Shahaan steps up to Formula Renault with Fortec

February 3 2012

Photo credit: Paul Davies
Shahaan

Shahaan Engineer will race with reigning Champions Fortec in the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship for 2012.

16-year-old Shahaan began racing karts in early 2008 and he quickly made a name for himself, on both the United Arab Emirates and the European Karting circuit. 2010 saw Dubai-based Shahaan travel to the UK to take part in the Formula Kart Stars Series, where he impressed from the outset, demonstrating the ability to learn and adapt extremely quickly as he continued to rise rapidly through the karting ranks. This led to Shahaan turning his focus towards acquiring a single-seater drive for 2012; the youngster tested with Fortec's Formula Renault BARC team at Oulton Park over the summer and was remarkably quick, making the transition from karting to racing cars with ease. His performance demonstrated that he was more than ready for a drive in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK car, and he opted to partake in the Formula Renault Finals Series with Fortec in preparation for a full season with the team in 2012. Shahaan raced extremely well over the six-round series, which featured a wealth of more experienced racers - an encouraging sign for 2012.

As Shahaan looks to gain as much experience as possible for the upcoming Formula Renault UK season, he has opted to take part in the ever-popular Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand. The five-round series, which also features Fortec's Felix Serralles, is ideal preparation for the main season and the perfect opportunity for Shahaan to gain some more single-seater racing experience. So far, he has raced well, holding his own in a mixed field; with two rounds remaining, Shahaan's best finish is a sixth place, recorded in race two at Teretonga.

Formula Renault 2.0 UK Team Manager Alex Fleming is confident that Shahaan will be a strong runner in his maiden year of car racing: "Shahaan has had a successful career in Karting and his performances in the Finals Series demonstrated that he is more than capable of having a strong season with us;although still very young, he is extremely focused and I'm sure that his hard work will pay off this season."

Shahaan Engineer joins Fortec after a dominant season for the team in 2011, which saw the team finish as Team Champions, with Alex Lynn and Oliver Rowland finishing as Drivers' Champion and Vice-Champion respectively.

The CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship begins at Brands Hatch March 31 - April 1 and will continue to accompany the British Touring Cars Championship, with Sunday's races being shown live on ITV4 and ITV4HD.

Aitken moves up to InterSteps with Fortec

February 2 2012

Aitken

Jack Aitken will join Cameron Twynham at Fortec to launch an assault on the Dunlop InterSteps Championship in 2012.

16-year-old Jack began racing karts aged seven and quickly demonstrated a real skill for the sport. The London-born youngster moved up through the karting ranks, entering the National Super 1 Championship in 2006, winning in his first year and finishing fourth in the overall Drivers' Standings. In 2007, aged twelve, Jack made the step up to the Minimax Karting Championship, before returning to the National Championship for 2009 in a year which also saw Aitken make his debut on the European karting scene with Protrain racing. 2010 saw Aitken switch to the Protrain Team full-time, competing in the UK Championship where he eventually finished third, as well as finishing a praiseworthy second in the European Championship. At the prestigious Rotax World Finals, Jack competed against over 70 of the best juniors, dominating and winning all heats and the pre-final to qualify pole for the grand final. Sadly he crashed out when going for the lead but nonetheless managed to set the fastest lap of the race. Jack was duly rewarded for his strong showings in 2010 as he was named SKRC Most Promising Driver of the Year, and WMKC Driver of the Year. In 2011, Jack competed and finished second in the BNL Karting Series and also took part in some Super 1 rounds, opting for a move up to racing cars in 2012.

After a fantastic career in karting, the InterSteps Championship appeared as the obvious choice for Jack to embark upon his career in car racing and his proven skill and determination, along with his extensive racing experience, will stand him in good stead for a successful year in the InterSteps Championship.

Fortec's InterSteps Team Manager Steve Lynch is confident that Jack will score well this season: "Jack has a great history in karting and I anticipate that he will make the step up to car racing with ease; the InterSteps Championship is designed as an excellent first step into car racing and I'm sure that Jack will be more than prepared to deal with the transition. We had a phenomenal year in 2011 and I see no reason why we can't repeat that in 2012."

The Dunlop InterSteps Championship was introduced in 2011 as a cost-effective first step on the car racing ladder. Open to drivers aged 15-19, the Championship visits circuits across the UK over eight weekends. Fortec enjoyed a phenomenal season in 2011, with RSF-backed Jake Dennis being crowned Champion, Alex Walker finishing as Vice-Champion, and Ed Jones finishing fourth in a close-fought season.

Aitken joins 15-year-old Cameron Twynham at the team and the first round of the Championship takes place at Oulton Park March 24-25.

Photo credit: carpy.nl source: jackaitken.wordpress.com

Frijns completes Fortec Formula Renault 3.5 line-up

30th January 2012

Photo credit: World Series by Renault WSR

Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Champion Robin Frijns will join Fortec for the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 campaign, racing alongside Carlos Huertas and completing Fortec's team line-up.

Frijns has an outstanding proven racing pedigree; he enjoyed a fantastic season in 2011, taking five wins on his journey to title victory in a remarkably consistent season for the Dutchman, who finished in the top five for every race of his 2011 campaign. Robin eventually won the title by 45 points from Carlos Sainz Junior, proving that he has exactly what it takes to progress up the motorsport ladder.

The 20-year-old tested with the Fortec squad at Motorland in November, making the step up to the Formula Renault 3.5 car with relative ease, showcasing his unquestionable talent and meshing well with the Fortec team.

Formula Renault 3.5 Team Manager Jamie Dye is delighted to have Robin with the team for 2012, "Robin has always been one to watch - his consistency throughout the 2011 season was phenomenal and he's proven himself to be the complete package. We're absolutely delighted to have him with us for 2012 and he has shown that he thoroughly deserves a place in the Formula Renault 3.5 series. We�re very much looking forward to working with Robin and we�re confident that both he and Carlos will be strong contenders this season."

Renault Sport Sporting Manager Emmanuel Esnault also expressed his pleasure that Robin is moving up to Formula Renault 3.5 with Fortec : "We are all happy to see Robin joining Fortec Motorsport for his maiden season in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and we are proud to observe that the prize money of €500.000 offered to the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Winner allow him to make concrete the step forward in our unique stairway to F1. We wish him all the best."

The Formula Renault 3.5 season begins at Motorland, Aragon in Spain May 5-6.

Cao signs with Fortec for 2012

10th January 2012

Photo credit: atford.com

18-year-old Martin Cao joins Fortec's Formula Renault BARC team for an assault on the 2012 Championship.

Cao has extensive racing experience in both single-seater and touring cars. The man from China raced in the China Touring Cars Championship in 2010, claiming fourth place in the Drivers' Standings for the 2000cc class. Racing in single-seaters from an early age, Martin was the China Formula Campus Challenge Champion in 2008 and competed in the Asian Formula Renault Series Challenge in 2008. In 2009 he raced in nine rounds of the 2009 Formula BMW Pacific Championship, returning to the Asian Formula Renault Series Challenge in 2010 for six rounds, winning five of them.

In 2011 Cao took part in two rounds of the Asian Formula Renault Series Challenge but turned his attentions towards securing a drive in Europe. Following a successful test with Fortec at the end of the year, the 18-year-old secured a drive with the Formula Renault BARC team for the forthcoming season.

Formula Renault BARC Team Manager Steve Lynch is confident that Martin's experience will pay off this season: "Martin has a lot of racing experience behind him and he performed well in testing; he has shown a very mature approach and I'm confident that he can do very well this year. We had a very successful year last year and we're looking to build upon that this season."

The 2012 Formula Renault BARC season begins at Snetterton, April 7-8.

Serralles graduates to F3 with Fortec

4th January 2012

19-year-old Felix Serralles, who completed a successful season with Fortec's Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup team, will move up to the illustrious British Formula Three International Series for the 2012 season.

The Puerto-Rican racer is the third driver to be announced as part of the four-car squad and will join Formula Renault 2.0 UK Champion Alex Lynn and young Brazilian Pipo Derani for the Formula Three campaign.

Serralles took part in a number of winter tests with the team and was extremely impressive as Team Manager Mick Kouros acknowledged, "We gave Felix some runs in the F3 car towards the end of 2011 and he surprised us with his pace, We think he will take to the new car and be a key player in the team alongside Pipo and Alex."

Felix is excited about the season ahead and has pledged his absolute dedication to his Formula Three campaign: "I am very pleased to be racing again with Fortec - I know that they will be the best team for me as I progress to Formula 3 - and very excited to be among the first drivers to try the new car from Dallara. I know that it will be hard to adapt, though, and will be giving it everything."

Fortec is confident that it has an extremely strong line-up for the 2012 Championship assault in what is certain to be an exciting year as teams adapt to the new car.

The British Formula Three season begins at Oulton Park in April

Twynham graduates to InterSteps for 2012

20th December 2011

Photo credit Camerontwynham.com
action

Karting star Cameron Twynham is to race in the BMW Dunlop InterSteps Championship with Fortec Motorsports in 2012.

Twynham, named Junior Sportsman at the Harborough Mail Awards earlier this year, first started karting in 2005 and has moved up the ranks, competing in the Formula Kart Stars Series along with the Super 1 Rotax British Championship and the Junior Rotax Championship over the past two seasons.

In 2011, Cameron competed in the Junior Rotax Championship, but the 15-year-old turned his focus towards making the step up to car racing for 2012, taking part in a number of tests over the course of the season.

The youngster took part in a test with Fortec in November at Snetterton and was delighted with the team and his testing experience. The team was similarly impressed with Cameron's skills out on track, particularly in challenging weather conditions and he was quickly marked out as a contender for a 2012 seat.

InterSteps Team Manager Steve Lynch was encouraged by Cameron's achievements out on track, "Cameron tested with us recently at Snetterton and although track conditions were poor, his lap times were very encouraging. Cameron will embark on a test programme prior to the start of the season and will benefit from the help of former Fortec BMW racer Jack Harvey."

2012 will be the second season of the BMW Dunlop InterSteps Championship; Fortec's Jake Dennis was crowned Champion in 2011 with teammate Alex Walker finishing as Vice-Champion and Ed Jones narrowly missing out on a top-three finish in fourth in a dominant season for the Fortec squad.

Renault star Rowland steps up to Eurocup Series with Fortec

16 December 2011

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
action

Formula Renault 2.0 UK Runner-Up, Graduate Cup Champion, and Finals Series Champion Oliver Rowland will move up to the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Series with Fortec for 2012.

The Racing Steps Foundation-backed driver, who was also named winner of the prestigious McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award recognising and promoting exceptional young British racing talent, moves up to launch an assault on the Eurocup Championship, which forms part of the ever-popular World Series by Renault package.

Sheffield-born Rowland enjoyed a fantastic maiden season in car racing in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship. He won four races in the 2011 season, including back-to-back victories at Brands Hatch on his way to an impressive second in the Championship, won by Fortec's Alex Lynn, as Rowland finished as the man in form in the final three rounds of the 2011 Championship.

The Award winner went on to take a comprehensive title victory at the Formula Renault Finals Series in November, winning four of the six races over the two weekends and securing title glory with one round remaining.

Oliver has taken part in a number of tests with the Eurocup team at Motorland and in Valencia where he has shone, consistently topping the timesheets and proving his talent time and again. He will contest the Eurocup Championship with full backing from the Racing Steps Foundation in 2012.

World Series by Renault Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Team Manager Jamie Dye is confident that Rowland can challenge at the very top in 2012, "Oliver has had a phenomenal year; he is an outstanding talent and the step up to the European arena seems like natural progression for him. He has performed extremely well in testing so far, topping the timesheets in almost every session, which is encouraging for next year. I'm confident that Oliver has exactly what it takes to challenge for the title next season and we're very excited to have him with us for another year."

The first race on the World Series by Renault calendar takes place at the start of May, with the first of a series of pre-season tests taking place at Paul Ricard on 6-7 March.

Pakari joins Fortec Eurocup squad

12th December 2011

WSR

Finnish karting sensation Mikko Pakari is set to join the Fortec Motorsports Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup squad for 2012.

The 16-year-old, who raced in the KF1 class with Maranello Kart in 2011, makes the step up to Formula Renault 2.0 after an successful test with the team in Motorland, Spain. Pakari was consistently quick across the two-day test, finishing as the second quickest driver on both days, ending Friday's session just two thousandths of a second off the pace in an impressive showing for the young Finn.

World Series by Renault Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Team Manager Jamie Dye was encouraged by Mikko's form and is convinced that he is a star of the future: "Mikko has been really impressive out on track - to be right on the pace like he was is no easy task and he has shown real talent and out and out speed. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he performs with us next season and I think he'll certainly be one to watch."

Fortec congratulates award winners

Fortec Motorsports congratulates Oliver Rowland, Alex Lynn and William Buller who have all picked up awards in the post-season period.

Rowland and Lynn were both honoured at the prestigious AUTOSPORT awards, held at Grosvenor House on Sunday December 4th. Lynn, who will move up to British Formula Three with Fortec next season, received the award for British Club Driver of the Year for his fantastic record-breaking season in Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship. The award, voted for by the public, is a fitting reward for Alex's hard work and determination that he has shown throughout the season and it is all the more special knowing that the public has recognised his achievements.

Meanwhile, Oliver Rowland was the winner of the esteemed McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award, which promotes and recognises exciting young British racing talent. Past winners of the award include Jenson Button, David Coulthard and Dario Franchitti and it is one of the most acclaimed and highly regarded awards in the motorsport world. Oliver was one of just six drivers to be nominated for the award, alongside teammate Alex Lynn; the drivers were put through their paces in a series of driving and fitness challenges and ultimately, Oliver came out as the victor. The team is absolutely delighted for Oliver, who wins a Formula One test drive with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, �100,000 and full BRDC membership. Oliver has enjoyed an exceptionally strong maiden season in car racing, finishing as Formula Renault 2.0 UK Runner-Up and Graduate Cup Champion and going on to dominate the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Finals Series this November and he thoroughly deserved this acknowledgement.

Monday saw the arrival of the BRDC Awards where Fortec drivers collected another two awards for results and achievements this season. Oliver Rowland was honoured with the Chris Bristow Trophy - a trophy awarded annually to the winner of the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award - while William Buller was awarded the Spencer-Charrington Trophy - a trophy awarded to the highest placed British finisher in the British Formula Three Championship.

It has been a fantastic season for Fortec, with multiple titles and over 40 race wins this season and the team is extremely proud of all its drivers and their achievements and is looking ahead to an even more successful and productive 2012 season.

Rowland wins 23rd McLaren AUTOSPORT Award

5th December 2011

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
trophies

Formula Renault 2.0 UK Graduate Cup Champion, runner-up and Finals Series Champion Oliver Rowland won the 23rd McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award at the prestigious AUTOSPORT Awards in London last night.

Rowland was one of six drivers to be nominated for the award which promotes and recognises exceptional young racing talent. The nominees, who included Formula Renault 2.0 UK Champion Alex Lynn, were put through their paces and assessed across a number of areas before the final decision was made.

Oliver has had a remarkable maiden season in car racing after being recognised as a phenomenal go-karting talent. Throughout the season he proved himself to be a highly capable racer, providing exciting overtaking as the 19-year-old quickly made a name for himself as a star of the future.

It has been a difficult time for Rowland who lost his father last year and mentor Martin Hines earlier this year, but the Sheffield-born star went from strength to strength, enjoying a phenomenal end to the 2011 Formula Renault 2.0 UK season. Rowland won four of the final six rounds of the Championship, taking second place in the standings at the season finale at Silverstone.

RSF-backed Oliver went on to compete in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Finals Series where he dominated, winning four of the six rounds and securing the title with one round remaining at Rockingham in November.

Martin Whitmarsh, Derek Warwick and Peter Higham presented the 19-year-old with the award. "I don't really know what to say. It's been a difficult year; I lost someone very close to me, Martin Hines, who helped me in my career for six or seven years. It was testing but I came out strong in the end. There was a lot to learn in my first Formula Renault season but I think we did a good job in moving forward and I can't really believe I'm here." Oliver went on to thank the RSF and Fortec's Richard Dutton.

Oliver's prize includes £100,000, full BRDC membership, a year's worth of Puma racewear and a Formula One test with McLaren. Past winners of this prestigious award include Dario Franchitti, Jenson Button and David Coulthard.

Formula Renault 2.0 UK Champion Alex Lynn was also recognised at the ceremony held at Grosvenor House. The 18-year-old won the British Club Driver of the year award for his record-breaking 2011 season.

Fortec performs well in end of season test

1st December 2011

Photo credit: World Series by Renault WSR

Fortec performed extremely well in the end of season Formula Renault 3.5 collective test at Aragon this week. The test, which was the last with the current Formula Renault 3.5 car, ran over three days at the Spanish circuit, with Fortec testing a number of drivers over the three days.

Monday morning saw a number of Champions take to the track in the Formula Renault 3.5 car; Champions of various formulae were invited to take part in a test and testing with Fortec were Formula Renault 2.0 UK Champion and British F3 driver for next year, Alex Lynn and top-three British F3 finisher and newly announced FR3.5 Fortec man, Carlos Huertas.

It was an unseasonably cold Monday morning at a damp Motorland and both Fortec men took their time to get to grips with the car in the morning session. Alex Lynn was the faster of the Fortec duo in the first test of the day, posting a time of 1:45.830 to go 18th with Carlos Huertas in 23rd place with a time of 1:46.541. Both drivers were altogether more competitive in the afternoon session, adjusting well to the car, with Huertas beating his morning time by 2.5 seconds to record the eighth fastest time of the afternoon, while Lynn bettered his time by just under 1.5 seconds to post the fourteenth best time of the second session in an impressive performance for the 18-year-old.

