SUCCESSFUL FIRST OUTING FOR NEW FORMULA RENAULT 2.0 RACE CAR

Manor Competition was among the first to put the New Formula Renault 2.0 race car through its paces with a successful test session at Pembrey Circuit in South Wales recently.

Current Formula Renault UK Champion Dean Smith, who hopes to progress to Formula 2 this season, was tasked with piloting the new 210bhp car during a private test session for the Newark-based squad.

Commenting on the test session Manor Competition Team Manager Tony Shaw said: “The test went really well and we’re very happy with the car and its build quality. Dean [Smith] racked up around 75 laps in the new car on a wet track and it ran well throughout. He was happy with how the car drove and, although we had no official times, we all got the impression that it was running pretty quick.”

This week also saw a number of the teams testing at the 1.94-mile Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire. Fortec Motorsport chose Oli Webb to test its car while Team Firstair’s car was under the watchful eye of Dean Stoneman. ATECH GP’s latest signing Nick Yelloly took the wheel for them with CRS Racing electing Michael Lyons and Mark Burdett Motorsport handing controls over to Robbie Kerr.

The new car, which makes its competitive debut at the start of the 2010 Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship, features a new chassis, more powerful 2.0-litre engine and for the first time sees drivers using a seven-speed paddle-shift sequential gearbox. It is being built at the Renaultsport factory in Dieppe, France.

The opening rounds of the 2010 Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship take place at Hampshire’s Thruxton circuit on 3rd/4th April.