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Ian back on track with Snetterton Double Win
Ian rediscovered his winning touch by claiming Club Class category victory in rounds five and six of the Formula Renault BARC Championship at Snetterton on Sunday, 25th June. After disappointing outings in rounds three and four at a rain-soaked Croft Circuit, Ian reasserted his authority in the Championship to open a 16 point advantage over Mark Terry.
On a day that saw a record entry of 29 in the Formula Renault BARC Championship, nine of them in Club Class, a packed schedule saw qualifying and both races held in the space of just a few hours. The 26-year-old qualified his Tatuus RC98 Renault in 14th overall, ahead of seven FR2000 class cars.
The start of round five was marred by two red flag incidents when Club Class driver James Heffernan and FR2000 Class man Pierre Renom went off at the first corner, Riches, in separate incidents.
At the restart, Ian made a good getaway, but as has been the case for most of the season, got mixed up in an FR2000 class battle, forming part of a nine car train. "It can be quite frustrating, you don't want to get involved in their battles but when they are holding you up, you have no choice". Being stuck in the FR2000 class battle allowed second place club class driver Mark Terry to close to within a second, but after a succession of quick laps Ian had a five second margin by the end of the shortened 8 lap dash.
Round six followed a similar pattern to the day's earlier race with two red flag incidents on the opening laps. After repairs to the safety barrier, a six lap race was held - half the originally scheduled distance - with Ian starting 13th on the grid. Once again Ian was involved with the mid field FR2000 class battle, although on this occasion Ian had a couple of cars in between himself and his nearest rival, eventually finishing 15th overall and seven seconds clear of his nearest class rival.
Commenting on the weekend, Ian said: "Croft was very disappointing for me and it was great to get back on the top step of the podium. This weekend was all about staying out of trouble and getting some good points".
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