Day two of the collective test saw Carlos Huertas joined by Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Champion Robin Frijns. Poor visibility at the circuit delayed the start of the session but as it finally got underway, times continued to fall and both Fortec men were highly competitive. As the test drew to a close, Huertas was the leading Fortec driver in ninth with a time of 1:43.556, with Frijns hot on his heels in eleventh with a best time of 1:43.708.

The third and final day of the collective test featured Robin Frijns and Giovanni Venturini in the Fortec car. There was little to choose between the pair in either session; Venturini edged Frijns out in the morning test with a time of 1:46.182 to finish in sixth, just two tenths ahead of Frijns in seventh, while Frijns turned the tables in the afternoon sesion, with a best time of 1:43.555 to record the ninth fastest time of the afternoon, with Venturini finishing in thirteenth - less than two tenths off the Dutchman.

Fortec signs Huertas for 2012

28th November 2011

Fortec Motorsports is delighted to announce the signing of Carlos Huertas for the 2012 World Series by Renault Formula Renault 3.5 season.

Huertas joins Fortec after an impressive season in British Formula Three where the Colombian finished third overall, taking victory at the season finale at Silverstone in October following multiple podium finishes this season. In his Formula Three campaign, Huertas consistently performed to the highest levels and he has proven himself to be an exceptional and exciting young racing talent, warranting a place in the prestigious World Series by Renault Formula Renault 3.5 Series.

Huertas has tested with the team in a Formula Renault 3.5 car and has impressed across the board; the Colombian has shown strong determination and dedication to his World Series by Renault campaign, adapting to the car and fitting in well with the Fortec squad.

Fortec Team Principal Richard Dutton is thrilled to have Carlos on board for 2012 "We're thrilled to have Carlos with us for next season; he has proven his racing credentials time and again and to be a top-three finisher in such a competitive series is a fantastic achievement. He ended his British F3 season on a high and enjoyed a successful weekend in Macau and after four days of testing, we're very pleased with Carlos's performance. I'm looking forward to a strong season in 2012 and I'm confident that Carlos will shine on the World Series stage."

Fortec unveils FR3.5 test line-up

23rd November 2011

Photo credit: Paulo Pellegrini
WSR

Carlos Huertas, Alex Lynn and Robin Frijns are all set to take to the track in a Fortec-run Formula Renault 3.5 at Motorland next week.

A host of drivers have been invited to take part in a Formula Renault 3.5 test at the Spanish circuit on Monday and representing Fortec will be Carlos Huertas and Alex Lynn. The Formula Renault 2.0 UK Champion, who has already been confirmed for the 2012 British Formula Three season with Fortec, will take part in a one-day test at the track, while Huertas, who finished third overall in the British Formula Three International Series, taking his first win at the season finale at Silverstone in October, will take part in a three-day test at Motorland.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Champion Robin Frijns will test alongside Carlos Huertas for the Fortec squad in what is set to be an insightful test for the team.

Looking ahead to next week's test, Formula Renault 3.5 Team Manager Jamie Dye is confident that both the drivers and the team will learn a lot: "We have a really interesting line-up for next week's test and it will be fascinating to see how the drivers perform in a Formula Renault 3.5. To have two Champions and a top-three F3 driver as part of our test line-up is great; they're all exceptional young talents and next week is the perfect opportunity for them to gain more experience at a great track. I'm confident that the test will prove to be a valuable and insightful learning curve."

Fortec secures strong finish in Macau

21st November 2011

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
foresti

Fortec ended the 58th Macau Grand Prix weekend on a high with William Buller finishing in sixth, ahead of teammate Lucas Foresti in seventh in an action-packed high-attrition final race.

It was a mixed weekend for the Fortec duo at the Chinese enclave; the pair showed excellent pace in the wet on Thursday morning throughout free practice and first qualifying but it was an altogether different affair in the second of the weekend's qualifying sessions. Although there were no red-flag incidents, Buller and Foresti were both unfortunate to encounter yellow flags and traffic on their quick laps, compromising their speed as the duo were unable to find clear track space. This resulted in a disappointing start grid for Saturday's qualifying race as William Buller lined up in 22nd place with Lucas Foresti in 25th. However, various penalties higher up the grid saw the Fortec men promoted two places, which saw the pair start 20th and 23rd respectively for the 10-lap qualifying race.

Both Fortec drivers produced stellar drives in the qualification race to see them make significant inroads as they sought to secure the best possible starting position for Sunday's main race. Expert overtaking, combined with retirements at the front boosted the Fortec drivers' spirits ahead of the all-important event on Sunday and the pair drove a controlled and confident race to finish with Buller finishing 13th just ahead of teammate Foresti in 14th place.

Buoyed by their performances in the qualification race, the Fortec men were determined to put their qualifying misfortune behind them and score a solid finish to the prestigious Grand Prix. First lap drama at the front saw the duo immediately move up the order as a poor start from Roberto Merhi saw him hit from behind by Richie Stanaway with Laurens Vanthoor also involved in the incident. All three men retired and more drama was set to follow; Valtteri Bottas, who challenged for the lead early in the race hit the barriers on lap four shortly after the safety car restart while a crash on lap seven at Faraway brought Felix Rosenqvist's weekend to a premature end and the deployment of the safety car.

The Fortec men avoided incident until the penultimate lap when Kevin Magnussen was launched over Buller's car following a scrap for position. The Carlin driver's car struck the catchfencing and the incident triggered more drama as Carlos Sainz Jr hit Hywel Lloyd ahead of him as the Welshman braked hard, reacting to the accident up ahead. All three drivers escaped serious injury but the carnage necessitated the deployment of the safety car once again. The safety car period secured victory for Spaniard Daniel Juncadella and the late retirements boosted Foresti; the Brazilian drove a strong race, avoiding incidents and gaining strong ground, eventually finishing seventh, half a second behind teammate Buller in sixth.

Despite being understandably disappointed that they were unable to challenge for victory, both men drove exceptionally well in a frantic race and recovered from a difficult qualifying session, demonstrating excellent talent and race craft along the way.

Macau grid penalties promote Fortec pair

18th November 2011

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
buller

The official Macau Grid has been announced with nine grid penalties issued in total, promoting William Buller up to 20th, while Lucas Foresti will start from 23rd place for tomorrow's qualifying race.

Multiple penalties were handed out by the officials for various incidents and rule breaches. The majority of penalties were incurred in yesterday's frantic practice and qualifying sessions which were heavily rain affected. Yesterday's provisional pole-sitter Roberto Merhi was twice penalised; the Spaniard was initially penalised three grid places after he was deemed to have crossed the pitlane exit line and was penalised a further seven places for crashing into Felix Rosenqvist but the former was today rescinded.

The heaviest penalties were for Kevin Magnussen and Felix Rosenqvist; both drivers are to start from the back of the grid as the pair were both deemed to have ignored yellow flags in yesterday's qualifying session. Magnussen will start just in front of Rosenqvist who was further penalised for crossing the pit exit line.

Magnussen and Rosenqvist's penalties thus promote Buller and Foresti two places, meaning that the Fortec men will start tomorrow's qualifying race from 20th and 23rd on the grid respectively.

Tricky qualifying session for Fortec duo

18th November 2011

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
buller

Lucas Foresti and William Buller were both unfortunate to be hampered by yellow flags and incidents in their quests to set a hot lap in today's qualifying session which took place today at 1440 local time (0640 GMT).

Dry conditions at the Macau street circuit saw drivers posting significantly quicker times than yesterday in both free practice and qualifying ahead of tomorrow's all-important qualifying race. Buller was the faster of the two Fortec men in the second free practice session of the weekend; the Northern Irish racer finished the session in 13th place with a time of 2:15.282, just under six tenths ahead of teammate Lucas Foresti who finished the session in 18th position.

While the second of the weekend's qualifying sessions passed without any stoppages, both Fortec drivers were unable to achieve the maximum from their Dallara-Mercedes cars due to traffic, yellow flags and on-track incidents. In a fraught 30-minute qualifying session to decide the grid for tomorrow's race, neither Foresti nor Buller were able to produce a time which showcased their true pace and the duo was unable to challenge the drivers at the top of the timesheets. Despite strong pace in practice and first qualifying, Buller found himself down in 22nd place with Lucas Foresti four tenths off his teammate in 25th.

Results from the final qualifying session will certainly make tomorrow's task all the more challenging for the Fortec pair but the team is upbeat that the drivers' experience at Macau and proven race craft will move them up the order to secure a solid qualifying position for the main race on Sunday.

Tomorrow's qualifying race begins at 1400 local time (0600 GMT). The ten-lap race decides the starting grid for the main race which takes place on Sunday at 1530 (0730 GMT). Full timing for the event is available via mstworld.

Fortec pair shows strong pace in Macau

17th November 2011

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
buller

The first practice and qualifying sessions for the 58th Macau Grand Prix took place this morning, with both Fortec drivers showing strong pace in wet conditions at the infamous street circuit.

Free practice got underway at 1055 local time and was a rather wet affair. William Buller was the fastest man for the vast majority of the session but as the track began to dry out and times tumbled, Buller was unfortunate to encounter traffic, hampering his chances of setting a quick time causing the Northern Irish racer to fall down the order as he eventually found himself in 19th place. Meanwhile, Lucas Foresti put in an impressive performance to finish fifth in the first session of the weekend with a time of 2:34.656, finishing as the top driver from the British F3 contingent.

The rain returned for the first of two qualifying sessions for Saturday's race and became heavier as the session wore on. Buller was the quicker of the Fortec pair, clocking the ninth fastest time of the session with a personal best lap of 2:32.295 while Lucas Foresti finished eleventh overall with a time of 2:32.551 in an extremely wet qualifying session which saw the grid separated by over thirteen seconds as many drivers were unable to bring a strong challenge to the early pacesetters.

Both drivers showed strong wet pace and were happy with the car's performance around the street circuit but the duo is hoping for drier track conditions in second qualifying ahead of Saturday's qualification race.The second and final free practice session of the weekend takes place tomorrow at 1100 local time (0300 GMT), and the final qualifying session begins at 1435 local time (0635 GMT).

Foresti and Buller hopeful of Macau glory

15th November 2011

Fortec drivers Lucas Foresti and William Buller arrive at the thrilling Macau street circuit with high hopes of glory at the infamous track which is widely heralded as the most prestigious event on the Formula Three calendar.

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
Buller

Foresti and Buller enjoyed excellent seasons in the British Formula Three International Series, with both drivers taking victory on a number of occasions in the 2011 season and William Buller narrowly missing out on a top-three spot in the Drivers' Standings.

The duo competed in the 2010 Macau Grand Prix for the Fortec team, with Buller having won at the circuit in Formula BMW in 2009. The pair experienced mixed fortunes in the main race as Buller fought his way up to 15th, finishing as the top Fortec racer, while Lucas Foresti finished 22nd in an action-packed race.

Off the back of a strong season in British F3 where both drivers have developed in experience and race craft, Foresti and Buller are in contention for a strong finish at the 58th Macau Grand Prix. The Grand Prix is to feature 32 drivers with a host of names from the British F3 Series joined by drivers from the F3 Euro Series, the GP3 Series and more in what is set to be a thrilling event.

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
foresti

Looking ahead to the weekend, Lucas Foresti is feeling "extremely excited" and the Brazilian driver is looking to soak up the fantastic atmosphere and enjoy racing in the hope that his experience will pay off. Buller meanwhile knows what it takes to win at the Macau circuit: "Having missed out on the British F3 title this season, my only goal now is to win Macau," he said. "As ever, the entry list for Macau is a strong one but I showed at Spa earlier in the season when British F3 joined forces with the FIA F3 International Trophy that I can compete against the best drivers in Europe."

Free practice and the first qualifying session take place on Thursday, with a second practice session and qualifying session taking place on Friday to establish the grid for the 10-lap qualifying race on Saturday. The 10-lap qualifying race determines the starting grid for the main race of the weekend; the 15-lap thriller takes place on Sunday.

Rowland storms to Finals Series title at Rockingham

14th November 2011

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
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Oliver Rowland took his fourth win of the Finals Series in race one at Rockingham on Saturday to clinch title victory in the 2.0 class with one race remaining, while Archie Hamilton was desperately unlucky to miss out on the BARC class title.

QUALIFYING

A damp track for qualifying for the final two races of the Finals Series saw Oliver Rowland and Daniil Kvyat trade fastest laps until a last-gasp effort from Josh Hill saw the 20-year-old break the 90-second barrier - the only man to do so - as he took a clean sweep of poles in the Finals Series, 0.098s clear of teammate Rowland. Thomas Jaeger - who shined throughout the weekend - qualified fourth with Ed Jones sixth, Jake Dennis seventh and Dan de Zille ninth. Shahaan Engineer qualified 17th for both races, while Felix Serralles ended up in the gravel trap for qualifying and was forced to start from the back of the grid in race one, and 20th in race two. In the BARC class, Archie Hamilton qualified third for both races with James Fletcher starting from pole.

RACE ONE

Desperate to convert his fifth pole of the series to another victory, Hill made a strong start but it was Rowland who made the better start, diving up the inside of Hill on a slippery track. The move, which saw Hill outbrake himself causing him to touch Rowland, spelled the end of the race for the polesitter who has experienced mixed fortunes in the Finals Series.

Jaeger was running in a strong fourth place after an impressive qualifying session earlier in the day, but the Austrian fell prey to the slippery conditions in an incident which saw him fall to the back of the field. In a heroic drive, the 16-year-old fought his way back to thirteenth where he faced a challenge from Fortec teammate Shahaan Engineer in the closing stages of race one.

Ed Jones, Jake Dennis and Dan de Zille all enjoyed solid races for Fortec, gaining a handful of positions as the trio was led home by Jones in fourth, followed by Dennis in fifth and de Zille in sixth after a difficult race in challenging conditions.

Back at the front, Rowland stretched out a lead of four seconds over Daniil Kvyat as the 19-year-old Graduate Cup Champion cruised home to clinch the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Finals Series title in only his first year in car racing.

In the BARC class, the order at the front remained unchanged throughout the race as Fletcher cruised to victory, while Archie Hamilton drove his Fortec-run Renault home to third to further extend his lead in the Championship with one round remaining.

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
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RACE TWO

Determined to put his misfortune behind him and end his Finals Series on a high, Josh Hill had set his sights on his second Formula Renault 2.0 UK victory in the final race at Rockingham. However, Hill was slow off the line and Rowland capitalised on his teammate's poor start as the Series Champion led from Hill into the first corner.

With drivers vying for space and looking to gain ground in the early stages, a number of incidents occurred across the field and the Fortec drivers did not go unscathed. Ed Jones suffered damage and was forced well down the order, while Jake Dennis and Dan de Zille were both unable to continue the race and the on-track incidents causing the safety car to be deployed.

With the first of four safety car periods over, Archie Hamilton was desperately unlucky to be collected by the Koiranen Motorsport car of Stefan Wackenbauer. The German had started the race from the pitlane and was moving up the field nicely when he took out the BARC Class leader on lap five in a race that would prove to be one of high attrition. Hamilton was forced to watch on from the sidelines as his chances of title glory ebbed away.

Ed Jones had a difficult race as the youngster dropped from sixth on the grid to 23rd by the end of lap one. The 16-year-old made up places, but his race ended prematurely on lap nine, while Shahaan Engineer who had been running in a strong ninth place retired on lap 14.

Back at the fore, Rowland and Hill were in a class of their own, stretching out a significant gap over Thomas Jaeger in third. Another safety car period saw this gap reduce and an aggressive Hill overtook Rowland on the lap eight re-start as the Champion locked his brakes entering Deene. From that point onwards, Rowland was unable to mount a challenge to Hill who would lead to the finish and take his second race victory of the Series, recording the fastest lap on the way. Hill led home a fantastic 1-2-3 for the Fortec team from Rowland and Jaeger as three of only four Fortec men to finish the race. The fourth Fortec man was Felix Serralles who finished in seventh place after a difficult weekend for the Puerto-Rican.

Rowland's victory and second place saw him win the title by 57 points from Dan Wells, with Hill in fifth with 87 points followed by Jaeger in sixth with 79 points and Serralles just one point behind in eighth place. Speaking after the race, Oliver was delighted with his achievement, praising the team and his sponsors for all their support and hard work: "It's been a great series, the depth of talent has been really strong. To come away from the series and say that a driver like Daniil [Kvyat] didn't beat me is a great confidence boost. Over the Winter, I'm going to iron out the small mistakes, like the one with Hill in race two today. The winter is going to be one where I concentrate on building this relationship up with my new engineer and work harder not to make those mistakes. A big thanks to Fortec, and to Racing Steps Foundation and my supporters, it's been great and without them I wouldn't be able to fight for titles like this."

In the BARC class, Archie Hamilton narrowly missed out on title glory; despite scoring three victories, and two further podiums in the six-round Series.

In all, Fortec performed exceptionally well across the Finals Series, with a number of Fortec drivers scoring consistently well over the two weekends.

Fortec focused on first-class Finals finish

9th November 2011

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
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Fortec arrives at Rockingham for the final two rounds of the Protyre Formula Renault 2.0 UK and Formula Renault BARC Finals Series hoping to end the Formula Renault season on a high as the team looks to clinch the Drivers' title in both classes.

With two rounds remaining, Oliver Rowland leads the Formula Renault 2.0 UK class with 128 points - nearly forty points clear of ATech Reid GP'S Dan Wells - and, having won three out of four races at Snetterton, a circuit that does not typically favour Rowland, the Graduate Cup Champion is in an extremely strong position to take the Finals Series title on Saturday. Oliver has dominated recent races, and has now won seven of the past ten races that he has entered and will be looking to continue his stunning form at the Northamptonshire circuit on Saturday.

