Driver Database News

British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star Josh Webster just missed out on claiming the 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship title at Silverstone National Circuit over the weekend, 15th/16th October, despite racing to his third victory of the season and claiming a double podium.

Going into the all-important final two rounds of the campaign 19 points shy of the top of the table, the 17-year-old from Stowmarket needed a huge weekend to get anywhere close to achieving his dream…and it so nearly came good after a superb effort from the Fortec Motorsport driver.

Determined to give himself the best chance possible of overturning points leader Dino Zamparelli, the Suffolk racer qualified for the first of the weekend’s encounters on pole position and made a tremendous start to Saturday’s 18-lapper.

Fending off initial pressure from team-mate Archie Hamilton, Josh delivered an absolute masterclass at the front by stretching away to a four second winning margin. Importantly, he took two further bonus points for setting the fastest lap of the race with a time of 56.402 seconds (104.61mph) – this took him to within 10 points of Zamparelli going into the final round on Sunday.

Still with a lot of hard work ahead, and requiring a good dose of fortune too, the Nine Telecom Group, Admiral Group, Integra ICT, Sunwise, Melbek Technology, Everyone Active and Flying Saucer backed racer couldn’t have tried any harder in the televised 12th round.

Lining up on the front-row again, this time in second position, Josh made another great start to take the lead but pole-sitter Matt Mason dived back through into Becketts with a late pass to push the MSA Academy driver back to second place.

Piling on the pressure to Mason lap after lap, while also repelling an attack from Kourosh Khani behind, Josh pushed as hard as possible to force an error from the leader who had to defend hard and hold very tight lines in order to remain at the front.

Midway through the race, with Zamparelli back in sixth position, Josh literally had one hand on the champion’s trophy but by the time the chequered flag fell on lap 18 his rival had made his way through into the top three which was enough to give the Antel Motorsport driver the title.

Understandably disappointed, Josh couldn’t have given anything more or tried any harder – his exceptional weekend meaning he concludes his second season of car racing with a tally of nine podiums from 10 race finishes, an outstanding record. He also set the fastest lap on four occasions and qualified on pole position twice.

“Being at a points disadvantage due to having had two non-finishes, compared to Dino’s one, made it tough but it was good to take it down to the wire”, said Josh, “It just didn’t come to us this time but congratulations to Dino and Antel, they’ve been quick all year. I’m just looking forward to next year now, hopefully we can get the budget to be racing – my sponsors this year have been fantastic.

“I have to say a huge thank you to Nine Telecom, Admiral Group, Integra ICT, Sunwise, Melbek Technology, Everyone Active and Flying Saucer. Thanks to the guys at Fortec for their hard work and to my mum, dad and sisters Leah and Fern – without their support I wouldn’t be racing at all. For this weekend in particular, thanks to Mike Rockall and Whittlebury Hall for their fantastic hospitality.”

He added: “The championship has been so competitive this year and to come into the final round with 10 points between us, it shows how close we are. We both wanted it just as much as each other, in the end he just managed to pip me but I’m pleased we’ve put on a good show this year.”

Final 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings:
Champion: Dino Zamparelli, 295pts; Vice-Champion: Josh Webster, 286pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship title contender Josh Webster kept his hopes of claiming the 2011 crown alive at Thruxton on Saturday, 3rd September, with a brace of hard-earned podium finishes.

Hot on the heels of being invited by the prestigious British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) to be one of its latest ‘Rising Stars’, the Stowmarket 17-year-old raced brilliantly to third place in each encounter at the 2.35-mile Hampshire circuit after clutch problems compromised his starts on each occasion.

Despite being disappointed at not being able to challenge for victory this weekend, Josh’s sixth and seventh podiums of the year do help set the scene for a mouth-watering season finale at Silverstone in mid-October.

In order to take the championship he will need to overturn a 19 point deficit to series leader Dino Zamparelli. Despite having finished on the podium in seven of the 10 races so far, Josh is at a distinct disadvantage due to the fact he has two unfortunate retirements compared to his rival’s one.

