Fortec Motorsport’s Sebastian Hohenthal (Northampton) is provisionally the 2006 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Champion after winning the 20th and final round of the prestigious single-seater Championship at Silverstone National circuit on Sunday, 15th October. The Swede ends the season tied on 481 points with long-time leader Patrick Hogan (Killiney, Co Dublin) but wins the title by virtue of having more victories, seven to the AKA Lemac ace’s six. This is the closest finish in Formula Renault UK history.

However, the 21-year-old may have to face an appearance before the Motor Sports Council following an appeal by Hogan. Although the race meeting Stewards rejected Hogan’s appeal against the Clerk of the Course’s decision after the race, the Irishman intends to take his case to the MSC. Hogan alleges his rival failed to drive correctly during a mid-race Safety Car period.

Hohenthal won the race by 1.293s from his team-mate Sam Bird (Claygate, Surrey) with Manor Motorsport’s Franck Mailleux (Hull) in third for the second time that day. Hogan set the fastest lap of the race at 55.540s (106.23mph) on his way to fourth place, leaving him three points adrift of Hohenthal. Bird was later excluded by the Clerk of the Course for his actions at the restart after a two-lap Safety Car period, promoting the Irishman to third in the amended classification. This decision was upheld on appeal by the meeting Stewards.

With Hogan starting the race four places behind second-placed Hohenthal, the Irishman knew he needed to make a fast start and did exactly that by passing Manor’s Cheng Cong Fu (Oxford) and Scorpio Motorsport’s Will Bratt (Banbury, Oxon) on the first lap after they ran wide at Becketts. However, Hohenthal made an equally good start to pass pole-sitter Bird, despite his efforts to squeeze the Swede on the main straight.

Lap one also saw the B4 Group Graduate Cup decided when Markus Niemelä’s steering rack broke causing him to run into both contenders for the rookie title. Fortec’s Fabio Onidi (Northampton) recovered to resume the race but Coles Racing’s Dean Smith (Wolverhampton) was left in the gravel trap at Brooklands, handing the title to Onidi.

Scorpio’s David Epton (Fleet, Hants) took advantage to climb two places to eighth, while AKA Lemac’s Jeremy Metcalfe (Fleet, Hants) moved ahead of Cheng into sixth. The biggest gain was made by 2006 Formula Renault BARC Champion Richard Singleton (Conway, Wales) who leapt from 21st on the grid to 14th by the end of the opening tour, just two places behind Formula Renault BARC Vice-Champion Jordan Oakes (Hopton, Norfolk).

Hohenthal built a one-second lead by the fifth lap and was looking comfortable ahead of Bird, who filled the mirrors of his team-mate for the duration of the race. Hogan was unable to make any headway against Mailleux and with the positions as they stood, the Irishman knew he would miss out on the title.

The Safety Car was deployed on lap five to retrieve the stricken car of Smith as recovery vehicles were unable to reach him. At the restart, an incorrect gear selection left Bird trailing 1.8s behind Hohenthal as the Swede made a clean break in the lead. This gap soon narrowed as Bird equalled his fastest lap to that point to slash sixth-tenths of a second from his team-mate’s lead.

With Hogan needing to make up places, he made his first attempt to pass Mailleux at Brooklands on lap 10 but out-braked himself and ran wide, forcing him to defend against Metcalfe who had already passed Bratt on lap eight. Meanwhile, Position 1 Racing team-mates Armaan Ebrahim (Woking, Surrey) and Ronnie Theiler (Faversham, Kent) swapped positions with the Indian driver taking 20th place.

Manor’s Joao Vasconcelos (Anston, Sheffield) got the better of Jordan Oakes on lap eight leaving the two Formula Renault BARC graduates to scrap it out for 13th place. Oakes was able to keep pace with Vasconcelos, pressing the Portuguese as Singleton dropped off the pace slightly.