Josh Hill is in contention for another win this weekend although the Finals Series title is now out of his reach. The 20-year-old, who moved to Fortec for the Finals Series was exceptionally quick at Snetterton, but endured a mixed weekend. Hill claimed pole for all four races but a difficult Saturday saw him fall prey to the wet conditions in race one, and he failed to finish race two after tangling with eventual race-winner Oliver Rowland at the start. Sunday was a day of highs and lows for Josh; he converted his third pole to a sensational maiden victory in the first race of the day, but a clutch problem at the start of the round-four race caused the Briton to stall on the grid, eventually recovering to salvage fourteenth place. With a possible 68 points up for grabs this weekend and with a Formula Renault win under his belt, Hill is certainly in contention to move up the standings this weekend.

Photo Credit: Paul Davies
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The remaining Formula Renault 2.0 UK Fortec men experienced mixed weekends at Snetterton. All eight Fortec drivers scored points, with Felix Serralles finishing the Snetterton weekend as the third highest placed Fortec man and the Fortec debutants also impressed; Thomas Jaeger showed excellent race pace and Shahaan Engineer finished every race in his first weekend racing cars. Various incidents and the inclement weather conditions meant that Fortec also suffered its fair share of DNFs but the drivers are feeling extremely positive ahead of the final day's racing and with positions five to ten currently separated by just ten points, there's still a lot to play for.

Meanwhile in the BARC Class, Archie Hamilton heads into the final two rounds of the Finals Series with a 22-point advantage over Victor Jimenez, having won three races from four at Snetterton last weekend. The 20-year-old, who finished fifth overall in the 2011 Formula Renault BARC Driver's Championship, is focusing on consistency for the final two rounds as he looks to clinch the title on Saturday afternoon at Rockingham.

The final two rounds of the Protyre Formula Renault Finals Series take place at Rockingham, Northamptonshire on Saturday November 12th.

Hill nets maiden win as Rowland leads into final two rounds

7th November 2011

Photo credit: Paul Davies
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7th November 2011

Josh Hill converted his third pole position of the weekend to his maiden victory in round three of the Protyre Formula Renault Finals Series at Snetterton this weekend, with Oliver Rowland winning the three remaining races to take a healthy lead into the remaining two rounds which take place at Rockingham on Saturday. Archie Hamilton meanwhile made it three wins from four in the BARC class in a superb weekend for the Fortec squad.

Hill, who moved to Fortec for the Finals Series, was consistently the quickest man in testing and practice last week and netted pole position for every race this weekend with a lead of around half a second over his nearest challengers on a wet Saturday at Snetterton as the weekend began perfectly for the 20-year-old.

RACE ONE

Hill started from pole ahead of Jordan King and Oliver Rowland for the first race of an action-packed weekend at Snetterton. Felix Serralles lined up sixth on the grid ahead of Thomas Jaeger in eighth with Shahaan Engineer tenth, Jake Dennis twelfth, Ed Jones 15th and Dan de Zille in 16th place. In the BARC class, Archie Hamilton narrowly missed out on pole for race one, trailing James Fletcher by just over two-and-a-half tenths.

A perfect start from Rowland saw him take the lead on lap one at a rainy Norfolk circuit. Hill held on to second place early on but fell prey to the wet conditions, spinning off at Coram on lap four, falling down the order to ninth, while Rowland stretched out a lead of two seconds over Koiranen Motorport's Daniil Kvyat. Some excellent driving early on from Felix Serralles moved the Puerto-Rican up to fourth by the end of lap three and Hill's excursion gifted him the third spot on the podium for this weekend's first race.

Further down the field, Thomas Jaeger impressed in his first outing for the Fortec squad; the Austrian fought hard with Dan Wells early on but was unable to keep pace with him in the latter stages of the race, eventually driving home to a praiseworthy fifth place. Dan De Zille also had a strong race for the team, making up four positions to finish twelfth having started 16th while Jake Dennis had a difficult race, falling down the order to 17th. The InterSteps Champion lost ground at the start of the race and despite reclaiming some places, he was unable to make sufficient inroads in a difficult maiden Formula Renault UK race. Engineer and Jones both had solid races for the squad, finishing thirteenth and 15th respectively.

In the BARC class, Archie Hamilton got his title challenge off to the perfect start with a win; the 20-year-old finished just over a second clear of Victor Jiminez who is competing in the Finals Series with Hillspeed.

RACE TWO

Josh Hill was the polesitter once again for Saturday's second race, lining up alongside Oliver Rowland with Felix Serralles starting from fifth, Jaeger seventh, Dennis ninth, Jones twelfth, De Zille thirteenth, and Engineer in 17th.

Another stunning start from Graduate Cup Champion Oliver Rowland saw him challenge Hill for the lead on lap one with a daring overtake from Rowland spelling the end of Hill's race on lap one after a difficult day for 20-year-old Hill and bringing out the safety car in the early stages of the race. Felix Serralles recorded his second podium of the day with another third place in race two while Jake Dennis drove a controlled race home to eighth place. Thomas Jaeger made a strong start, profiting from Hill's early exit as the Austrian found himself up to fourth by the end of the first lap but the tricky conditions got the better of the youngster as an incident on lap six saw him fall down the order to 16th before retiring on lap twelve.

Shahaan Engineer held his own in the second race of the weekend, gaining a handful of places to finish fourteenth while Dan de Zille and Ed Jones fell down the field early on and were unable to make headway, finishing 17th and 18th after a tough race.

Archie Hamilton meanwhile took his second victory of the day, crossing the line nearly a second clear of Victor Jiminez having started from second on the grid.

RACE THREE

Sunday morning finally saw some representative and competitive lap times as the track dried out overnight and it was an altogether closer final qualifying session for Sunday's two races. Josh Hill continued his impressive qualifying form to take pole for both races on Sunday; the 20-year-old was just over three tenths clear of Oliver Rowland in third, while Jake Dennis drove superbly to qualify fourth for race one. Ed Jones was the next Fortec man in eleventh, followed by Felix Serralles in fourteenth place, while Thomas Jaeger and Dan de Zille struggled somewhat, qualifying 19th and 20th respectively.

Hill made the perfect start, leading Jordan King by over a second after the first lap as he hunted down his maiden Formula Renault victory. Rowland was hot on the heels of King, passing the Manor Competition racer on lap two to take second place and take the challenge to Hill as Rowland looked to make it three wins from three. Rowland was unable to spoil Hill's race as the 19-year-old couldn't get close enough to the leader to mount a serious challenge and Hill led his Fortec-run Renault home to take his first ever Formula Renault victory after a faultless performance, forcing Series leader Rowland to settle for second place.

Jake Dennis drove fantastically, holding on to the leading pack having slipped down to fifth after lap one, but the 16-year-old's race ended prematurely on lap seven, while Felix Serralles made his way up to seventh on the first lap, but a second-lap incident saw the Puerto Rican lose ground and eventually forced him to retire on lap ten. Jones struggled to maintain position at the start as the youngster fell down the order to fourteenth, but Jones fought back to finish in a strong tenth place for the Fortec team.

Dan de Zille was another victim of a fairly high-attrition third-round race as the Jersey racer retired on lap two, while Shahaan Engineer showed strong pace to take twelfth place.

In the BARC class, James Fletcher won from Archie Hamilton; the MGR Motorsport racer led the whole race and Hamilton was unable to mount a serious challenge to Fletcher, but his consistency was rewarded as he extended his lead in the series.

RACE FOUR

Josh Hill completed his clean sweep of pole positions this weekend, with Rowland starting alongside him once again, Dennis in fourth, Jones eight, Serralles tenth, Jaeger 15th, Dan de Zille 19th and Engineer 26th.

A clutch problem at the start of the race dashed Hill's chances of converting pole to his second victory in the final race of the Snetterton weekend and Rowland led from lap one, stretching out a dominant lead over Josh Webster. Jake Dennis was the next Fortec man; the 16-year-old lost a handful of places early on but fought his way up to third by lap nine in an impressive showing for the youngster. Lap thirteen spelled disaster as King and Dennis tangled in the battle for third place, ending the duo's race just two laps from the end.

Thomas Jaeger drove a fantastic race, with a number of impressive overtakes moving the Austrian up to sixth from 15th on the grid, just three tenths off fifth place, while Dan de Zille also made it into the top ten with another strong drive, finishing ninth from 19th. Engineer was the next of the Fortec men; starting right down the grid, the Mumbai-born racer had a tough job to do but drove well, passing a number of cars and moving up to 18th by lap three. The youngster battled to the very end, netting a praiseworthy twelfth place, while Josh Hill salvaged fourteenth place in a day of highs and lows, recording the fastest lap of the race in his attempt to make up lost positions.

Archie Hamilton won his third race of the weekend in the BARC class; Hamilton began race four from pole and led his Fortec-run Renault home over a second clear of James Fletcher.

This weekend's results see Oliver Rowland head to Rockingham with 128 points, nearly forty points clear of nearest challenger Dan Wells, with Josh Hill currently fifth with 53 points. Archie Hamilton, with an identitical score to Rowland, leads the BARC class by 22 points from Victor Jiminez with two rounds of the Finals Series remaining.

Speaking on Sunday, Rowland was optimistic about his chances of more success at Rockingham: "It was good to end today with a win and P2 this morning, especially on this track as it's not my best circuit and Hill was quicker than me this morning. I'm looking forward to Rockingham; it's a strong track for me so I'm looking to go there and take two wins."

Archie Hamilton was thrilled with his efforts so far, admitting that consistency remains vital to title victory: "The car is really good and went well all weekend, a big thanks to the team. Looking ahead to Rockingham, I'm aiming for two wins but at least to be consistent which is the key to winning the Championship."

Hill on top in Friday Practice

4th November 2011

Josh Hill topped the timesheets in the final two practice sessions at a damp Snetterton circuit in Norfolk today as the Fortec team impressed across the board.

The first practice session of the day was heavily affected by rain and red flags, severely compromising the drivers who were lucky to manage a handful of laps. Although the rain had stopped for free practice two, the Norfolk circuit was still damp and the lap times were hardly representative of the true pace of the Formula Renault 2.0s and Formula Renault BARC cars. Hill, who made the switch to the Fortec team for the Finals Series, has impressed all week in testing and continued to showcase his talent, topping the timesheets in free practice two with a time of 2:00.101 - over two-and-a-half tenths clear of nearest challenger Daniil Kvyat. Oliver Rowland was Hill's closest Fortec rival; the 19-year-old finished third in this morning's second session with a time of 2:00.537, while Thomas Jaeger performed exceptionally well to finish fourth, just over half a second off Hill's fastest lap time. Serralles, Jones and De Zille, who finished sixth, seventh and eighth respectively, were separated by just five hundredths of a second. Meanwhile InterSteps Champion Jake Dennis and car racing debutant Shahaan Engineer finished the second session 15th and 17th.

In the BARC class, Fortec's sole driver, Archie Hamilton had a difficult morning with a car problem hampering his chances of setting a fast time in second practice, despite having been on top throughout Wednesday's and Thursday's test days.

Today's final practice session finally saw some competitive times from the drivers as the track continued to dry out and the times tumbled at the top. Josh Hill was the pacesetter once again, this time with a far more representative time of 1:47.831, improving to post an unbeatable time of 1:47.770 as the 20-year-old continues to shine in the Fortec car. Once again, Rowland was the first Fortec man to take the challenge to Hill, but the Graduate Cup Champion was unable to break the 1:48.000 barrier, finishing third with a time of 1:48.060. Ed Jones was the next of the Fortec men, finishing sixth, four hundredths of a second ahead of Thomas Jaeger, with Felix Serralles ninth, Daniel De Zille twelftth, Jake Dennis 15th and Shahaan Engineer 18th.

Archie Hamilton returned to the top of the timesheets in the BARC class; having put his earlier bad luck behind him, the 20-year-old, who finished fifth overall in the Formula Renault BARC Championship set a time of 1:54.014 ahead of tomorrow's qualifying session.

Rounds one to four of the 2011 Formula Renault UK Finals Series take place at Snetterton Circuit, Norfolk on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th November. Qualifying for tomorrow's races takes place at 0945 local time with race one starting at 1130 and race two at 1325. Full timing is available online via TSL timing.

Fortec fields eight for finals series

3rd November 2011

Fortec is to field eight cars for the recently renamed Protyre Formula Renault UK Finals Series which take place over the first two weekends in November at Snetterton and Rockingham. Fortec will run two teams in the Series and a host of new names will be joining the team for the ever-popular Finals Series which is set to reach its capacity grid of 32 cars.

Representing the team under the name of Fortec Motorsports will be the four newcomers to the Fortec squad. Josh Hill is set to be joined by Thomas Jaeger, Shahaan Engineer and Daniel de Zille. Hill, who is a Formula Renault UK regular, was consistently strong in the midfield across the 2011 season, making a name for himself as a daring overtaker and finishing as the leading Manor Competition driver. The 20-year-old demonstrated excellent race craft, providing exciting wheel-to-wheel racing and his determination and raw talent makes him a valuable addition to the team and he is likely to be a contender in the six-round-series. Alongside Josh will be Thomas J�ger; the Austrian racer competed in the Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS Championship this year in his first season of car racing and will be looking to be looking to gain more experience in a hugely competitive field. Shahaan Engineer joins the duo after taking part in a number of Formula Renault 2.0 and BARC tests this season, impressing across the board and setting very competitive times as the Mumbai-born racer mixed it up with the Formula Renault regulars. Completing the line-up is 25-year-old Daniel de Zille; de Zille has competed in Formula Ford for the past three seasons and has been a front-runner in the series. He's now looking to make the step up to Formula Renault and the Finals Series is likely to be a good learning curve for the Jersey racer.

Racing under the name of Fortec Competition are the four Fortec regulars Oliver Rowland, Jake Dennis, Ed Jones and Felix Serralles. 2011 Formula Renault UK Graduate Cup Champion and overall runner-up Oliver Rowland is a strong contender for the series title as the 19-year-old has been in excellent form of late, winning four of the last six races of the 2011 season. Meanwhile Jake Dennis and Ed Jones are both looking to make the step up from the InterSteps series to Formula Renault; Dennis was crowned InterSteps Champion for Fortec in a close battle at Croft in September, while Jones finished fourth overall and has taken the opportunity to compete in a number of Formula Renault rounds in preparation for next season. Felix Serralles has also had a busy season, competing in the World Series by Renault Formula Renault Eurocup series along with a number of Formula Renault UK races. The Puerto Rican is consistently strong with good race pace and his experience will undoubtedly aid him in the Finals Series.

The six-round Protyre Formula Renault UK Finals Series takes place over the first two weekends in November. Snetterton plays host to the first four rounds of the Series on November 5th and 6th with Rockingham holding the final two rounds on November 12th.

The Formula Renault UK Finals Series is an excellent opportunity for drivers to get to grips with the Formula Renault 2.0 car in preparation for the 2012 season. It is also a cost-effective series which offers fantastic prizes.

Consistency the key for BARC Finals Series

31st October 2011

Photo credit: Paul Davies
archie

The recently renamed Protyre Formula Renault BARC Finals Series begins at Snetterton this weekend, with Archie Hamilton being the sole representative for the Fortec team.

The Finals Series, known as the Winter Series until this year, comprises six rounds over two weekends; the first four are to take place at Snetterton on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th November, with Rockingham Motor Speedway playing host to the final two rounds of the Series on Saturday 12th November.

20-year-old Archie Hamilton will be the sole driver for Fortec in the BARC Finals Series; the Fortec racer finished fifth overall in this year's Formula Renault BARC Championship, scoring multiple podiums and recording his best finish of the year at the final race weekend of the season, finishing second in race one at Silverstone National Circuit. Archie has a wealth of motor racing experience having raced in Formula Ford, Formula Renault BARC and a number of sports car events and will be looking to put his knowledge and experience to good use over the forthcoming two weekends.

Hamilton will be hoping to follow in 2011 teammate Josh Webster's footsteps; the 17-year-old, who finished second in this year's Formula Renault BARC Championship won last year's Winter Series with Fortec, dominating as he won five of the six rounds and recording the fastest lap in each race.

The winner of this year's Protyre Formula Renault BARC Finals Series will win one Freem race suit to the value of �1,000, while the points leader of each day will win a full set of Freem fireproof underwear and racing gloves.

Looking ahead to the first weekend of the series, Formula Renault BARC Team Manager Steve Lynch says consistency will prove to be the key to success in the Finals Series: "Obviously with only six rounds in the Finals Series, consistency will prove to be key to Archie taking the title and I�m extremely optimistic that Archie can not only win the title, but also take a number of BARC class wins along the way."

Pye pushing to join Fortec for 2012

26th October 2011

Following a successful test on Monday at Rockingham Motor Speedway, Scott Pye is working hard to secure the financial backing required to compete in the forthcoming British Formula Three International Series with Fortec Motorsports.

Pye finished a praiseworthy tenth overall in his maiden British F3 season, winning at Rockingham and securing a second placed finish at Silverstone in October. Throughout the season, the Australian has demonstrated excellent racing prowess, learning and developing from each race as he built upon his F3 experience.

During Monday's test at Rockingham, Scott maximised his opportunity to get to grips with the Fortec car, running through a series of setup changes to increase his understanding of British Formula Three, and the 21-year-old gelled well with the Fortec team in his first outing for the squad. Fortec would relish the opportunity to have Pye as part of its line-up for the 2012 season; his proven talent and would be a welcome addition to the team.

Scott has stated that he would explore other options in Australia, should he be unable to acquire the necessary budget to race with the team in 2012.

Speaking after the test on Monday, Scott was impressed by his experience with Fortec: "It was good to get some experience with such a professional team. I was impressed with the team and its approach; it is no surprise that Fortec continuously battle at the front of the field. Hopefully next year we can take each other to the championship." Scott added that he was pleased to have a chance to test the Fortec car, and that he's now pushing hard to secure a drive with the team for next year: "Monday's test was a great opportunity to test an F3 car before returning to Australia and my aim for 2012 is to secure the funding to compete in the 2012 British F3 Championship with Fortec."