“I want to win every time I go out but two thirds have definitely kept the championship alive for us”, said the Suffolk racer, “I am disappointed we couldn’t take a win this weekend, we didn’t have the pace I expected, but finishing on the podium twice isn’t a disaster at all. Plus I’ve been invited to be a BRDC Rising Star which is a massive honour, I’m really proud to be part of the club.

“I did struggle with the starts, each time I was mobbed into the chicane and dropped to fifth or sixth so I had to race quite hard to get back onto the podium. We later found out there was a problem with the clutch though. We’re looking ahead to Silverstone now, it’s one of my favourite tracks and I know we can still win the championship from here – so that’s what I’m going out to try and do.”

Qualifying didn’t quite go according to plan for the Nine Telecom Group, Admiral Group, Integra ICT, Sunwise, Melbek Technology, Everyone Active and Flying Saucer-backed driver as he missed out on picking up the essential ‘tow’ required at Thruxton for the quickest lap times. Even so, he managed to secure fourth on the grid for round nine and an improved third on the grid for round 10.

With 35 sponsors and guests looking on, Josh headed into the opening encounter aiming to get to the front of the pack as quickly as possible but the aforementioned clutch issue – unidentified at that point – meant he wasn’t able to make one of his usually sharp getaways.

The net result was that he was attacked from all sides heading through Allard and into the complex, slipping to sixth place but battling back superbly into fifth on the first lap and then moving back into the top four on lap two.

Chasing down third placed James Thorp, both drivers then gained a place at the expense of Kourosh Khani who dropped back from second. Before Josh had an opportunity to try and get fully on terms with Thorp though, the race was stopped following a two-car incident at half-distance. With the result declared from the end of lap eight, Josh took third just 0.7 seconds adrift of second place.

Another frustrating start in round 10 dropped Josh from third to fifth but he mounted a great recovery once more and after passing Khani for fourth position on lap two, he then took third from Steven Durrant on lap four. By the time the MSA Academy driver had fought his way through to third though, the top two had broken clear so he focused on claiming third and more good points.

Protyre Formula Renault BARC now takes a six week break from action ahead of the grand finale, rounds 11 and 12 of the season, which will be contested over the weekend 15th/16th October at Silverstone National Circuit in Northamptonshire.

Marking the biggest race meeting of the year for Josh and his rival competitors, the concluding event of the campaign will run as support to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Round 12 of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship will therefore receive live television coverage on Freeview, cable and digital satellite channel ITV4 and in High Definition on the ITV4 HD channel.

Provisional 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings (after Rd10):
1st Dino Zamparelli, 243pts; 2nd Josh Webster, 224pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

First year Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship racer Zaamin Jaffer endured a problematic outing at Croft in North Yorkshire over the weekend, 23rd/24th July, but despite a serious run of bad luck the Indian star still managed to climb up into seventh position in the driver standings.

Right from the off in unofficially timed testing, the 21-year-old Hillspeed driver encountered troubles which blighted his potential for the seventh and eighth rounds of the season. Even so, he remained focused and committed and is one of just three drivers in the championship to have scored in every race so far in 2011.

Gearbox issues in testing hampered Zaamin’s preparations but the misfortune continued in qualifying on Saturday when he was badly baulked by another driver and the ensuing contact led to one of his brand new slick tyres coming off the rim of the wheel.

Forced, therefore, to run only three new tyres and one used tyre as a replacement, the Dubai-based driver finished the session an uncharacteristic 12th quickest and in session two he had to settle for an even more frustrating 16th fastest.

Just when it seemed as though Zaamin must have encountered every bit of bad luck possible, more arose ahead of the opening race on Sunday – round seven – when an electrical glitch caused his engine to cut-out as he circulated on the green flag formation lap.

By the time he was able to get his car fired back up again, the race had already begun and the field had completed almost half a lap. Running very competitively, Zaamin caught the rear of the tail quickly and by lap six he was into 15th place. He went on to gain two more positions before the finish to secure a 13th place result.

