The Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship moved on to Snetterton in Norfolk this weekend for Rounds 2 and 3 of the 2009 season.
After kicking off the year with a victory at Oulton Park in Cheshire, Kieren Clark (Apotex Scorpio Motorsport) saw off the competition to take his second and third consecutive race wins of 2009, demonstrating his sheer dominance in the title race.
On his way to victory, the Apotex Scorpio driver secured a brace of pole positions, set the fastest lap in both outings and recorded a new lap record for the 1.95 mile circuit with a blisteringly quick time of 1m08.463s.
Clark appeared to be in a class of his own during the crucial first qualifying session of the weekend, nabbing pole by more than three tenths of a second over his nearest challenger Don De Graaff (Tempus Sport).
In the second qualifying session, Brett Parris (Antel Motorsport) gave Clark some cause for concern, but the 20-year old Apotex Scorpio racer saw off any threats to end the session with an advantage of almost a second.
On raceday, although Snetteron was bathed in sunshine, it was Clark who shone the brightest. Off the line and into Turn 1 he managed to hold off the fast starting De Graaff who had Ahmed Al Harthy(Hillspeed) and Dino Zamparelli (Reon Motorsport) fighting it out behind him for the final podium slot. Further down the order as the field headed through Sear corner on Lap 1, contact between Privateer Alex Craven and Hillspeed’s Ellis Harkins caused a Safety Car intervention.
The racing resumed three laps later and with the race now extended to 17-laps following the Safety Car period, Clark had it all to do. He made a flawless restart, breaking free from the rest of the field who were battling hard for the remaining positions behind him.
Al Harthy managed to snatch second place from De Graaf, despite feeling ill all weekend, and he held off the Tempus Sport driver until the final lap of the race, when he performed a perfectly timed lunge up the inside of the Esses after getting a slingshot out of Sear. Al Harthy was then pushed back into the clutches of Parris who tried desperately to take advantage of the Hillspeed driver’s loss of momentum.
In the end Clark took the chequered-flag with a nine second lead over second place man De Graaf, and Al Harthy saw off Parris’ challenge by just 0.001s to clinch the final podium position.
Further down the field, an exciting battle between Kenny Andrews (Welch Motorsport), Callum Holland (Tempus Sport) and James Thoedore (Hillspeed) took place for sixth. The Welch Motorsport driver finished the race just six tenths of a second ahead of Holland who saw off Theodore by less than three tenths of a second at the finishing line.
Zamparelli’s challenge for third spot came to an end when he suffered a suspension failure on lap 14 of the race. The first year single-seater racer who has just graduated into the Formula Renault BARC Championship from Ginetta Junior’s, dragged his car home for the final three laps to grab 15th place, the points for which could be crucial at the end of the season.
Rain hit the circuit before race two got underway but the wet weather cleared off the scene by the end of lap 2.
The rain didn’t seem to phase Clark and he led the way again, seemingly repeating his performance from earlier in the day. But, on lap five the Safety Car was called on to the circuit again following a five car collision at the Esses, which blocked the track.
At the restart on lap nine, Clark led into Riches and held off a challenge from Parris to build a lead of more than four seconds by the time the chequered flag fell.
Al Harthy came in in third with MulHolland fourth and Zamparelli fifth, after engaging in battle royale with Andrews who returedd on lap 14, after being passed by the Reon Motorsport driver. Zamparelli was clearly frustrated after missing out on the podium in Round 2.
Croft in North Yorkshire will host Rounds 4 and 5 of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship in two weeks time on 11th and 12th July and all eyes will be focused on Clark, to see whether he can extend his substantial points advantage even further.
Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings After Round 3 (Snetterton)
1. Kieren Clark 102
2. Ahmed Al Harthy 72
= Brett Parris 72
4. Josh Mulholland 63
5. Don De Graaff 58
6. Dino Zamparelli 54
7. Kenny Andrews 38
8. James Theodore 32
9. Archie Hamilton 31
10. Kourosh Khani 24
