Will Bratt conquered driving rain and very difficult track conditions at Knockhill Circuit in Scotland en route to a richly deserved fourth position during round eight of the Formula Renault UK Championship.
The 18-year-old Bloxham School pupil, who sat no less than five separate A-level exams the following day, produced one of his most impressive outings of the season so far during the second of today’s races, rising from ninth on the grid to fourth place and missing out on his second Formula Renault UK career podium by just 1.8 seconds.
Round eight was notable, however, for a serious three-car collision on the start/finish straight which occurred close to the pitlane entrance. On the grounds of safety, the Clerk of the Course declared the race a result after just seven laps and, thankfully, none of the drivers involved were badly injured.
In the earlier seventh round, which was re-started after eight laps when former series leader Jeremy Metcalfe went off the circuit fairly heavily, Will ran strongly in the top six after a tremendous start from row three but was forced into a spin on the fourth lap after being hit from behind as he made a bid to pass rival Sam Bird.
Recovering at the tail of the field, the Adderbury teenager faced a tough battle to recover any championship points from the race at the re-start but he did well to make his way into the top 18 before then being promoted to 16th on the results sheets after Josh Fisher and Franck Mailleux were both excluded for separate infringements.
Commenting on the weekend, the Scorpio ace said: “I’m quite happy really, fourth was a great result and for the team as a whole it was good to see David (Epton; team-mate) finish in the top six as well in the second race.
“I was happy with my pace in the first race too and as Bird got on the kerbs I saw my opportunity to pass but then another car hit me from behind and there was nothing I could do about the inevitable spin. At least we salvaged some points from the race and we’re still in good shape in the championship standings.
“I’ve got five important exams tomorrow and then there will only be a couple more after that which will mean the A-levels will be out of the way in time for the Snetterton test in two weeks. The next two rounds at Croft will hopefully be good for us as we went well there in the winter series last year, I’m feeling quite confident.”
Will’s next on-track action will take place at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk as part of an official Formula Renault UK test day on Tuesday, 27th June. Rounds nine and 10 of the 2006 season will then follow on 15th/16th July at Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire, with a pre-event test to be held on Friday, 14th July.
2006 Formula Renault UK Championship Provisional Driver Standings (after rounds 7&8):
1st Patrick Hogan, 196pts; 2nd Sebastian Hohenthal, 163pts; 3rd James Sutton, 149pts; 4th Jeremy Metcalfe, 143pts; 5th Cheng Cong Fu, 141pts;
7th Will Bratt, 121pts