“Whatever could go wrong this weekend did”, said Zaamin, “The trouble started in testing straight away in the morning, we had gearbox problems and then in qualifying the tyre came off the rim so I was already on the back-foot then with three new tyres compared to everyone else being on four.

“We struggled through the left-handers because of the old tyre we had to run but we did manage to salvage 12th in the first qualifying, which wasn’t bad. On the green flag lap though before the race, the engine cut-out and I was well behind when I finally got going with everyone else already halfway around the first lap.”

Round eight was a largely uneventful race for the Active PR-backed driver although he was in a tight scrap over 10th place with a total of five cars. Overtaking proved to be at a premium and Zaamin had to settle for 14th position in the end.

“In race two our fate was decided from the start really, beginning in 16th place”, he added, “I didn’t expect much, we got a couple of places but then got stuck at the end of a queue of five cars. We really need to give it our all in the final two events and try and get onto that podium.”

Next on the 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship calendar is a visit to Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire for rounds nine and 10 of the season. The one-day event will take place six weeks from now on Saturday, 3d September.

Provisional 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings (after Rd8):
7th Zaamin Jaffer, 94pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Josh Webster delivered an outstanding performance on his first ever competitive appearance at the challenging Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire on Saturday, 28th May – the teenage star taking his second win of the 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship and, with it, the series lead.

By far the best weekend of the season so far for the 17-year-old, Stowmarket-based Josh remained fantastically well composed despite red flag stoppages in both rounds five and six to claim victory in the opening encounter, along with the fastest lap, and a strong second place in race two.

With the midway point in the championship now reached, the Nine Telecom Group, Admiral Group, Integra ICT, Sunwise, Melbek Technology, Everyone Active and Flying Saucer-supported driver is 19 points clear at the top of the standings for his Fortec Motorsport team.

“It’s been an amazing weekend, I’m so happy to be leading the championship”, said the Suffolk ace, “The team has done a fantastic job, the car has been absolutely awesome, and to take a win, second place and fastest lap in the first race too – well, it couldn’t have been much better. I’m really happy.”

Arriving at Oulton Park some 17 points adrift of the championship lead, Josh aimed to close the gap as much as possible but little could he have expected the turn-around he achieved – especially with the incident-packed nature of the two races.

In qualifying, the MSA Academy driver just missed out on pole position for round five by 0.1 seconds but importantly secured a front-row starting slot for both races thanks to his customary consistency and sparkling pace.

Making a sensational start to round five to immediately grab the lead, Josh looked well placed to control the action from the front but on lap three the Safety Car was deployed due to an incident at the hairpin. Soon after, the race was stopped and a re-run over a planned distance of seven laps was declared by officials.

Prior to the re-start, a few minutes of rainfall led to the track surface being particularly tricky but Josh handled the situation tremendously. Getting a phenomenal start, he was instantly able to find the grip and determine how hard to push and by the end of lap one held a superb two second lead.

Unchallenged at the front, he led by 2.6 seconds into lap four but due to another incident – this time at Lakeside – the race was red flagged soon after and a result declared from the order at the end of lap three. Josh therefore claimed his second victory of the season and became the first driver in 2011 to secure more than a single win. He also took two bonus points for the fastest race lap.

Moving him to within just one point of the championship lead, Josh had his sights set on more silverware for round six and at the start he managed to take the lead from second on the grid once again before opening up a one second advantage over the first 2.2-miles of racing. As in race one though, red flags were shown due to a multi-car tangle and so the action was annulled on lap four.

After a short break, round six re-started and this time Josh was just shaded into the first corner by category mainstay Kourosh Khani. He remained in close company throughout though and took the chequered flag a mere 0.9 seconds away from another win, in turn keeping experienced Formula Renault racer Dino Zamparelli at bay to surge to the top of the driver standings.

