunning wet weather drives to take an impressive double-victory in rounds 3 and 4 of the Formula Renault BARC championship and assume the lead in the title race.

The Hampshire-based Apotex Scorpio Motorsport driver dominated race day at Rockingham, adding the bonus point for fastest lap to each of his wins, and highlighted his wet-weather prowess with a succession of fine overtaking manoeuvres as he charged through the field in both races.

Race 1

Having qualified eighth, Hancock was prepared for a hard first race on Sunday morning, but produced a sensational opening lap to lead after the first tour. He was third into the first corner after a superb start, took second midway through the lap and passed championship leader Menasheh Idafar for the lead at the Brook chicane. Ollie’s best lap of 1:35.518s was fastest by over a second, while he consistently lapped two seconds quicker than everyone else, romping home to a crushing 35 second victory in the 14 lap race.

Race 2

Ollie was made to work a little harder for his race 2 win, but was once again the class of the 29-car field on a damp but drying track. Starting sixth, Hancock was already second when an accident further down the grid brought out a red flag on lap 1. He didn’t make as good a getaway on the restart, but was second by the start of lap 5 having passed Ahmad Al Harthy, Johannes Siedlitz and Idafar with well judged overtaking manoeuvres. With seven laps remaining Ollie began the chase of leader Brett Parris, closing his five second advantage to nothing by lap 9, before taking the lead with a brave move around the outside of turn 4. With another fastest lap in his pocket, Hancock pulled away to win by 3.8 seconds and complete a sensational weekend.

Ollie said: “The team gave me a great car for both races so my heartfelt thanks to them. It had superb traction and was fantastic to drive, despite the conditions. I’ve never driven in the wet at Rockingham before, but we had a couple of warm-up laps in race 1 so I used them to find where the grip was off-line. It worked exactly as I’d hoped and that first lap was incredible.

“I know I’ve still got some work to do to improve my qualifying, but three wins from four races is a superb start to the season and I can’t wait for the next round at Oulton Park where both the team and I have a good record.”

Hancock now leads the drivers’ championship by seven points from Hillspeed’s Menasheh Idafar.

Hancock takes victory at season opener

Ollie Hancock took a dominant race 2 victory in the Formula Renault BARC season opener at Brands Hatch on Easter Monday. The 21-year old Hampshire racer romped to a win in the second race of the double-header meeting, and picked up additional points for fastest lap and a race 1 pole position

Race 1 - Numerous stoppages reduced race 1 to just four laps of the Indy Circuit and also cost Hancock a shot at victory. Despite starting from pole, three restarts caused by red flag incidents caused the clutch of Ollie’s Apotex Scorpio Motorsport–run machine. As a result he crawled away from the line when the race finally got underway and his misfortune intensified on lap 1 when he was tapped into a spin at Druids. Rejoining at the tail of the field, he only had time to fight back to 16th in the shortened race.

Race 2 - Race 2 was again shortened by red flags, but this time Hancock romped to a trouble-free win. Starting second, Ollie took the lead around the outside of Graham Hill Bend on lap 1 and proceeded to pull out a big advantage. Despite yet another incident forcing a restart, Hancock led the field away from the line and didn’t look like being caught as he took the chequered flag comfortably clear of his nearest rivals.

Hancock said: “The amount of red-flags throughout the weekend was very frustrating and as a result we suffered some misfortune in race 1 which has cost us points. However I think race 2 was a far better reflection of our true potential and to start the season with a win is extremely good news.”

Despite missing out on the points in race 1, Ollie still lies third in the championship standings, just four points behind early leader Menasheh Idafar.