On lap 14 of the revised 24-lap race distance, Hogan set the fastest lap of the race to claim a potentially crucial two bonus points. But with Hohenthal leading, the Irishman knew he had to pass both Mailleux and Bird and to deny Hohenthal the title. The Frenchman responded by extending his advantage over Hogan by 0.820s on the following lap as Hogan made a small error and his title hopes faded further.

With four laps to go, the gaps in the leading quintet looked settled as Hohenthal checked off the miles to the title. Meanwhile, Ebrahim made up a further place as Russell Racing’s Matt Russell ran wide on the exit of Becketts allowing the 17-year-old through into 16th. Welch Motorsport’s Daniel Welch (Fleet, Hants) pitted with a damaged front wing, while Hogan was now 3.5s adrift of the leader.

A collision between Robertshaw Racing’s Alex Williams (Newcastle) and Comtec Racing’s Pippa Mann (Aldeburgh, Suffolk) under braking for Brooklands forced both into retirement. The incident also forced yellow flags to be waved and negate one of the best overtaking opportunities on the 1.64-mile circuit.

On the penultimate lap, Hogan ran wide at Becketts to again fall into the clutches of his team-mate Metcalfe and end his Championship hopes. Hohenthal safely negotiated the final lap to win the title with his seventh victory of the season.

The Clerk of the Course penalised Bird for his actions at the restart and he was excluded from the race classification. This promoted every driver by one position and Cheng Cong Fu’s promotion to fourth place means he finishes third overall in the Championship, edging ahead of Bird by just a single point.

Commenting on his title victory immediately after the race, Hohenthal said: “It’s unbelievable to win the Formula Renault UK title and I have to thank Fortec Motorsport for doing such a great job all season. Since the first race at Brands Hatch I have been focussed on this meeting at Silverstone and winning the Championship. The turning point, I think, was at Croft (where Hohenthal reduced Hogan’s lead by 26 points) and since then I have kept winning races and closing the gap all the time until today.”

Hohenthal, who follows in the steps of former Champions such as F1 stars Kimi Raikonnen and Lewis Hamilton, added: “I was nervous on the grid before the race and have been having a few sleepless nights in the last two weeks. But it’s good to have some nerves and feel like you are really living. Racing is my life and this means everything to me. I hope now to move up to a higher formula and win more titles.”

After being promoted to second place, Mailleux said: “I had a set-up on the car that would allow us to start quickly and I was able to stay very close behind Sam for the early few laps. When Sebastian got a big lead after the Safety Car it made winning the race difficult but getting on the podium again is a good way to finish the season. I didn’t think I would struggle so much in the early races of the year and thought I could challenge for the top three so overall it has not been as I expected, but I’m still happy to be on the podium today.”

Commenting the day after the race, Hogan said: “It’s a great shame for any Championship to end this way, especially one that has been so close. But in my eyes there was an incident under Safety Car conditions and that’s why I’m taking my case to the MSC.”

Drivers’ Championship standings after Round 20 - provisional

1 Sebastian Hohenthal SWE Fortec Motorsport 481 pts

2 Patrick Hogan IRL AKA Lemac 481 pts

3 Cheng Cong Fu CHN Manor Motorsport 374 pts

4 Sam Bird GBR Fortec Motorsport 373 pts

5 Jeremy Metcalfe GBR AKA Lemac 343 pts

6 James Sutton GBR Fortec Motorsport 314 pts

7 Markus Niemelä FIN Mark Burdett Motorsport 274 pts

8 Will Bratt GBR Scorpio Motorsport 263 pts

9 Dean Smith GBR Coles Racing 211 pts

10 Franck Mailleux FRA Manor Motorsport 204 pts

B4 Group Graduate Cup Standings after Round 20 – provisional

1 Fabio Onidi ITA Fortec Motorsport 163 pts

2 Dean Smith GBR Coles Racing 155 pts

3 Daniel Roos SWE Nexa Racing 112 pts

(this article was taken from autoracingdaily.com)

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