“It was quite difficult at the front in the first race, half the track was wet and half was dry, and with nobody ahead to help judge braking distances or turning points it was tricky”, said Josh, “The car has been immense this weekend though, the guys at Fortec have done an awesome job.”

Josh now has eight long weeks to wait for the start of the second half of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship with rounds seven and eight of the 2011 season set to take place at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire on 23rd/24th July.

Provisional 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings (after Rd6):
1st Josh Webster, 144pts; 2nd Archie Hamilton, 125pts; 3rd Kieran Vernon, 123pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

BRDC Rising Star, Alice Powell, was one of 800 guests who attended the opening of Silverstone circuit’s state-of-the-art new Pit, Paddock and Conference complex – The Silverstone Wing.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, KG, who is President in Chief of the BRDC, (pictured here with Alice) formally opened the new building that represents the second stage of a multi-million pound investment in the Home of British Motor Racing and heralds an exciting new era for British motor sport.

The official opening ceremony took guests on an evocative journey through the history of Silverstone, including appearances by many of the biggest names in the history of British motor sport. Five of Britain’s six living Formula World Champions – John Surtees OBE, Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, Nigel Mansell OBE, Damon Hill OBE and Jenson Button MBE – were in attendance, along with fellow Formula One luminaries, Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Frank Williams, Christian Horner, Ross Brawn, David Coulthard and Murray Walker.

The worlds of MotoGP and World Superbikes were also represented at the launch, by a host of Britain’s best riders, including Cal Crutchlow, Jonathan Rea and James Toseland, who showed their support for their home circuit and the stunning new facility.

Following the opening ceremony the guests, who also included BRDC members and selected media, enjoyed exploring the new complex, which includes 41 garages, a race control building, a podium, media centre, hospitality and VIP spectator zones.

Alice said of the event and on being part of motorsport history, ” I was honoured to be invited by the BRDC to come to the opening of the “Wing”. To be in a room with such great racing drivers and people was incredible. The facilities that Silverstone and the BRDC have produce are outstanding and I really can’t wait to race there in August and October.”

Alice is now preparing for her next race, which is in two weeks (June 4th and 5th), at Oulton Park.

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Indian racing star Zaamin Jaffer produced a pair of a consistently strong race performances at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit over the weekend, 14th/15th May, during the latest two rounds of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship to conclude the event 10th overall in the driver standings.

Following on from a very promising debut in the category at Donington Park last month, Zaamin equaled his best result of seventh during the opening Brands Hatch encounter – round three – and then raced brilliantly from a lower-than-expected 12th on the grid in round four to finish ninth.

Aside from the regular demands of a highly charged, ultra-competitive race weekend, the 21-year-old also had to balance the pressure of University exams. Almost immediately after the chequered flag had fallen to signify the end of round four, he rushed back to Cardiff in South Wales to prepare for a highly important exam which took place at 09.00 this morning!

“It’s definitely been a very busy weekend, on and off track”, said the Hillspeed driver, “Our race pace was really good and I was able to run some very consistent times lap after lap. It all came down to qualifying though, I couldn’t quite get the tyres working as I wanted. Overtaking is so difficult on the Indy track but considering where we started I think we did a pretty good job.”

As is so often the case at the Kent venue’s short, 1.2-mile ‘Indy’ track configuration the races were most definitely won and lost in qualifying. Although only 0.270 seconds shy of pole position in the round three session, Zaamin lined-up eighth on the grid for the race – leaving a lot of work to do over the course of the first 20-minute encounter.

Making a great start, the Active PR-backed driver got right into the thick of the action during the first couple of turns but on the run down to Graham Hill Bend contact to the rear of his car led to some damage, marginally delaying his progress. Even so, Zaamin fought through well and finished a highly creditable seventh with a best lap time mere 100ths of a second shy of podium pace.

Round four qualifying was equally frustrating with Zaamin taking a sixth row start for the second race of the weekend. Not quite able to string together the lap he wanted the Formula Ford graduate lost 0.3 seconds on his quickest effort which would, had he been to able to piece the lap together as his pace warranted, have meant a second row start.