Lynn stays with Fortec for 2012

20th October 2011

Photo credit: Paul Davies
2011chmp

Fortec Motorsports is delighted to announce the signing of Formula Renault 2.0 UK Champion Alex Lynn for 2012. Alex will race in the COOPER TIRES British Formula Three International Series with the team.

Off the back of an impressive first year in Formula Renault in 2010, winning both the Graduate Cup and the Winter Series, Lynn has enjoyed a formidable season with the Fortec team in 2011, clinching the Drivers� title on Sunday with a commanding lights-to-flag victory, taking a record number of twelve wins in a season where the 18-year-old has dominated.

2012 will be Alex's third year with the Fortec squad as he moves up to the highly competitive British Formula Three International Series. The team performed well throughout the 2011, with a number of wins and podiums and Alex will be a welcome addition to the squad for next year. Lynn has already demonstrated his dedication to his latest move, flying out to Monza on the same day that he won the Formula Renault Championship to partake in a test for Fortec on Monday morning. Alex performed exceptionally well in his first experience on-track at Monza, finishing just three tenths behind this year's double-pole sitter at the Italian circuit, William Buller.

Alex is looking forward to his new challenge in 2012 in a year that will see a new generation of cars mandated by the FIA: "I think my decision to go with Fortec will prove to be the right one, especially as my engineer from Formula Renault, Russell Dixon is moving up with me. As long as we put in the same effort and hard work that we have this year, there�s no reason why we can�t challenge the boys at Carlin who have won the title for the past four years."

Fortec's Formula Three manager Mick Kouros is certain that Alex will make the step up to F3 with relative ease: "Alex has been with the Fortec family for two years now and it's great to have him on board for a third season. He has had great preparation in Formula Renault and he will more than cope with the step up to F3."

Fortec confirms Derani for 2012

18th October 2011

Following a successful test at Monza yesterday, Fortec Motorsports is delighted to announce that Pipo Derani will race for the team in the COOPER TIRES British Formula Three International Series for 2012.

The Brazilian has shown excellent promise over the 2011 season in only his first year in the series and has meshed well with the Fortec team. Evidently comfortable with the Mercedes-powered car, Derani finished just two tenths behind William Buller in both of yesterday's sessions � a remarkable achievement given that Buller was the double pole-sitter at Monza earlier this year.

A string of top-ten finishes in 2011, including an impressive second placed finish at Donington Park in September, makes the 18 year-old a strong asset to the Fortec squad; Derani's results have improved over the year and the team is confident that he can perform to the highest possible level next season.

Team Principal Richard Dutton is thrilled to have signed Pipo for next year: "We're absolutely delighted to have Pipo on board. It's great for us to have a Brazilian driver again next year; they always show excellent race craft and we've had great experiences with Brazilian racers in the past. Pipo tested very well at Monza yesterday and impressed across the board, so having him as part of our squad is a very exciting prospect. We're very much looking forward to working with him and we're hoping for great things next year."

Fortec secures entry to the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series

17th October 2011

Fortec Motorsports is pleased to announce that the team's 2012 entry to Formula Renault 3.5 Series has been approved today and the team will join twelve others on the grid for the Formula 3.5 Series subject to meeting all contractual requirements by January 2012.

The event organisers received applications from 18 teams for next year�s Championship with only thirteen places available as the profile of the event and the worldwide interest in motorsport continues to rise. Two teams from this year�s field will not feature next year; Mofaz Racing and Epic Racing have been replaced by GP2 team Arden International and DAMS which makes a return to the Formula Renault 3.5 grid. Epic Racing and Koiranen Motorsport are the two reserve teams for next year, while Mofaz withdrew their interest in the series earlier this year.

Fortec finished second in the Team Standings this year, with driver Alexander Rossi securing third place in the Drivers' Championship and winning the title of Rookie Champion at the last race in Catalunya eight days ago.

After another successful year for Fortec in 2011, the team is keen to progress further in 2012, challenging for Championship victory in the ever-popular Formula Renault 3.5 Series which regularly draws in crows of over 100,000 per race weekend. In addition to the new teams on the grid, the series will visit a new track next year; Moscow has been added to the calendar for 2012 as the interest in the sport continues to rise.

Team Manager Jamie Dye was delighted with the news: "It's great to have confirmation of what we had hoped for � the Formula Renault 3.5 Series is an extremely competitive series and one that we are very happy to be part of. We've made great progress this season, securing second place in the Team Standings, and with Alexander Rossi clinching third place in the Drivers' Championship so we're now very excited for next year's prospects."

Rowland wins to take second in the Championship

Photo credit Paul Davies
Rowland wins

Oliver Rowland won the second of today�s CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship races to take second place in the Drivers� Championship just hours after teammate Alex Lynn won the title at Silverstone National Circuit.

Rowland, who finished second in race one, started from third on the grid behind teammates Mitchell Gilbert and Alex Lynn. He made an excellent start to pass Gilbert off the line and quickly moved ahead of Lynn as the RSF-backed driver hunted down second place in the standings. Lynn, who was determined to end his Championship year in style with a double-victory at the season finale was not to be outdone and the 18 year-old attempted to get back on terms with Rowland. His attempt at a pass didn't go to plan however, and resulted in the Champion spinning off the track and re-joining at the back of the field.

Rowland and Gilbert were unchallenged at the front, while Lynn made up ground to tenth before finding himself behind Alice Powell; the Manor Competition driver was evidently holding up the Fortec star, but Lynn was unable to pass Powell, and in their desperation, both drivers were deemed to have exceeded track limits and were duly penalised with drive-through penalties. Only the retirement of Ed Jones on lap 13, caused by a gear selection problem, could promote the 2011 title winner as Lynn finished a frustrating ninth place.

Daniel Cammish held off Tio Ellinas�s advances to maintain third place, keeping Rowland�s chances of second place in the Championship alive; the 19 year-old knew that he had to win and record the fastest lap with Ellinas finishing fourth or lower to finish as runner-up to his teammate. It was a tense final laps though; Rowland had the fastest lap for much of the race but in his efforts to move up the field, Lynn beat Rowland�s effort on lap 19 as the provisional standings changed once again. It looked like it wasn�t to be for the 19 year-old in only his first year in car racing, but a heroic last lap from Rowland saw him set the best lap of the race, winning in front of a strong crowd at Silverstone, leading home a Fortec one-two from Mitchell Gilbert and securing a one-two in the Drivers� Championship. Felix Serralles meanwhile had another difficult race; the Puerto Rican was another driver to be penalised and a drive-through penalty on lap 20 saw him finish at the back of the field in a tough weekend for the Eurocup regulars.

Speaking after the race, Oliver was ecstatic: �It�s amazing, I just can�t believe it really. My start was amazing really, I don�t know how I did that! I knew exactly what I had to do and for a long time I thought I had done enough but then I saw that Alex had beaten my best lap time and I had to dig even deeper and I managed it, despite the tyres being completely worn out! It�s a fantastic way to end the season and I�m just delighted, I couldn�t be happier.�

Webster finishes second as Zamparelli is crowned Champion

Josh Webster finished second in race two of the Formula Renault BARC weekend at Silverstone National Circuit as Championship rival Dino Zamparelli finished third to deprive the Fortec man of Championship victory today.

Webster made the best possible start to take the lead from pole-sitter Matt Mason but the MGR-Motorsport driver quickly re-took the position on lap one. Archie Hamilton, who recorded his best result of the season yesterday, passed Dino Zamparelli and was running in fourth place, looking strong for his second podium of the weekend as he was hot on the heels of Kourosh Khani in third but an unsuccessful challenge on the Iranian driver saw the Fortec man lose his front wing and the 20 year-old was unable to continue in the race.

Hamilton�s retirement promoted Zamparelli up the order as the Antel Motorsport driver began to make inroads and recover lost positions while Webster started to catch Matt Mason, but struggled to find an opportunity to make a pass. Webster couldn�t find a way around the MGR driver and an error saw him lose time to the leader, hampering his chances of a late challenge as the 17 year-old star was forced to settle for second place. As the race drew to a close, Zamparelli passed Khani for third to secure Championship victory and end Webster�s hopes of title glory this weekend.

Further down the field, James Theodore and Victor Jimenez both endured difficult races as overtaking proved difficult at the Northamptonshire circuit. The Fortec men eventually finished 11th and 15th respectively in the final race of the 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship.

Speaking after the race, Webster was understandably disappointed to miss out on the title but positive about his future prospects: �It�s pretty gutting really � I made a great start but couldn�t make it stick and then I was closing in but made a mistake and that really blew my chances really. As soon as I saw Dino had got third I knew it was over and I can�t be too down about it because it�s been a great year in only my second year of car racing; the Fortec boys have done a great job and I�ve got a lot to look forward to in the future.�

Lynn seals the Championship in style

Alex Lynn took a commanding lights-to-flag victory in the first race of the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK weekend at Silverstone National Circuit to win the Drivers� Championship and break James Matthews� 17-year record of eleven wins in one Formula Renault season.

Lynn made the perfect getaway to lead into the first corner from teammate Oliver Rowland who passed Cammish at the start as Lynn began to chase down championship victory. From the first lap, victory never looked in doubt as the 18 year-old quickly pulled out a gap over teammate Rowland. Further down the field, Felix Serralles and Ed Jones tangled, causing Serralles to leave the track as he re-joined at the back of the field. Before long the Puerto Rican was in the pits as an oil pressure problem brought his race to an early end, while Ed Jones was unable to gain ground on the field ahead of him in a difficult race for the 16 year-old.

Mitchell Gilbert had a strong race to finish sixth; he spent the early stages of the race hunting down Josh Hill in seventh, eventually passing both Hill and Jordan King in the space of a few laps as the Australian continues to impress in the Formula Renault car.

Lynn certainly won the title in style, breaking the lap record with a time of 53.798 as he extended his lead over teammate Rowland who was unchallenged in second place as the duo led home a Fortec one-two in style and Oliver Rowland collected another Graduate Cup trophy to add to his already impressive collection.

Lynn�s Championship victory today is the culmination of hard work and determination across the season, both by Alex and his team of engineers and mechanics. His twelfth win of the season puts him into the history books and, starting from pole for race two, he may even make it thirteen wins after a dominant year for the Fortec star. Speaking after the race, he admitted that his achievement hasn�t yet sunk in: �I don�t know what to say really, it certainly hasn�t hit me yet and I don�t think it will do for quite some time. I�ve thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and I just want to thank my team for all their hard work which has totally paid off for us. I can�t wait to get out for race two and win that as well now!�

Webster leads a Fortec one-two in race one at Silverstone

Josh Webster took a lights-to-flag victory from teammate Archie Hamilton in this afternoon�s Formula Renault BARC race to close to gap on Championship leader Dino Zamparelli.

Webster and Hamilton both made strong starts, with Hamilton moving up to second place on lap one as Zamparelli fell down the order to fifth by lap three. In the early stages of the race, Hamilton was hot on the heels of his teammate but Webster held off Hamilton�s advances to extend a healthy lead over the rest of the field.

As the race wore on, Webster set fastest lap after fastest lap to score an extra two points as the 17 year-old continued his Championship assault. Hamilton was unable to stay with his teammate as a fastest lap of 56.402 on lap 15 saw Webster move three seconds clear in a faultless drive. Zamparelli set his sights on third placed man Kourosh Khani in the latter half of the race; the Championship leader was desperate to pass the Iranian but was unable to find a way past, leaving the track at one point as the Briton became increasingly frustrated. Khani was handed a drive-through penalty with just three laps remaining, which should have promoted Zamparelli to the third step of the podium but the Iranian stayed out on track only to be penalised post-race.

James Theodore profited from another drive-through penalty � this time for David Wagner � which saw him move up to seventh after a strong start for the Fortec man. Further back, despite an impressive start, Victor Jimenez was also handed a drive-through penalty but the Spaniard also failed to take it and was duly reprimanded after the race.

Another win for Josh Webster and Archie Hamilton�s best race result of the season is an excellent way to start the final weekend of the Formula Renault BARC Championship. Webster�s win and fastest lap sees him close the gap on Zamparelli significantly with just one race remaining.

Speaking after the race, Webster was delighted with the result: �I�m so chuffed � that was great! I feel like I�m in a really strong position and I�ve closed the gap a lot on Dino and I can�t wait for tomorrow to be out there in front of a 30,000 strong crowd, it should be great!�

Race two takes place tomorrow at 1345 and will be broadcast live as part of the ITV4 British Touring Cars Championship coverage

Lynn leads Fortec 1-2-3-4 in second qualifying

Photo credit Paul Davies
Alex L

Alex Lynn continued his faultless weekend with pole position in the second of today�s qualifying sessions as he led home a Fortec 1-2-3-4 from Mitchell Gilbert, Oliver Rowland and Felix Serralles with Ed Jones finishing just outside the top six in seventh place.

Just as in the first session, this afternoon�s qualifying comprised just ten minutes of on-track action as the drivers spent the first half of the session in the pit lane. The Fortec men were late to show their true potential and Mitchell Gilbert was initially the fastest of the Fortec five; the Australian, who has been consistently quick all weekend as he moved up to the top spot with a time of 54.189 with around six minutes remaining on the clock. Lynn�s first competitive time of the afternoon saw him move into second place � one and a half tenths shy of teammate Gilbert � but as the session drew to a close, the title leader soared to the top of the timesheets with a time of 53.815 to see the Fortec star secure his second pole position of the weekend.

In an exceptionally strong qualifying for the Fortec squad, Mitchell Gilbert remained as Lynn�s closest challenger in this afternoon�s session, while Oliver Rowland finished in third with a lap time 54.024 and Felix Serralles in fourth with a best time of 54.111. Meanwhile, Ed Jones � who spent the majority of the session within the top six � was knocked down to seventh in the closing seconds of the session as the 16 year-old managed a personal best time of 54.258.

Speaking after the session, Lynn was thrilled with his second pole of the weekend: �I�m really really happy � two poles from two is the best possible start to the weekend. I�m looking to make strong starts, take lights-to-flags victories and win the Championship in style and this is certainly going to help me do that.�

Tomorrow�s first race starts at 0930 with the final race of the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship taking place at 1625. Full timing is available via www.tsl-timing.com and the second race of the day will be shown live on ITV4.

Webster on top in qualifying

Josh Webster was the leading Fortec man in both of today�s qualifying sessions for the Formula Renault BARC race weekend, securing pole for this afternoon�s race and starting from second alongside Matt Mason for tomorrow�s race. In a departure from the usual routine, qualifying for this weekend�s races was split into two fifteen-minute sessions with a five-minute break in between.

It was an action-packed qualifying session for the BARC team; the 15-minute session for race one began at 1120 and the entire field took to the track with Archie Hamilton and Josh Webster trading fastest lap times for the duration of the session. Hamilton�s time of 56.124 was enough to stay fastest for quite some time but with three minutes to go, Webster recorded a time of 55.919 to go quickest. Championship leader Dino Zamparelli then soared to the top of the timesheets with Hamilton in second and Webster in third. Not to be outdone, title contender Josh Webster clocked a time of 55.740 in the dying moments of the session to secure the best possible start to his weekend. Zamparelli split the Fortec pair, while James Theodore � with a 55.567 � finished the first session in eighth with Spaniard Victor Jimenez starting this afternoon�s race from fourteenth.

The second session of the day was a red flag-interrupted affair; an incident on-track caused a stoppage to the session with nine minutes remaining and with most drivers yet to set a competitive time. It was exceptionally tight at the top with four tenths separating the top eight with just one lap remaining as Matt Mason set the quickest time of all, with Webster in second, Hamilton fifth, and Theodore in tenth. Despite Webster improving his time in his final effort, it wasn�t enough to take pole from Mason, and the remainder of the Fortec men failed to improve on their last outings, with Hamilton�s time of 55.932 putting him in sixth on the grid for race two, Theodore finishing eleventh with a 56.640 and Jimenez starting 16th with a time of 56.717. Championship leader Dino Zamparelli struggled in the second session as the Antel Motorsport driver will start from fifth place in tomorrow�s race.

Speaking after qualifying, Webster was delighted with his results: �Pole and second place is really good, particularly as the racing is my strength so qualifying so well is really great. It�s a fantastic weekend to be part of with the BTCC and that extra exposure certainly adds a few nerves as well as excitement.�

Lynn dominates first qualifying

Championship leader Alex Lynn dominated this morning�s qualifying session to put his Fortec car on pole for tomorrow�s first race with a time of 53.485 � three tenths clear of nearest challenger Daniel Cammish.

The session began at 0900 at a chilly but fine Silverstone National Circuit and it was the usual qualifying routine as the entire field remained in the pit lane for the first half of the session, with an absolute qualifying frenzy in the final ten minutes. Felix Serralles was the first driver to post a competitive time and duck under the 60-second mark with a time of 55.289, but as the session wore on, Lynn, Rowland and Gilbert were the top Fortec men as the trio traded fastest laps out on track.

With two minutes to go, Lynn set an impressive time of 53.674 to move two tenths of a second ahead of Jack Hawksworth as the Championship leader continued his impressive form from yesterday�s two practice sessions. Australian Mitchell Gilbert challenged Lynn with 30 seconds to go; a time of 53.827 moved the youngster up to second on the timesheets for a short time.

A frantic final lap saw the laptimes fall further as Lynn bettered his time to secure pole with a 53.485 and teammate Oliver Rowland looked like he�d done enough to start alongside Lynn on the grid for tomorrow morning�s race with a 53.801, only to be outdone by Mark Burdett Motorsport�s Daniel Cammish who split the Fortec duo with a time of 53.800 � just one thousandth of a second quicker than Rowland.

Cammish�s last gasp effort moved Mitchell Gilbert down to fourth, while Felix Serralles and Ed Jones rounded up the top ten with times of 54.057 and 54.131 respectively.