Nonetheless, Zaamin raced very strongly once again and carved his way through from 12th place into the top 10 on the opening lap. Running comfortably but finding overtaking near-impossible, he did gain one additional spot on lap 11 following a retirement for fourth-placed driver Kieran Vernon.

Such was his fantastic pace, Zaamin – who resides in Dubai when not studying and competing in the UK – lapped within just 0.1 seconds of race winner Dino Zamparelli’s best; proof of what might have been had the qualifying session gone to plan.

“Everything came down to qualifying this weekend, as we expected it to”, he said, “I just couldn’t quite get the tyres working as I wanted early enough and so we weren’t able to put the times in that we knew we were capable of.

“We’ve got Oulton Park next which I’m looking forward to, that is a circuit where overtaking is possible. We need to get qualifying right though – I’m aiming for the top five and if we can achieve that I know I have a good chance to fight for my first podium and set up a really strong second half of the year.”

With more University exams over the next week or two, Zaamin’s focus will return to his racing just under a fortnight from now on Saturday, 28th May, for the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship at Cheshire’s Oulton Park Island Circuit.

Provisional 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings (after Rd4):
1st James Thorp, 99pts; 10th Zaamin Jaffer, 51pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography

Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship title contender Josh Webster took his second podium of the 2011 season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit over the weekend, 14th/15th May, to move into fifth place in the driver standings – just 17 points shy of the series lead.

Stowmarket-based Josh, a member of the MSA Academy, was unfortunate to miss out on the pivotal pole position for round three by the tinniest of margins – a mere 0.005 seconds – and that proved to be the determining factor in the first of the weekend’s races.

Not quite able to usurp pole-sitter, and Fortec Motorsport team-mate, Kieran Vernon into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time, the 17-year-old Suffolk racer had to tuck-in and settle for a nonetheless welcome second place with hardly anything to choose between the pair in terms of pace.

Little more than a second separated the two front-runners throughout the 19 lap encounter but with overtaking in a Formula Renault car nigh-on impossible at the 1.2-mile Kent track, Josh had to shadow Vernon to the flag – posting second fastest lap in the process with a time of 45.658 seconds.

Qualifying for round four was a more troublesome affair for Josh as he lost vital track time due to an issue with floor on his FR 2.0 coming loose and requiring an urgent pit-stop mid-session. Missing the optimum time to be on track due to the enforced pit visit, and with it the chance to challenge for pole position, he brilliantly salvaged the sixth fastest lap – only 0.184 seconds shy of the top spot.

Moving into fifth off the start, the Nine Telecom Group, Admiral Group, Integra ICT, Sunwise, Melbek Technology, Everyone Active and Flying Saucer supported racer slipped to sixth on lap two but got back into fifth on lap 11 when Vernon crashed out from fourth at Graham Hill Bend.

Missing out on the fastest race lap by just eight 100ths of a second, Josh displayed tremendous pace once again and as part of a very close finish on lap 20 he missed out on the podium places by only 0.6 seconds.

“It was all about qualifying this weekend, as it always is at Brands Indy”, said Josh, “The first session was really close and we only just missed taking pole position. In the race I got away well and had a good run into Paddock but Kieran had the door closed and that was it, we had to settle for second.

“In race two, my tyres seemed to take ages to come on so that made things pretty difficult early on but fifth in the end gives us more good points for the championship which is what we need. It’s a real shame we had the problem with the floor of the car coming unbolted in second qualifying as we could easily have been on the podium again if we’d been on the first two rows.”

In other race-related news, Josh’s car sported a brand new livery and colour scheme this weekend in deference to headline sponsor Nine Telecom Group. With 30 guests in attendance at Brands Hatch to cheer-on the 2010 Formula Renault BARC Winter Champion, Josh was delighted to reward the support with his second podium of the season.