Lynn � who has been noticeably more relaxed this weekend � was thrilled with his start to the weekend: �The session was great � the car�s really fast and I�m looking forward to this afternoon and hoping to put the car on pole again.� The 18 year-old admitted that he�s feeling a lot better this weekend, conceding that he was extremely tense over the past two race meetings which resulted in errors for the Fortec driver. �In comparison to two weeks ago, I feel like a different person really � the tension manifests itself in so many ways and it�s counter-productive � this weekend I feel so much better and I think that�s reflected in my performance.�

Teammate Oliver Rowland, who missed out on second place by just one thousandth of a second, was happy with his morning�s qualifying �This morning went really well actually � it was really tight at the top and I was so close to second but third is good and I�m sure I can have a good race from there tomorrow. This afternoon we�ll work hard to make up the gap and challenge for pole.�

Lynn tops the timesheets again

Photo credit Paul Davies
Alex L

Championship leader Alex Lynn topped the timesheets for the second time today in Friday�s afternoon practice session for the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship at the Silverstone National Circuit.

Lynn headed a Fortec 1-2-3-4 this morning with a time of 53.662 as one of only three drivers to break the 54-second barrier in the first of today�s forty minute practice sessions.

The second session of the day began at 12.55 and as the temperature rose and the circuit wore in, the majority of the field improved upon their first times of the day. Oliver Rowland was the first of the Fortec five to post a competitive time as the RSF-backed driver moved to the top of the timesheets with a time of 54.308 to lead a Fortec 1-2-3 from Gilbert and Serralles. Lynn�s first competitive time of the day saw him outdo his teammate as the title favourite clocked a time of 54.068, closely followed by Mitch Gilbert who moved up to second with a time of 54.084 before the field pitted with around fifteen minutes to go.

As the drivers re-took to the track, Jack Hawksworth was the first to break the 54-second barrier in the afternoon session. It wasn�t long before Fortec returned to the top though; Oliver Rowland clocked a time of 53.637 as the first driver to beat Lynn�s best lap from this morning�s session, but Lynn quickly responded to record the fastest time of the day with a time of 53.491 to move over a tenth clear of his teammate. Further down the field, Mitch Gilbert finished in fifth with a 53.910 while Jones snuck under the 54-second mark with a time of 53.978, moving the sixteen year-old up to seventh place. It was a tough day for Felix Serralles though; the Puerto Rican was only able to complete 18 laps as an engine failure brought a premature end to his afternoon session.

Lynn was delighted with his practice session results as he looks to sign off in style with double-victory this weekend, while teammate Oliver Rowland � despite having second place in the Championship within reach � is keen to keep things in perspective: �Obviously second place is a possibility but I just need to focus on each race, take it as it comes, make sure I win and everything else behind me is out of my control but I�m certainly looking forward to another really strong weekend.�

The first qualifying session of the weekend takes place tomorrow at 0900 with the second session starting at 1415*. Full timing is available via www.tsl-timing.com.

*All times are local.

Hamilton quickest in practice two

Archie Hamilton topped the timesheets for the second time today as the Fortec driver finished as the leading man in the Formula Renault BARC afternoon practice session at Silverstone National circuit.

Hamilton led a Fortec 1-2 from Josh Webster in first practice and continued to be the man to beat this afternoon as he was the quickest man throughout the session, and the first of only a handful of drivers to break the 56-second barrier. He initially set a benchmark time of 55.935 from Antel Motorsport�s Dino Zamparelli but as the session neared its end, the Fortec man bettered his time, moving four tenths clear of Zamparelli with a personal best of 55.724. Webster, who was yet to show his true pace, moved up to second place with a time of 55.754 � three hundredths of a second off teammate Hamilton, just as he had been in first practice. A late effort from Zamparelli split the Fortec stars as the Championship leader posted a time of 55.750 � just four thousandths of a second quicker than rival Webster in third.

James Theodore impressed again on his first weekend for the Fortec squad; the Briton was unable to improve in the latter stages of the session but finished a praiseworthy 12th in only his second BARC weekend of the 2011 season, while Victor Jiminez finished just over a second off Hamilton�s best time of the day to wind up in 15th place.

Qualifying for tomorrow�s Formula Renault BARC race begins at 1120 and race one starts at 1635*. Full timing is available via www.tsl-timing.com.

*All times are local.

Fortec finish on top in first practice � Formula Renault BARC

Fortec finished as the team on top at the end of this morning�s first Formula Renault BARC practice session as Archie Hamilton and Josh Webster were separated by just three hundredths of a second at the top of the timesheets.

The first of today�s Formula Renault BARC practice sessions got underway at 1030 at Silverstone National Circuit, as the drivers arrived at what is certain to be their most high-profile weekend of the Formula Renault BARC season.

Archie Hamilton, who currently lies in fifth place in the Championship led the way almost uninterruptedly in this morning�s practice session, setting an initial benchmark time of 56.100 at the National circuit. Championship leader Dino Zamparelli temporarily displaced the Fortec man at the top, but Hamilton quickly re-established his authority with a time of 55.982 to re-take the top spot. Meanwhile, James Theodore � who is new to the team this weekend � moved up to fourth with a lap of 56.546.

As the session drew to a close, the top Fortec men improved their times further; Hamilton bettered his previous best lap while title contender Josh Webster moved up the timesheets to join teammate Hamilton at the top with personal best time of 55.865 to trail Hamilton by just three hundredths of a second. Neither Theodore nor Jiminez were able to improve upon their previous best laps and the duo finished fifth and 20th respectively.

The second of today�s Formula Renault BARC practice sessions takes place at 1500 local time.

Lynn leads the way at Silverstone

Fortec dominated this morning�s Formula Renault 2.0 UK practice session at Silverstone National Circuit as all of the Fortec five finished in the top six in this morning�s first test.

Championship leader Alex Lynn was the fastest of all for the most part of the session, closely followed by current in-form man Oliver Rowland and teammate Mitchell Gilbert as the trio were the only drivers to break the 54 seconds barrier this morning.

Lynn was consistently quick throughout the session, setting the benchmark time of 54.012 and of the Fortec drivers, Felix Serralles was initially his main challenger on a 54.331. With fifteen minutes remaining on the clock, times began to fall and Oliver Rowland moved up to second place with a time of 54.277, with Jack Hawksworth in third and Serralles in fourth, but as the track came to the drivers, times improved further and it was Lynn who continued to lead the way.

A time of 53.845 moved the Championship leader four tenths clear of teammate Oliver Rowland, while Mitchell Gilbert responded to set a time of 53.872 to move within a hair�s breadth of Lynn. Jones and Serralles also improved their times; the duo, who were testing in Barcelona earlier in the week, set strong lap times of 54.017 and 54.172 to finish fourth and sixth respectively. In the final seconds of the session, the top Championship runners improved their times further; Lynn set an unbeatable time of 53.662 to start his weekend in the best possible manner as he looks to wrap up the title in style this weekend while Oliver Rowland � in a last gasp effort � moved up to second with a 53.815.

Today's second practice session of the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship starts at 12.55 local time.

Leader Lynn aims for double victory at Silverstone season finale

11th October 2011
Photo credit Paul Davies
Alex L

Fortec�s Formula Renault 2.0 UK team arrives at Silverstone for the season finale with the Drivers� title within touching distance as championship leader Alex Lynn looks to end his dominant season in style with a double victory at the Northamptonshire circuit.

The hugely successful Formula Renault 2.0 UK team secured victory in the Teams� Championship at the last race weekend at Brands Hatch which saw RSF-backed Oliver Rowland take two victories from two poles. The Fortec star has been the man in form of late, winning three of the last four races in the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship.

Lynn meanwhile endured a tough weekend at Brands Hatch; his teammate had the measure of him in both qualifying sessions, denying the championship leader pole by around two tenths of a second. The first race of the weekend saw Rowland take a lights-to-flag victory as Lynn was forced to settle for second place, while Lynn was penalised with a drive-through penalty for a jump-start in race two, hampering his chances of securing championship victory at the Kent circuit as the frustrated Fortec man eventually recovered to ninth place.

Heading into the final weekend of the season, Lynn leads Championship rival Tio Ellinas by 27 points, while third placed Oliver Rowland � given his recent success � now has the ATech Reid GP driver within his sights. It�s a tall order as the 19 year-old trails the Cypriot driver by 58 points heading into the final two rounds, but with a possible 68 points up for grabs, Rowland certainly has the bit between his teeth as he looks to end his season on a high.

However, Rowland doesn�t have an easy task ahead of him as championship favourite Alex Lynn is hoping to put an end to his teammate�s run of victories; the 18 year-old, who has dominated the 2011 season, equalling the series record of eleven wins in one season, is looking to return to the top step of the podium this weekend. Speaking ahead of the championship decider, Lynn admitted he�s hoping to go out in style: �I�m feeling pretty relaxed about the weekend really; I�m aiming to get back to my best and sign off with a double-victory at Silverstone which would be great for myself and the team who have all worked so hard this season. It�s been a great year for all of us and if we can do what I know we�re capable of, concentrating on the wins, then the Championship should be ours and I just want to do my very best and end a fantastic season on a real high.�

Both Fortec drivers have also been nominated for the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award which recognises and promotes exceptional young British driving talent.

The final rounds of the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship take place at Silverstone, Northamptonshire on October 15th and 16th. Full timing is available via www.tsl-timing.com while the final race of the season will be shown live on ITV4.

Silverstone set for BARC Championship showdown

11th October 2011 Photo credit Paul Davies BARC

This weekend Fortec�s Formula Renault BARC team heads to Silverstone for the final weekend of the season where the title is set to be hotly contested over two races by current leader Dino Zamparelli, Fortec star Josh Webster and third placed man James Thorp.

It is the most high profile event of the year for the BARC team as the Northamptonshire circuit also plays host to the season finale of the British Touring Cars Championship and its regular support series � the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship � in what is sure to be an action-packed weekend.

The BARC team arrives at Silverstone with a healthy lead of 60 points over Antel Motorsports in the Teams� Standings and the Drivers� Championship well within its reach; BRDC Rising Star Josh Webster currently lies in second place in the Championship � 19 points behind Antel Motorsport�s Dino Zamparelli who was recently nominated for the prestigious McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award. Webster has scored consistently well throughout the season recording two wins and nine podiums � a particularly impressive record given that the young Briton has suffered his fair share of misfortune over the course of the season, with two enforced DNFs compromising his Championship challenge somewhat.

With 68 points available this weekend (32 per race win and two for the fastest lap in each race), Josh Webster remains in a very strong position to take Championship victory at Silverstone as he is more than capable of overturning Zamparelli�s lead in the standings. He has been particularly quick in recent tests at Silverstone and the team is confident that the Briton will put in a strong performance this weekend.

Archie Hamilton and Victor Jiminez are also in contention to move up the standings with a strong end to the season; Hamilton currently lies in fifth place with 168 points but he is just 16 points behind Kourosh Khani in fourth place, while Jiminez is 16th, just ten points off fourteenth place and 40 points off eleventh placed man David Wagner. After a mixed season for Jiminez, the Spaniard will be looking to end his season on a high, while Hamilton, who has had a string of third places this year, will be hoping to climb onto the top step in front of what is sure to be a huge crowd at Silverstone.

James Theodore joins the aforementioned Fortec trio this weekend, stepping into the car that was vacated by Kieran Vernon. Theodore proved his racing prowess in the BARC Championship last year, finishing third overall, and despite only competing in one race weekend so far this year, the 19 year-old scored well at Oulton Park, bringing home a healthy 20 points. His experience and race craft will undoubtedly make him an asset to the team in the season closer.

This weekend will be a new experience for the drivers, many of whom will be racing in front of a big crowd and live on television for the first time in their racing careers. While this undoubtedly adds pressure, the team is confident that all four drivers will rise to the challenge and Team Manager Steve Lynch says the team is fully focused on the weekend ahead: �We arrive at Silverstone with Josh still in contention to win the Drivers� Championship. We need to be aggressive; we aim to win both races this weekend and I�m confident that Josh can do that. He has been extremely consistent throughout the season and a strong performance this weekend could see him take the title his hard work deserves.� Steve added that he expects the experienced James Theodore do score well for the team this weekend and acknowledged that Spaniard Victor Jiminez has a good chance of a strong result this weekend: �Victor has worked hard this season and has been unlucky at times, but he has proven his talent and it would be great to see him on the podium this weekend.�

Eurocup trio test well in Barcelona

Despite the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season drawing to a close on Sunday in Barcelona, there was no let up for the team as the first post-season test began on Monday morning at the Circuit de Catalunya and the first signs were certainly positive.

After a mixed weekend for the Eurocup team, the morning test session was extremely encouraging for the squad as Felix Serralles, Ed Jones and Nick Cassidy all featured in the top ten, while Will Stevens tests a Formula Renault 3.5 car on Tuesday. Cassidy was the leading Fortec man, recording the second fastest time of the morning with a 1:46.883, with Felix Serralles behind the New Zealander in third place clocking a personal best lap time of 1:47.215. Ed Jones continued to impress in the Renault as he too finished in the top ten with a time of 1:47.906.

Jones and Serralles also featured in the top ten in the second session which saw lap times tumble at the ever-popular Spanish circuit. Felix Serralles was Daniil Kvyat�s closest challenger in the afternoon test; the Koiranen Motorsport driver topped the timesheets in both of Monday�s sessions but Serralles finished within two and a half tenths of a second of the Russian driver with a personal best time of 1:45.638 � over one and a half seconds quicker than his best time from the morning session. Ed Jones also slashed his earlier lap time by a similar margin; the sixteen year-old finished the session in seventh place with a time of 1:46.671 in a field of 44 racers. By contrast, Nick Cassidy was only able to complete two laps of the afternoon session and was therefore unable to register a representative time.

Bullish Buller finishes fifth for Fortec

William Buller was the top finisher for Fortec in today�s feature race which brought the 2011 Cooper Tyres British Formula 3 Championship season to a close, driving his Mercedes powered Fortec home in fifth ahead of teammate Lucas Foresti in sixth.

In a delay to the schedule, the forty-minute race began over half an hour late at a cloudy Silverstone circuit. With no threat of rain, the entire field began on slicks and Foresti lined up as the leading Fortec man on the grid in sixth, with Buller starting from tenth, Ilyas from fourteenth and Tincknell � after a frustrating qualifying session � starting from 16th for the final weekend of the season.

Lucas Foresti made another strong start to the race, moving up to fourth by the first corner and, taking advantage of a problem for fellow countryman Felipe Nasr, the Brazilian was in third place by the end of the first lap. Buller also made a strong start as the Northern Irish racer found himself in sixth place by the end of lap one, challenging Mitch Evans for fifth.

Foresti defended well from Rupert Svendsen-Cook to hold third place in the initial stages of the race, but on lap three, the Carlin driver took his opportunity and passed Foresti through Club to take third. The Fortec star refused to give up without a fight as he fought hard to re-take third place but as the battle wore on, Foresti fell prey to a close-fighting Mitch Evans and Will Buller. Pressure from the pair forced Foresti into an error as the Brazilian ran wide, leaving the track and losing two places to re-join in sixth. Mitch Evans was originally handed the first of many drive-through penalties for exceeding track limits which would have promoted the leading Fortec duo up to fourth and fifth, but the Kiwi didn�t take his penalty and it remains unclear as to whether a post-race penalty will be given.

Further down the field, Fahmi Ilyas made a strong start to move up to twelfth from fourteenth, but after being passed by Jack Harvey, he ran wide � falling down the order to 16th � and his race was further compromised by a drive-through penalty as the Malaysian was punished for driving beyond the limits of the track. Ilyas eventually recovered to finish 19th in a difficult weekend for the Fortec man. Tincknell meanwhile benefited from the penalties further up the field as both Scott Pye and Jack Harvey were also punished for the same driving offence and the Devon racer fought his way up to eleventh place as the chequered flag fell.

Back at the front, Buller � unable to bring a real challenge to Evans � pulled clear of Lucas Foresti to secure fifth place in the final race of the season while Foresti held off a late charge from race two�s winner, Alexander Sims, to finish in sixth place in a hard fought race.

Speaking after the race, Harry Tincknell was positive about race weekend, admitting that a poor qualifying session made the weekend tough �It all came down to yesterday�s qualifying session really � I had good race pace this afternoon and made some good passes but I was just too far down the field to make enough progress really.�

Strong race for Serralles in a mixed day for Eurocup trio

Felix Serralles impressed greatly in Barcelona, making up nine positions to finish fifteenth after a difficult qualifying session, with Will Stevens finishing seventh, while Ed Jones�s tough weekend continued as he suffered his second DNF of the weekend.

The final race of the season began at 1440 local time at the ever-popular Circuit de Catalunya and the Fortec trio made solid starts. Strong starts from the Fortec men saw Serralles gain a handful of positions as the trio, headed by Will Stevens were running in seventh, with Serralles 15th, and Jones in 17th.

Stevens spent much of his race trying to get the better of Vandoorne for sixth place as the gap between the two drivers remained at around three tenths throughout the second half of the race, while Felix Serralles set his sights upon Meisner who had an advantage of seven tenths over the young Puerto Rican by lap nine. Jones also showed strong pace; moving up to 17th in a strong field of 38 drivers in only his fourth Eurocup race and bringing the fight to the pack ahead, challenging Meisner ahead of him. Unfortunately an incident on lap 10 brought the sixteen year-old�s race to an early end as the Jones suffered his second DNF of a weekend which is certain to be a strong learning curve for the youngster.

Vandoorne proved to have the measure of Stevens, while Serralles was unable to improve his position as the pair crossed the line in seventh and fifteenth respectively.

The result sees Will Stevens finish a clear fourth in the Drivers� Championship with 116 points with Felix Serralles in twelfth with 41 points. In the Teams� Standings, Fortec finishes third after an impressive debut year.

This weekend�s results see Will Buller finish as the leading Fortec man in the Drivers� Championship, finishing in fourth with 197 points, with Lucas Foresti in seventh with 170 points, Tincknell in eleventh with 78 points and Fahmi Ilyas in 21st with seven points.

Rossi secures third in the Championship in action-packed season finale

Fortec star Alexander Rossi finished seventh in the second race of the weekend to secure third place in the Drivers� Championship and the title of Rookie Champion as the World Series by Renault season draws to a close.

Alexander started from seventh on the grid in today�s race after a difficult qualifying session this morning while Cesar Ramos qualified in twentieth place for the final race of the World Series by Renault Formula Renault 3.5 season. Going into the final race of the season, Rossi was 24 points ahead of his closest rival for third place, Albert Costa.

The race began at 1300 local time at the crowd-pleasing Circuit de Catalunya and the spectators were all set for a Championship showdown as Carlin drivers Robert Wickens and Jean-Eric Vergne were the only drivers in contention to win the title today. The much anticipated showdown was not to be as the pair tangled on lap one, spelling the end of Wickens� race, forcing the Canadian to watch on as his title hopes hung in the balance. Carnage across the field prompted the deployment of the safety car as six drivers � including Fortec�s Cesar Ramos � failed to complete lap one.

Amidst the madness of the opening lap, Rossi lost position and the American slipped down to ninth place as the safety car circulated for a number of laps. Vergne�s Championship hopes began to fade as the Frenchman was overtaken by Zampieri and Richelmi as he fell down the order and out of the top ten. Rossi pitted on lap nine and found himself in thirteenth place on his out lap, quickly disposing of Walter Grubmuller to move up to twelfth as he began his pursuit of an all-important points finish.

Rossi�s only rival for third place in the Drivers� Standings was Albert Costa; the Spaniard led almost every lap of the race in front of his home crowd and the pressure was on for Rossi to recover places and claim third spot. Not one to falter under pressure, the AirAsia-backed driver made his way up to eighth place as he set his sights upon Stephane Richelmi in seventh. The International Draco driver�s race ended shortly afterwards, promoting Rossi up to seventh place. With just a few minutes remaining on the clock, Rossi was unable to make up enough ground to challenge Oliver Webb for sixth place and the American drove home in seventh, securing third place in the Drivers� Championship in a stunning rookie season.

Today�s result means that Alexander Rossi finishes third in the Drivers� Championship and wins the Rookie Championship with 156 points, Cesar Ramos � after a difficult weekend � finishes eleventh with 47 points, and Fortec holds on to second place in the Teams� Standings with 203 points.

Team Manager Jamie Dye was delighted with Alexander�s achievement �It was a mixed race for us � action packed throughout � unfortunately Cesar retired early on and Alexander lost a few places but I never doubted him today. Alexander has driven exceptionally well all year and he thoroughly deserves third place in the Drivers� Championship and the title of Rookie Champion. Second place in the Teams� Championship is something we should all be very proud of; the team has worked tirelessly throughout the season and all the hard work has paid off.�

Super start secures second place for Foresti

A fantastic start from Fortec�s Lucas Foresti saw him claim second place on the podium in this morning�s British F3 race at Silverstone.

Will Buller was the leading Fortec man on the grid as the Scarva born driver lined up fourth on the grid with Foresti in fifth, Tincknell in twelfth and Ilyas in twentieth place for the first race of the day. Drivers had two laps to assess the circuit conditions prior to the parade lap at a damp Silverstone circuit and the majority of the field opted to start the race from slicks with the exception of Fortec man Lucas Foresti, Alexander Sims and a few others.

Foresti proved he had made the right choice as the Brazilian made a stunning start to take the lead on the first lap while Will Buller struggled to get away, finding himself swamped in the midfield. Ilyas and Tincknell were fortunate not to find themselves embroiled in incidents further down the field as drivers struggled for grip on slick tyres.

By lap three, Foresti and Alexander Sims had stretched out a lead over the remainder of the field but Sims was hot on the heels of the Brazilian who defended well on a slippery track. The Briton refused to give in and eventually the pass came on lap three and the Motopark driver quickly moved away at the front lapping around four seconds quicker than the drivers on slicks.

As the race wore on, Buller, Tincknell and Ilyas struggled with their tyre choice as Fahmi Ilyas�s race ended prematurely in the gravel, while Buller and Tincknell rued their decisions as the pair fell further down the field. In the closing stages of the race the track started to dry out and while the wet runners were searching for water on the track, Tincknell became one of the fastest drivers on the track, setting the quickest final sector of all but the Devon driver�s race was all but over.

As the clock ran down, Foresti was out on his own � comfortably ahead of Pietro Fantin in third and unable to catch Sims out in front � as the Fortec star drove home to take his eighth podium of the season. Despite the drying track, Buller and Tincknell were unable to make much headway as the pair drove home in twelfth and 16th respectively.

Speaking after the race, Foresti admitted he was disappointed with second place today: �We obviously made the right choice with the tyres this morning and I had a great start to take the lead. Unfortunately I wasn�t able to stay ahead of Alexander which is naturally disappointing for me as I really felt I could have won today.�

Meanwhile Harry Tincknell conceded that the wrong tyre choice hampered his chances of success today: �I took a gamble to stay on slicks; as we circulated before the race the track really didn�t feel that wet but once the race got underway, the spray was unbelievable! From that point on, my race was really compromised; the track dried out towards the end and I was right up there with my lap times but there wasn�t enough time left on the clock to make up enough ground.�

Top ten finish for Stevens and Serralles as Jones retires

Will Stevens and Felix Serralles finished seventh and eighth in a hard fought race, while InterSteps star Ed Jones was forced to retire on lap five at the Circuit de Catalunya this afternoon.

Stevens was the leading Fortec man on the grid as a strong qualifying session saw him start from ninth place, with teammate Serralles behind him in eleventh. Jones, in only his second Eurocup meeting, further proved that he is capable of mixing it up with the best of them as the youngster qualified an impressive 17th in a field of 38.

As the race got underway, Carlos Sainz Junior took the lead from pole-sitter Javier Tarancon while contact caused Norman Nato�s race to end on lap one, and a problem for Olivier Tunjo saw him fall to the back of the field, immediately promoting the Fortec drivers up the grid. Felix Serralles continued his impressive recent form, passing Henri Martins as he closed in on teammate Stevens. The duo overtook Josef Kaufmann Racing�s Mathieu Jaminet moving them up to seventh and eighth as Serralles continued to hunt down his teammate ahead of him. While positions changed further up the field, with Tarancon eventually re-passing Sainz to take victory for the Tech 1 team, Stevens held position, keeping the Puerto Rican behind him to take home six championship points as Serralles crossed the line just four tenths of a second later.

Today�s result sees Will Stevens move further ahead of Timmy Hansen as he consolidates his fourth place in the Drivers� Standings, while Felix Serralles stays in twelfth but is now just two points behind Norman Nato. Meanwhile, in the Teams� Standings Fortec remain in third place ahead of Tech 1 Racing.

Qualifying for tomorrow�s race starts at 0845 and the final race of the World Series by Renault Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup season takes place at 1340*.

*All times are local times.

Rossi moves up to third with fourth place finish in Barcelona

Alexander Rossi moved up to third place in the drivers� standings this afternoon after his fourth place finish in race one at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.

After a red flag interrupted qualifying session, Alexander lined up third on the grid for the first race of the weekend with Ramos starting in 20th place. As Wickens led away from pole, Costa and Rosenzweig had a coming together, ending Costa�s race on lap one and sending Rosenzweig to the back of the field. Rossi avoided incident, but in the drama Danii Move was able to pass the Fortec star to move up to second place.

Further incidents down the field spelled early retirement for Oliver Webb and Anton Nebylitskiy, while a problem for Cesar Ramos in the early stages of the race couldn�t be rectified and the Brazilian racer was forced to return to the pits and retire on lap 15.

It was Jean-Eric Vergne who was the major mover in the race as he fought to keep his championship hopes alive and by the mid-race point the Frenchman was up to fourth place, bringing the fight to Rossi for third. The Fortec man defended well, keeping Vergne behind him for several laps as the Frenchman struggled to find an opportunity to make a pass on the AirAsia backed driver. After a hard fought battle, the Carlin charger eventually got the better of Rossi to take third place on lap 18 as he continued to hunt down his teammate and Championship rival, quickly displacing Move for second. Rossi refused to give up on his hopes of a podium finish as he closed in on the P1 driver in the closing stages of the race. It was not to be as Move clung on to third place � just eight tenths ahead of the Fortec star.

Costa�s retirement and Ricciardo�s non-entry means that fourth place was enough to move Alexander up to third in the Drivers� Standings, while Fortec moves further ahead of ISR to stay second in the Teams� Standings with just one race remaining in the World Series by Renault Formula Renault 3.5 Championship.

Qualifying for tomorrow�s race begins at 0900 with the final race of the season taking place at 1200*.

*All times are local times.

Foresti fifth from Buller at Silverstone in race one

Lucas Foresti and William Buller were the top finishers for Fortec in this afternoon�s thirty-minute race at Silverstone. The the duo finished fifth and sixth, with Harry Tincknell finishing thirteenth and Fahmi Ilyas finishing in twentieth place after a drive-through penalty.

Buller, Foresti and Tincknell all made excellent starts to the race, with Lucas Foresti gaining six places to move up from tenth to fourth by the end of lap one. Buller, who started in eleventh also made up good ground, as the Fortec star found himself in sixth place after the first lap and Tincknell � after a difficult qualifying session � gained four places. Meanwhile, Fahmi Ilyas � who started the race from fourteenth on the grid � had his race compromised by a drive-through penalty for not respecting track limits. Despite a positive showing in this morning�s qualifying session, the Malaysian was unable to make headway after his penalty, finishing twentieth.

As the race wore on, Foresti was unable to keep Jaafar behind him and the Carlin man took fourth place from him on lap six. Behind Foresti, Buller led a great battle for sixth place, but the Scarva-born racer never looked in trouble as the held his own, driving a solid race. He was unable to make headway to catch teammate Foresti who was very much out on his own for the remainder of the race. The Brazilian drove a strong race at a circuit he enjoys racing at to cross the line in fifth, eight seconds clear of teammate Buller in sixth.

Tincknell endured a tough race which was somewhat compromised by a difficult qualifying session for the Fortec man. After a fantastic start, he gained a position from T-Sport�s Menasheh Idafar�s drive-through penalty, and despite pushing hard to home in on the midfield in the closing stages, the Devon racer crossed the line in twelfth.

Speaking after the race, Foresti was thrilled with the result, particularly his start: �I had a great start, it was amazing! Fifth was really the best I could manage today; I got the most out of the car and I just drove a controlled race from there. I couldn�t keep Jaafar behind me � we just didn�t have the pace to keep with them but I�m happy with fifth and hoping for rain tomorrow!�

Foresti heads Fortec four at Silverstone

Lucas Foresti was the top qualifier for Fortec at a cold and windy Silverstone circuit in the thirty-minute qualifying session to decide the grid for races one and three of the final race weekend of the season.

Foresti was leading Fortec man in the initial stages of the session with a time of 1:53.926 which was enough for seventh place while Buller, Tincknell and Ilyas filed in behind in twelfth, fifteenth and seventeenth respectively. Buller and Foresti continued to improve upon their lap times, but were unable to move up the grid as the majority of the field elected to pit with ten minutes of the session remaining.

As the drivers re-took to the track, Will Buller � who could claim second place in the Drivers� Standings with a strong result this weekend � posted a time of 1:53:622 to move the Northern Irish racer up to fifth on the timesheets. Harry Tincknell also improved his time to move up to thirteenth on a 1:53.548 but as lap times across the field fell, Tincknell struggled to better his time, as the nineteen year-old eventually finished down in 17th place.

As the session wore on, Lucas Foresti continued to go faster, recording a time of 1:53.332 to move him up to sixth on the grid for race three tomorrow. Will Buller was unable to beat his time which originally moved him up to fifth and the Fortec man will start from tenth for race two, while Fahmi Ilyas � who was the fastest of the Fortec quartet in yesterday�s first practice session � outqualified teammate Harry Tincknell to take fourteenth on the grid with a time of 1:54.144.

The results mean that Lucas Foresti will start race one from tenth place with teammate Will Buller alongside him in eleventh, Fahmi Ilyas lines up in fourteenth on the grid with a disappointed Harry Tincknell starting from 17th. Race three will start with Lucas Foresti in sixth, Will Buller in ninth, Fahmi Ilyas in fourteenth and Harry Tincknell in 17th.

Speaking after the session, Lucas was delighted with his performance: �It was really good today, I felt that the car and I were capable of pole but it wasn�t to be. I�m really happy to be the leading Fortec driver; if it rains this afternoon I should have a good chance of a podium in today�s race, we�ll see what happens for race two but I�m really optimistic that we can have a good result starting from sixth in the feature race.�

Rossi starts from third in race one in Barcelona

Photo credit Paulo Pellegrini
WSR

Alexander Rossi continued his run of excellent form to qualify third for this afternoon�s first race of the final weekend of the World Series by Renault Formula Renault 3.5 Championship, while Cesar Ramos qualified in 20th place.

The session began at 0950 local time and was twice red flagged. The first interruption came just a few minutes into the session and was caused by Frenchman Adrien Tambay going off into the gravel trap where he lightly touched the tyre barrier. The session quickly re-started and drivers began to set competitive times; Alexander Rossi�s lap of 1:33.669 saw him move up to while Ramos set a time of 1:34.238 to go seventh fastest with just under half an hour remaining in the session. As the times tumbled, Rossi was pushed back down to seventh with Ramos down in thirteenth when an incident involving Brendan Hartley brought out the second red flag of the session.

The second stoppage of the hour was somewhat lengthier � Hartley�s problem caused a large amount of oil to spread across the track. The marshals went to great efforts to clear the track and make it as safe as possible as the red flag remained out for half an hour at the Circuit de Catalunya. Eventually the track was given the all-clear and the session re-started at 1040 local time. All drivers went out on new tyres as they looked to maximise their on-track time in the remainder of the session. With twelve minutes remaining, neither Ramos nor Rossi had improved on their times but as the clock ran down, Rossi clocked a time of 1:33.048 to go third fastest. Ramos was unable to improve upon his time set before the second re-start and his time of 1:34.238 sees the Brazilian start from 20th place in today�s race.

The first race of the final weekend of the World Series by Renault Formula Renault 3.5 Championship takes place at 1400 at the Circuit de Catalunya*.

*All times are local times.

Fortec�s Eurocup trio qualify well in Spain

Photo credit: Paolo Pellegrini
eurocup

Will Stevens was the top Fortec finisher in the first qualifying session of the weekend in Barcelona as all three Fortec drivers finished in the top ten for Group B�s qualifying session.

The session began at 0920 local time at a sunny Circuit de Catalunya. Stevens was initially top of the timesheets with a lap of 1:44.523 with Felix Serralles in third on a 1:45.128 and Ed Jones in fifth with a 1:45.731 when a red flag, caused by Richard Gonda stopped the session with seven minutes remaining on the clock.

The stoppage was brief and as the cars re-took to the track, lap times fell and Carlos Sainz junior set the fastest time of the session, followed by KTR�s Stoffel Vandoorne, pushing Stevens and Serralles down the order. As the session drew to a close, all three Fortec drivers improved their laptimes. Will Stevens set a personal best time of 1:43.730 but he was unable to challenge the top three positions as Fortec�s top Championship runner finished in fifth place. Felix Serralles improved his personal best by over a second to clock a lap time of 1:43.958 to finish seventh, while Ed Jones enjoyed another positive outing to round up the top ten in Group B with a time of 1:44.333.

Race one begins at 1530 at the Circuit de Catalunya*.

FR3.5 Friday Practice roundup � a mixed day for Fortec

Photo credit Paulo Pellegrini
WSR

Fortec enjoyed a mixed practice day at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona which saw Alexander Rossi finish and C�sar Ramos finish third and 19th respectively in session one, while session two was altogether more challenging for the Fortec drivers as the duo finished fourteenth and 21st in the second session.

First practice for the season finale of the World Series by Renault Formula Renault 3.5 Championship began at 1000 local time at the crowd-pleasing Circuit de Catalunya. Rossi�s initial best time of a 1:36.279 put him in seventh place in the standings before the AirAsia-backed driver spun off into the gravel, causing the only red flag of the session. Alexander and the car were both unharmed, and as the session re-started, Rossi was determined to get back on terms with his Championship rivals, as he topped the timing sheets with a 1:35.440, improving to a 1:35.168 to stay fastest with fifteen minutes remaining on the clock.

C�sar Ramos also improved his time as the session got underway again, moving up from 19th to 15th place with a 1:35.738, but as the session drew to a close, both Alexander and C�sar slipped down the timings. Albert Costa and Walter Grubmuller both improved their times to go first and second respectively, pushing Rossi down to third � just two tenths behind Costa, while Ramos was unable to improve on his best lap time in the closing stages of the session, eventually finishing 19th.

The second practice session of the day began at 1445 local time at an increasingly warm track. After a stoppage early on, the drivers re-took to the track and Alexander Rossi posted a time of 1:36.292 to place him in ninth place, while C�sar Ramos recorded a 1:36.608 to move the Brazilian up to 15th on the timesheets. As the session continued and times fell, the two drivers both improved upon their initial lap times; Rossi posted his personal best time of the session on lap thirteen to move up to fourth with a 1:35.342 while Ramos climbed up the timesheets to twelfth with his best time of the session on a 1:35.819. However, with fifteen minutes remaining in the session, neither driver was able to better their time while those around them moved further up the timing charts, pushing the Fortec drivers down to finish fourteenth and 21st.

Fortec arrived in Barcelona with high hopes of American Alexander Rossi securing third place in the Driver�s Championship this weekend as the team looks to cement second place in the Teams� Standings and results from today�s sessions will undoubtedly prove insightful for the weekend ahead.

Qualifying for race one takes place at 0950 tomorrow morning, with race one starting at 1400, while qualifying for the second race of the weekend begins at 0900 on Sunday morning with the final race of the season taking place at 1400*.

*All times are local.

British Formula Three Silverstone Friday Practice Roundup

Photo credit: Paul Davies

The Fortec British F3 team enjoyed a productive day�s practice at a damp and windy Silverstone ahead of this weekend�s final rounds of the Cooper Tires British F3 Intertnational Series which could see Fortec star Will Buller claim second position in the Drivers� Championship.

Fahmi Ilyas was the fastest of the Fortec quartet in this morning�s practice session which began at 1000 local time. Early on in the session, all four Fortec drivers featured in the top ten, headed by Lucas Foresti in fifth, Will Buller in seventh, Harry Tincknell in ninth and Fahmi Ilyas in tenth place but as the session wore on, and timings tumbled, Foresti found himself back in tenth place. It was an impressive showing by Fahmi Ilyas to put his Mercedes powered Fortec in fifth place ahead of his teammates � all of whom lead him in the Drivers� Championship � and the Malaysian will be looking to capitalise on this good form as a points score at Silverstone could see him move up the Drivers� Standings at the season finale this weekend. Fortec�s frontrunner in the Championship Will Buller finished the session in eighth place while early pacesetter Lucas Foresti � who currently lies in seventh in the Drivers� Standings � finished tenth with Devon racer Harry Tincknell finishing just outside the top ten in twelfth place.

The second practice session of the day was somewhat weather affected as Carlin�s Carlos Huertas set the fastest time of the session before a brief but heavy rain shower hampered any chances of lap time improvements. Will Buller was the leading Fortec man throughout the session and, like the rest of the field, the Fortec squad was unable to really improve on early lap times with rain slowing the track and causing a number of off-track excursions as the session wore on. Buller and Foresti finished up as the leading Fortec men � just as they are in the Championship � in seventh and eighth, electing to only run for ten laps with Buller recording a best time of 1:54.942 and Foresti just one tenth behind his teammate on a 1:55.061. Meanwhile Harry Tincknell and Fahmi Ilyas opted to gain more track time, clocking up a total of twenty laps each as the duo finished thirteenth and seventeenth respectively.

As the weather forecast for the weekend ahead appears to be mixed, it may well be the case that on-track experience in damp and slippery conditions may well be of use to the drivers as they head into the final three races of the season.

World Series by Renault Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Practice Roundup

Photo credit: Paolo Pellegrini
eurocup

Fortec�s Formula Renault Eurocup team enjoyed a successful practice day at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona today, with Eurocup regulars Will Stevens and Felix Serralles posting consistently competitive times while InterSteps star Ed Jones continued to impress in his second Eurocup meeting.

First practice of the day started bright and early for the Eurocup drivers at 0900 local time. After a mixed weekend at Silverstone for the Formula Renault 2.0 UK meeting, Felix Serralles was the Fortec man on top, posting a time of 1:45.863 to set the third fastest time of the morning at an increasingly warm Circuit de Catalunya. Meanwhile, Fortec�s leading driver in the Drivers� Championship, Will Stevens was also mixing with the top flight drivers as he recorded a personal best time of 1:46.237 to take sixth place � one hundredth quicker than Josef Kaufmann Racing�s Robin Frijns. In only his second Eurocup meeting, Ed Jones proved that he is a force to be reckoned with and a driver to watch as the 16 year-old recorded the 19th fastest time in a competitive field of 38 in this morning�s session.

The second practice session got underway at 1355 local time but an incident involving Denis Nagulin brought the red flag out after just eight minutes of the session. As the session re-started, Serralles lay in fourth place, with Ed Jones 17th slightly ahead of teammate Stevens 18th but as the remainder of the field improved, Serralles struggled to keep on terms with the frontrunners, posting a personal best time of 1:46.403 which was only enough to put him 26th as the session ended as it began � with a red flag. Ed Jones enjoyed another strong outing in the Renault, and his personal best time of a 1:45.792 initially moved him up to thirteenth place but as lap times improved, the young star was pushed down to 20th � a praiseworthy effort amongst a stellar field. It was Will Stevens who really shone in the afternoon session; the Briton, who currently lies in fourth place in the Drivers� Standings, recorded a time of 1:44.652 to top the timesheets � a time bettered only by Champion Robin Frijns in the closing stages of the session.

Qualifying for race one of the World Series by Renault Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Championship at the Circuit de Catalunya begins tomorrow at 0900 with race one starting at 1630. Second qualifying takes place on Sunday at 0945 with the second race of the week starting at 1440*.

*All times are local times.

Fortec stars shortlisted for prestigious award

Formula Renault 2.0 UK stars Alex Lynn and Oliver Rowland have both been nominated for the prestigious McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award for 2011. Lynn and Rowland, 18 and 19 years of age respectively are two of only six nominees put forward for the award which promotes young British racing talent.

Alex & Ollie

Lynn is currently leading the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship for Fortec with RSF-backed Oliver Rowland lying in third place having won three of the past four races in the Championship in his debut year. The duo�s superb performances in the 2011 season have brought them widespread attention in the motorsport world and their nominations are further recognition of their supreme racing talents.

A panel of judges including BRDC President Derek Warwick and Mark Williams � head of vehicle engineering at McLaren � will assess the six drivers at Silverstone in November where the drivers will be tested.

The winner � who will be announced at the AUTOSPORT awards in December � will win �100, 000, a test in a McLaren F1 car, full BRDC membership, Puma racewear for 2012 and a TW steel watch.

For more information on the awards and the other four nominees, visit the autosport website.

Photo credit Paul Davies

FR3.5 team hopes for more success in Spain

The Formula Renault 3.5 team heads to the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona this weekend for the final rounds of the 2011 World Series by Renault season with high hopes of building upon recent success.

The last outing for the Formula 3.5 team was a mixed affair; Rossi had qualified a strong fifth place in first qualifying, only to have his race hampered by debris which collected within his car, causing the engine to overheat as he limped home to 16th place while C�sar Ramos climbed five places from qualifying to finish eighth. Race two was infinitely more positive for the team as Rossi put his misfortune behind him, qualifying second on the grid, and taking a dominant victory while an impressive drive saw Ramos make up 16 places to finish ninth.

The team arrives in Spain in second place in the Teams� Championship, while Alexander Rossi lies in fourth place in the Drivers� Standings, with Ramos in tenth.

Off the back of Rossi�s success and a strong showing from C�sar Ramos, the team has reason to be confident as it heads to the season closer at the ever-popular Circuit de Catalunya � widely reputed as one of the most exciting circuits in the world and a favourite amongst fans. Arriving at the final race meeting of the Formula Renault 3.5 season, Team Manager Jamie Dye is optimistic that the drivers will score well this weekend, allowing the team to consolidate its position: �We�re feeling very positive as we head to Barcelona. Alexander has been on excellent form of late and has certainly impressed in his rookie season and I�m confident that he can score some strong points this weekend which should move him up to third in the Championship. C�sar can certainly gain ground this weekend; he�s driven well in recent races and with some strong qualifying sessions, I�m confident he can move up the table. From a team perspective, we are six points ahead of ISR at the moment but some strong results should consolidate this lead and secure second place for us in the Teams� Championship.�

The final two races of the Formula Renault 3.5 season take place at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona on October 8th and 9th.

Eurocup team �pushing to the maximum� in Barcelona

This weekend the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 team travels to the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona for the season finale of the World Series by Renault Championship. With two races remaining and a possible 50 points up for grabs, the Fortec team is looking to end its maiden Eurocup season in style, determined to achieve the maximum this weekend.

The team�s last outing at the High Tech Test Track at Paul Ricard saw Fortec front-runner Will Stevens finish fifth in race one and twelfth in race two, while Felix Serralles endured a tough weekend, finishing last after a collision in race one and fighting his way up to tenth in race two. The weekend was both challenging and valuable for the team as it looked to gain as much experience as possible for the 2012 season when the team fully expects to challenge for the title.

Ahead of the season closer in Spain, Felix Serralles also competed in the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship event at Brands Hatch, looking to improve his race craft and gain as much racing experience as possible. The Puerto Rican star had a coming together with Josh Hill in race one which spelled his early retirement from the race but he recovered in race two to finish fifth.

The team arrives at the Circuit de Catalunya in third place in the teams� standings, while Will Stevens is currently fourth in the Drivers� Championship with Felix Serralles in twelfth place.

Thinking ahead to the weekend, Team Manager Jamie Dye is confident that the team knows what it has to do: �We�re going to be pushing to the maximum throughout this weekend, looking to get as much from the cars and the drivers as possible. Will has third place within his reach, though admittedly it is a tough order, while Felix can certainly climb up the table; there�s just 41 points between fifth and twelfth place so I�m confident that he can make headway this weekend and end his season on a high.�

The final race weekend of the 2011 season takes place at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona on October 8th and 9th.

F3 squad feeling strong for Silverstone

The Fortec British Formula 3 team arrives at Silverstone this weekend for the season finale of the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 Championship in a strong position to gain a healthy points haul and make up some valuable Championship positions.

The last round at Donington proved trying for the Fortec team as a tough qualifying session on Saturday made for a challenging start for the drivers in the first and third races of the weekend. Will Buller was able to profit from his pole position start in race two, losing a position early on but eventually finishing in second to boost his hopes of a top three Championship finish, while Lucas Foresti and Harry Tincknell also finished in the top ten. Hopes for race three were hampered by rain which particularly hurt Will Buller who elected to begin the race on slicks, though Lucas Foresti had a strong race to finish eighth.

Results from the last round saw Buller drop down the drivers� standings to fourth place but Buller remains in a strong position � just thirteen points behind current second placed man Carlos Huertas � and with three races this weekend, second place is well within the Fortec man�s sights. Meanwhile, Lucas Foresti and Harry Tincknell will be looking to score well this weekend as the drivers � who currently lie in seventh and tenth place respectively � could gain a Championship position from a strong showing over the weekend. Further down the standings, a points finish from Fahmi Ilyas could see him make inroads as the season draws to a close on Sunday.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Team Manager Mick Kouros is confident about the team�s potential: �We�ve been working hard since Donington � the drivers have spent time on the simulator and we�ve been collecting as much information as we can to put ourselves in the best position possible ahead of this weekend.�

Practice for the final round of the Cooper Tires British Formula Three Championship takes place on Friday, while qualifying and race one take place on Saturday with the final two races of the season on Sunday.

Rowland does the double at Brands Hatch

Oliver Rowland took his second commanding victory of the weekend as he made it two wins from two at Brands Hatch today.

A jump-start from teammate Alex Lynn who started alongside Rowland on the grid saw Lynn take an early lead in the race but the Essex racer was duly penalised for his error as a drive-through penalty dashed his chances of securing the Drivers� title today. The Championship leader opted to take the penalty early hoping to gain places as the race wore on but he was unable to make enough headway as he recovered to finish ninth.

After his teammate�s drive-through penalty, Rowland re-took the lead and victory never seemed in doubt as the RSF-backed driver who has had the upper hand over the field across the weekend, stretched out a comfortable lead over Lynn�s closest Championship rival Tio Ellinas. Lynn re-joined at the back of the field and became the fastest man on the track, sizing up ATech Reid�s Geoff Uhrhane for a pass on lap eight as he fought to make up for lost time. By lap nine, Rowland led Ellinas by over five seconds as he closed in on his third win in four races. Lap ten saw Alex Walker�s race end prematurely as the InterSteps vice-Champion spun off, brushing the barrier and unable to re-take to the track, promoting Lynn to eleventh. As the race wore on, Serralles closed in on the battle for third between Cammish and Wells but he was unable to progress, and the fight between the trio allowed Hill and Jones to catch the pack, as Hill hassled Serralles for fifth place. Serralles held his own, anxious not to suffer a repeat of the incident between the duo in race one which saw the Puerto-Rican forced into an error by son of the 1996 F1 World Champion. Lynn overtook teammate Mitchell Gilbert on lap 14 to salvage ninth place after a frustrating race for the Championship leader.

Oliver Rowland is certainly the man on form as the season draws to a close, winning three of the past four races. The nineteen year-old puts his recent improvements down to experience, as he said, �It�s just my time; I�ve been learning and learning and I�ve really improved over the season and with three races from four it could hardly get much better for me so I couldn�t be happier.� Oliver�s excellent form in recent races puts second place in the Championship within his reach as we head to the Championship decider at Silverstone in two weeks' time.

Rowland romps home to victory in race one at Brands Hatch

Oliver Rowland scored his second win of the season in a commanding lights-to-flag victory, heading a Fortec one-two in race one at Brands Hatch today.

Rowland made an excellent start to lead into the first corner, and Atech Reid GP�s Tio Ellinas made a strong start to challenge Championship leader Alex Lynn in second place. Further down the field, Felix Serralles made up a position at the start, passing Dan Wells for sixth place, only to lose it one lap later, Mitchell Gilbert moved up to eighth while InterSteps stars Alex Walker and Ed Jones dropped down the field at the start of the race to twelfth and thirteenth respectively.

Lynn faced a strong challenge from Championship rival Tio Ellinas in the early stages but the Atech driver struggled to find an opportunity to make a pass. As the battle for second continued, Rowland recorded fastest lap after fastest lap as the RSF backed driver built a lead of 3.8 seconds over teammate Alex Lynn. At the mid-race point, Lynn appeared to have the better of Ellinas, moving one second clear of the Cypriot driver but the Fortec star had no answer to Rowland�s pace, as Rowland broke the lap record for the Formula Renault Series, with a time of 1:23.038. InterSteps� Ed Jones attempted to overtake teammate Alex Walker on lap thirteen which ended with Jones spinning off into the gravel causing the safety car to be deployed.

As the race re-started, Rowland�s lead never looked in doubt and despite Ellinas closing in on Lynn once again, he was unable to make a challenge for position and Lynn drove a controlled race to take the second spot on the podium, moving one step closer to Championship victory. Dan Wells struggled at the re-start and Serralles gained a position, only to be pushed into an error on the final lap by Manor Competition�s Josh Hill. An understandably frustrated Serralles recovered to twelfth place while Alex Walker gained a position from the Puerto Rican�s error to round up the top ten.

Speaking after the race, Rowland was delighted with his second victory of the season declaring it a �perfect' result: �Taking my first win at Rockingham has certainly boosted my confidence and the car felt really good, I made a strong start and just built a lead early on and kept pushing � it was perfect. I wasn�t too worried about the re-start; I didn�t expect Alex to take any risks that might compromise his Championship bid.� Lynn shrugged off the early challenge from Ellinas, admitting that his strong Championship lead takes the pressure off him, while the Cypriot driver has it all to do if he is to retain any chance of Championship victory. The result also means that Fortec have won the Teams� Championship after a dominant season and Team Manager Russell Dixon was thrilled with the result: �It�s a great achievement for the team; everyone has worked really hard all season and it has paid off - they thoroughly deserve to win.�

Round 18 of the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship takes place at 1535 local time and will be shown live on ITV4 while full timing is available online at www.tsl-timing.com

Rowland heads another Fortec one-two in second qualifying

Oliver Rowland continued his run of great form in today's second qualifying session, securing his second pole position of the weekend and leading another Fortec one-two.

The session at Brands Hatch began at 1430 local time with the track temperature soaring to 43 degrees at the Kent circuit. All fourteen cars took to the track with approximately ten minutes to go in the session and Oliver Rowland set the first competitive time of the session, only to be stripped of it for exceeding track limits. With around five minutes to go, Championship leader Alex Lynn topped the timesheets with a 1:22.779, ahead of Rowland in second, Championship contender Tio Ellinas in third and Felix Serralles in fourth place. Lynn was unable to improve upon his lap time set on lap four, while Rowland improved one lap later, posting a time of 1:22.515 which proved enough to secure his second pole position of the race weekend, and a double front row lock-out for the Fortec team.

An incident involving Jack Hawksworth and Tio Ellinas caused a red flag towards the end of the session and, with one minute remaining on the clock, the session was stopped and Fortec could celebrate its second front row lock-out of the weekend. The top seven grid positions remained unchanged from this morning�s session with Fortec�s Felix Serralles posting a time of 1:23.895 which sees him start from seventh on the grid for both races tomorrow. Ed Jones was Fortec�s greatest improver in the afternoon session; lap times were slower across the board in the second qualifying session, but Jones�s time of 1:24.202 was enough to move him up to eighth on the grid after finishing in eleventh in this morning�s session. Mitchell Gilbert will start in ninth for both races tomorrow while Alex Walker will start race two from twelfth position as he was unable to repeat the top ten start that he secured in the first session of the day.

The first of Sunday�s two races of the CERTINA Formula Renault UK 2.0 Championship at Brands Hatch begins at 1000 local time and the second race of the day begins at 1535.

Both races will be shown live on ITV4 and a full timing list of today's sessions are available on www.tsl-timing.com

Front row lock out for Fortec at Brands Hatch for race one

This morning's qualifying session saw Oliver Rowland qualify on pole for tomorrow�s first race, ahead of teammate and Championship leader Alex Lynn. Rowland, who scored his first victory at Rockingham qualified two tenths quicker than Lynn as lap times tumbled as the session wore on.

Lynn set an initial benchmark of 1:23.0, matching his second practice time from yesterday�s session almost exactly but as the track wore in, Rowland, Ellinas and Lynn broke the 1:23.0 barrier as the trio traded fastest laps. Rowland moved up to the top of the timesheets with a 1:22.7, and improved further on his final lap to secure pole position with a 1:22.381 and despite Lynn also recording his fastest lap on his final outing, he was unable to challenge his teammate�s pace, clocking a 1:22.580. Lynn starts tomorrow�s first race one grid slot ahead of his Championship rival Tio Ellinas who starts from third.

The remainder of the Fortec drivers were separated by just over seven tenths of a second; Serralles was the leading man in the 1:23s, recording a best time of 1:23.196 � nine tenths quicker than his best practice time � to line him up seventh on the grid for tomorrow morning�s race. Mitchell Gilbert starts from ninth after improving on his last lap to register a time of 1:23.600, while Alex Walker � the InterSteps vice-Champion for 2011 � secured the last top-ten grid slot with a 1:23.623. Ed Jones starts race one of the weekend just behind Walker in eleventh as he was unable to gain positions despite an improvement on his final lap.

Friday practice roundup � Fortec top the timesheets at Brands Hatch

The penultimate Friday practice sessions of the year for the CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship saw Fortec continue its season-long dominance in the Championship; Fortec cars topped the timing sheets in both sessions at an unseasonably hot Brands Hatch race circuit where the track reached a temperature of 38 degrees in the afternoon practice session.

Friday�s morning practice session began at 0935 local time and was twice interrupted by red flags which saw the teams lose around ten to twelve minutes of valuable track time. Jack Hawksworth was the cause of the first stoppage, while Jordan King stopping out on track caused the second red flag of the session a few laps later. With just seven minutes remaining on the clock, Alex Lynn was second, with Oliver Rowland fifth, Ed Jones sixth, Felix Serralles eighth, Alex Walker tenth and Mitchell Gilbert twelfth. Practice plans were slightly compromised by the two stoppages and all six drivers had to maximise the time remaining as they headed back out on track for their final few laps of the morning session. As the timer ran down, all six Fortec drivers improved their lap times; Lynn posted a time of 1:23.564 which saw him top the timesheets of the morning session, while Rowland moved up to third with a 1:24.001, followed by Serralles in fourth � just eight hundredths of a second off Rowland. Despite posting his fastest time on his last lap � a 1:24.542 � Jones lost a few places to finish the session in eighth, with Walker finishing eleventh on a 1:24.856 and Gilbert rounding up the top twelve with a 1:25.190.

The second practice session of the day began a little later than the scheduled 1415 start and was not without incident. Lap times tumbled as the session got underway, with the initial benchmark of a 1:24.700 being replaced by a 1:24.000 at the point when Atech Reid GP driver Geoff Uhrhane, who makes his debut for the team this weekend, caused the third red flag of the day for the Formula Renault 2.0 UK teams. As the session re-started, Lynn broke the 1:24.000 barrier and Oliver Rowland improved from ninth to fourth. In the final laps, Lynn went even faster, clocking a 1:23.001 � half a second quicker than his first practice session time � as he secured his position at the top of the timesheets � over three tenths quicker than Daniel Cammish in second place. Oliver Rowland continued to improve, moving up to third place in the latter stages of the session with a 1:23.368, shaving seven tenths of his best time in this morning�s session. Of all the Fortec drivers, it was Mitchell Gilbert who made the biggest improvement on his morning session time as he recorded a lap of 1:24.258 � nine tenths quicker than his previous best lap of the weekend, while Alex Walker made up seven tenths to post a time of 1:24.135. Felix Serralles struggled to improve in the later stages of the session, spinning a few laps before the end. With minimal damage he re-took to the track but was unable to improve his time from this morning�s session. Similarly, Ed Jones couldn�t find the speed to rival his best time of the morning, finishing the second session in thirteenth place.

Qualifying for Sunday�s first race begins at 0925 local time on Saturday with qualifying for the second race starting at 1430 and full timing coverage can be found on www.tsl-timing.com

2011 CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship Free Practice Session 1 classification

1. 36 Alex Lynn GBR Fortec Motorsports 1:23.564
2. 22 Daniel Cammish GBR Mark Burdett Motorsport 1:23.906
3. 44 Oliver Rowland GBR Fortec Motorsports 1:24.001
4. 0 Felix Serralles PUR Fortec Competition 1:24.090
5. 28 Eftihios Ellinas CYP Atech Reid GP 1:24.302
6. 42 Jordan King GBR Manor Competition 1:24.435
7. 3 Josh Hill GBR Manor Competition 1:24.507
8. 29 Ed Jones UAE Fortec Competition 1:24.542
9. 16 Dan Wells GBR Atech Reid GP 1:24.652
10. 21 Jack Hawksworth GBR Mark Burdett Motorsport 1:24.852
11. 7 Alex Walker GBR Fortec Motorsports 1:24.856
12. 25 Mitchell Gilbert AUS Fortec Motorsports 1:25.190
13. 5 Alice Powell GBR Manor Competition 1:25.762
14. 12 Geoff Uhrhane AUS Atech Reid GP 1:26. 730

2011 CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship Free Practice Session 2 classification

1. 36 Alex Lynn GBR Fortec Motorsports 1:23.001
2. 22 Daniel Cammish GBR Mark Burdett Motorsport 1:23.359
3. 44 Oliver Rowland GBR Fortec Motorsports 1:23.368
4. 42 Jordan King GBR Manor Competition 1:23.376
5. 28 Eftihios Ellinas CYP Atech Reid GP 1:23.599
6. 3 Josh Hill GBR Manor Competition 1:23.699
7. 5 Alice Powell GBR Manor Competition 1:24.033
8. 7 Alex Walker GBR Fortec Motorsports 1:24.135
9. 25 Mitchell Gilbert AUS Fortec Motorsports 1:24.258
10. 0 Felix Serralles PUR Fortec Competition 1:24.611
11. 21 Jack Hawksworth GBR Mark Burdett Motorsport 1:24.727
12. 16 Dan Wells GBR Atech Reid GP 1:24.911
13. 29 Ed Jones UAE Fortec Competition 1:25.194
14. 12 Geoff Uhrhane AUS Atech Reid GP 1:26.242

Fortec�s Renault 2.0 UK team looks ahead to an �extremely important weekend�

Fortec�s Formula Renault 2.0 UK team heads to Brands Hatch this weekend for the penultimate meeting of the 2011 CERTINA Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship with the distinct possibility of making history. After a strong weekend at Rockingham across the board for Fortec�s drivers, the team is relishing the weekend ahead.

Rounds 15 and 16 at Rockingham Motor Speedway saw the victory spoils shared between Championship leader Alex Lynn and third placed man Oliver Rowland who scored his maiden victory in race one of the weekend. Lynn�s victory in race two was his eleventh of the season, equalling James Matthews� 17 year record, and, with four races remaining this season, Lynn is in an extremely strong position to break Matthews� record after an unprecedentedly dominant season. However, with a string of great performances and his first win under his belt, Rowland is unlikely to make it easy for his teammate and Lynn will certainly have to fight hard for that all important twelfth victory.

Mitchell Gilbert will also be looking to capitalise on his run of great form as he looks to hunt down current fourth placed man Jack Hawksworth. Gilbert trails the ATech Reid GP driver by just 24 points having consistently outscored Jack in recent races, and, with four races remaining, Mitchell is in a good position to overhaul Hawkworth�s points advantage.

Alex Walker is set to make another outing for the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Team this weekend. The 16 year-old who secured second place in the InterSteps Championship at Croft last weekend impressed on his debut for the Renault UK team, scoring in both races as he made the step up with relative ease. With the InterSteps season now over, Walker is looking to gain experience and raise his profile further within the sport.

Team Manager Russell Dixon is optimistic about the weekend ahead as Lynn closes in on a possible Championship victory: �This weekend is extremely important for the team and Alex�s Championship bid. Although Alex can�t win the Championship this weekend, two strong performances could make it difficult for Tio to make catch him in the season decider at Silverstone. We need a consistent weekend and I�m confident that all four Fortec drivers will perform well.�

Theodore joins Fortec for Silverstone season finale

James Theodore is to take to the cockpit of a Fortec car at the Protyre Formula Renault BARC season finale at Silverstone on October 15th and 16th � a weekend that also features rounds of the British Touring Cars Championship.

Theodore will drive the car vacated by Kieran Vernon who will race in the Porsche Championship on the same weekend. James has previous Formula Renault BARC experience having competed in the 2009 and 2010 Formula Renault BARC Championships, finishing third overall in 2010. So far this year Theodore has only competed in one round of the Championship at Oulton Park Island where he scored an impressive fifth place for the MTech Lite team.

James�s proven racing prowess makes him a valuable new addition to the Fortec squad and Formula Renault BARC Team Manager Steve Lynch is excited about the latest developments, �James has proven that he can win races in BARC and I am very pleased to have completed a deal that sees him join our team. He will be able to come in and be on the pace from the outset and I am hopeful that he can produce some strong race results.�

James is due to test at Silverstone in the run-up to the final weekend of the Protyres Formula Renault BARC Championship which takes place on October 15th and 16th at Silverstone.

Two wins from three sees Dennis crowned Champion for Fortec

A controlled and confident performance from Jake Dennis saw him take victory in the first and third races of the Dunlop InterSteps Championship weekend at Croft, enabling him to seal Championship victory as he finished on the podium in every race, winning twice and finishing second in race two.

The Fortec team arrived at Croft for the final weekend of the Dunlop InterSteps Championship safe in the knowledge that one of their drivers was guaranteed Championship victory � the question was who? Heading into the weekend Fortec�s Jake Dennis led teammate Alex Walker by 30 points, and, with three races over two days at the Yorkshire venue, Walker was determined to challenge for the title that remained well within his reach. Meanwhile Ed Jones began his weekend just four points behind James Peace in fourth and thirteen points off Patryk Szczerbinski in third place, making a Fortec 1-2-3 well within the realms of possibility.

Saturday�s 30-minute qualifying session saw Falcon Motorsport�s Patryk Szczerbinski claim pole position for Saturday�s afternoon race with Championship leader Dennis starting second, Ed Jones third and Alex Walker starting from fifth on the grid. Szczerbinski made a clean start to maintain position but Dennis refused to let the young Pole build a lead. The pair were separated by less than half a second by lap four and it was clear that Dennis was keen to make a move sooner rather than later. The pass came on lap seven of the thirteen lap race and Dennis quickly built a lead of over a second and while Szczerbinski closed the gap in the final two laps, Dennis had the victory all wrapped up as he moved one step closer to Championship victory. Dennis�s teammate Ed Jones who enjoyed a weekend racing for the Eurocup Formula Renault team at Paul Ricard last weekend maintained his third place early on as he kept the leading pair within his sights. Lap five saw Jones lose a position to James Peace � Jones�s closest Championship rival � and, despite Jones�s best efforts, he was unable to reclaim third spot, eventually finishing a close fourth. Meanwhile Alex Walker, having impressed for the Formula Renault 2.0 UK team at Rockingham last weekend, was unable to gain ground in the first race of the weekend, finishing in fifth, nearly nine seconds clear of Falcon�s Ash Robinson.

The grid for race two featured the same faces in the top three positions while Alex Walker started one row further back in seventh place. Szczerbinski got away well again with Dennis holding position in second and Jones in third while Walker made up a position to sixth. Although the gap between Dennis and Szczerbinksi rarely grew to over a second, the Fortec man was unable to re-create his overtake in race one and had to settle for the second step of the podium in race two as Szczerbinski took a lights-to- flag victory. Jones initially kept up the pace with the front-runners but struggled to keep up with the pair in the closing stages of the race, holding off a late challenge from James Peace as he drove home to claim the third spot on the podium. Alex Walker drove a solid race to finish a clear sixth after his first lap move, but with a fifth and a sixth place against a win and a second place for Dennis, Championship victory for Walker became mathematically impossible as Dennis�s consistency was rewarded with the Drivers� title.

The Champion began race three from pole position with Szczerbinski in second, Jones third and Championship runner-up Alex Walker in sixth. Dennis made a good start and quickly built a lead on the second placed Falcon driver, eventually taking a commanding lights-to-flag victory to end a perfect weekend for the newly crowned Champion. Jones had a strong race to finish in third, just six points off his teammate and nearly twelve seconds clear of fourth placed Alex Walker whose ambitious move up the inside of James Peace caused the Motaworld driver to retire early from the race on lap eight. Walker�s fourth place and Peace�s retirement ensured that he held on the second place in the Championship whilst also securing Jones�s fourth place.

A fantastic season finale for Fortec means that Jake Dennis wins the Dunlop InterSteps Drivers� Championship with teammate Alex Walker in second. Falcon Motorsport�s Patryk Szczerbinski finished in third place and Fortec�s Ed Jones leapfrogged James Peace to claim fourth spot for the team after a strong weekend.

Fortec�s InterSteps Team Manager was thrilled with the result from this weekend: �I�m overjoyed with the Championship win. It�s been a great season for us; Jake has been consistently fantastic throughout the year and thoroughly deserves the Championship victory. The team have all done a great job and we should be very proud of what we have achieved this year.� Steve then gave special thanks to Alex Fleming who has engineered the cars this season to an excellent standard.

Rain hampers Fortec chances in race three at Donington

Steady rain at the start of race three of the Cooper Tires British F3 Championship at Donington Park saw many drivers opting to start from the pitlane as they made last minute tyre changes to cope with an increasingly wet track. Those who originally chose wet tyres profited hugely as the remainder of the field was compromised either by starting from the pits or by risking slicks, only to stop early for wets.

Jack Harvey took an early lead in the race but teammate Kevin Magnussen eventually passed him and made use of the clear air to extend an impressive lead. Harry Tincknell was the leading Fortec driver throughout the forty-minute race, as he made his way through the rain up to sixth, but Tincknell ran wide, losing position and rejoined in tenth with Lucas Foresti hot on his heels in eleventh. Retirements further up the field saw the pair gain positions, with Tincknell eventually finishing eighth but a late tyre change on the grid meant that the Devon racer incurred a ten-second penalty dropping him down to fourteenth on the timesheets. Tincknell�s penalty meant that Lucas Foresti was the top finisher for Fortec in eighth position following on from a great drive earlier today.

Fahmi Ilyas had another tough race as he struggled to make up ground on the midfield and the wet conditions eventually got the better of the Fortec driver who found himself in the gravel, ending his race prematurely. An early pit stop for wets meant that Will Buller�s race was compromised from the outset as the Scarva-born racer struggled to gain ground on his rivals, ruining his chances of a points haul in the final race of the weekend as he finished in a lonely 16th place. Magnussen�s victory sees him leapfrog Buller to third place as Buller now lies in fourth, twelve points adrift of Magnussen and thirteen points off Huertas in second, meaning that the battle for second is still wide open as we head to the season finale at Silverstone.

Top ten finish for three Fortec drivers in race two at Donington

After a tough race yesterday, the drivers were in a strong position to perform well in this morning�s race of the Cooper Tires British F3 Championship. Results from yesterday�s race saw Will Buller start from pole with Harry Tincknell in second, Lucas Foresti in seventeenth and Fahmi Ilyas in eighteenth.

After a brief rain shower before the race, the track was slippery and most drivers elected to start the race on wet tyres as grip was at a minimum, with some drivers struggling to keep the car on-track on the parade lap. A strong start from Double R Racing�s Valtteri Bottas in his first British F3 weekend saw him take the lead with Buller in second place. Meanwhile, Tincknell suffered wheelspin off the start causing him drop down the order to fourth. Foresti gained ground at the start, while Ilyas held position.

While Bottas pulled away from the rest of the pack early on, there was a lot of action down the field as Foresti gained several places andDouble-R Racing�s Scott Pye was hot on the heels of Will Buller in second. The tussle between Buller and Pye saw them lose ground and fall prey to Fortec�s Harry Tincknell who seized his opportunity to pass the pair, as Bottas continued to extend his lead. Buller quickly re-took second place from Tincknell who was being hunted down by Scott Pye. The battle for third saw Tincknell and Pye come together on lap ten, with Tincknell briefly leaving the track and Pye being forced to retire from the race.

Tincknell recovered to fifth while Will Buller held off a late challenge from T-Sport�s Menasheh Idafar to take the second spot on the podium, fourteen seconds off Bottas, after an eventful race. Lucas Foresti drove an excellent race to finish seventh after starting back in 17th, while Fahmi Ilyas struggled in the conditions as he drove home to finish 17th.

The results see Buller reclaim third place in the Championship, three points behind Huertas who moved up to second place after a strong race yesterday.

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Rowland wins to take second in the Championship

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Lynn tops the timesheets again

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Fortec finish on top in first practice � Formula Renault BARC

Lynn leads the way at Silverstone

Leader Lynn aims for double victory at Silverstone season finale

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Strong race for Serralles in a mixed day for Eurocup trio

Rossi secures third in the Championship in action-packed season finale

Super start secures second place for Foresti

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Foresti fifth from Buller at Silverstone in race one

Foresti heads Fortec four at Silverstone

Rossi starts from third in race one in Barcelona

Fortec�s Eurocup trio qualify well in Spain

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British Formula Three Silverstone Friday Practice Roundup

World Series by Renault Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Practice Roundup

Fortec stars shortlisted for prestigious award

FR3.5 team hopes for more success in Spain

Eurocup team �pushing to the maximum� in Barcelona

F3 squad feeling strong for Silverstone

Rowland does the double at Brands Hatch

Rowland romps home to victory in race one at Brands Hatch

Rowland heads another Fortec one-two in second qualifying

Front row lock out for Fortec at Brands Hatch for race one

Friday practice roundup � Fortec top the timesheets at Brands Hatch

Fortec�s Renault 2.0 UK team looks ahead to an �extremely important weekend�

Theodore joins Fortec for Silverstone season finale

Two wins from three sees Dennis crowned Champion for Fortec

Rain hampers Fortec chances in race three at Donington

Top ten finish for three Fortec drivers in race two at Donington

Fortec ready for Rockingham rounds

Solid points haul for Fortec in Pau

Race one

Race two - Grand Prix de Pau

More wins and podiums for Fortec at Brands Hatch

Qualifying

Race one

Race two

Race three