“I’m so grateful to all my sponsors and especially Nine Telecom, without their support I wouldn’t be racing – it’s as simple as that”, added Josh, “I really wanted to give the guests a win to celebrate but being on the podium was still great. Hopefully we can fight for both wins next time out at Oulton!”

There are just two weeks to wait for the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship season which will be held on Saturday, 28th May, at Oulton Park in Cheshire.

Provisional 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings (after Rd4):
1st James Thorp, 99pts; 5th Josh Webster, 82pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Hillspeed’s Howard Fuller underlined his promise as a Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship front-runner during the opening event of the 2011 season at Donington Park over the weekend, 24th/25th April, thanks to a highly competitive top five result in round two of the 12-race series.

The 18-year-old, from Kingston-upon-Thames, led the Hathersage team’s charge during round one qualifying on Saturday with the seventh fastest time and he continued to be the quickest of Hillspeed’s trio in the round two session with the fifth quickest lap.

Unfortunately Fuller wasn’t able to capitalise on his fourth row grid slot in the opening encounter when contact at Schwantz Curve on the first lap led to an immediate retirement. Determined to bounce back strongly in round two, the Surrey racer did exactly that with a fantastic drive to fifth.

Running in sixth place early on, having been passed by race one winner Josh Webster, Fuller lapped extremely competitively and regained fifth place on lap 13 when Webster’s car expired. Pushing hard to pressurise fourth placed Steven Durrant as the race neared its conclusion, the pair were separated by just 0.7 seconds at the chequered flag and Fuller also set the fourth fastest race lap.

Like Fuller, team-mate Zaamin Jaffer showed strong pace throughout his maiden weekend of ‘slicks and wings’ action but troublesome qualifying periods restricted what the Indian-born racer was able to achieve. Even so, a best result of seventh position in round one hinted at much more to come as the season progresses.

The 21-year-old delivered a very strong drive in the opener and thankfully saw-off a last corner lunge to secure a good haul of points. Having avoided Fuller’s unfortunate incident on the first lap, Jaffer settled himself down well and was only three seconds shy of the top six at the finish.

In round two, he again raced impressively from 12th on the grid into the top eight and looked on course for another substantial score. Frustratingly, contact to the rear of his car two laps from the finish resulted in a puncture and Jaffer was forced to crawl home in an eventual 14th place.

Hillspeed’s least experienced driver, Sean Walkinshaw, delivered a good account of himself on his car racing debut and after finding more than a second in time between the two qualifying sessions on Saturday, the Chipping Norton driver went on to finish 17th in the first race. Unfortunate contact on the third lap of race two though ended his weekend early.

“It’s been a reasonably good weekend for us”, said team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “Sean has made massive steps forward. It’s disappointing a pure racing accident cost him another good points finish in round two but he’s positive about everything and is continuing to improve all of the time.

“Zaamin had an excellent first race, he did everything we expected. It was obviously a great shame he received the hit to the back of his car near the end of race two though which led to the puncture and a drop down the order. Howard was very quick but his true potential in race two was marred by some flat spots on his tyres from the race one incident. Even so, he did a fantastic job with fifth.”

Hillspeed’s incredibly busy run of action continues next weekend, 30th April/1st May, at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire for rounds five and six of the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship. The team’s Protyre Formula Renault BARC squad will resume its season three weeks from now, 14th/15th May, at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent.

2011 Provisional Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings (after Rd2):
11th Zaamin Jaffer, 23pts; 12th Howard Fuller, 20pts; 21st Sean Walkinshaw, 4pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Suffolk motor racing star Josh Webster proved his position as one of the title-challenging favourites in the 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship with a superbly dominant race-winning performance during the opening round of the season at Donington Park today, Sunday, 24th April.

The Stowmarket 17-year-old, who only managed to secure his place on the grid a couple of weeks ago after signing a late deal with top team Fortec Motorsport, made an absolutely electric start to the first of the day’s races at Donington – taking the lead three corners into the race.

Scorching away from fourth on the grid, his second row start not completely representative of his genuine pace after issues with his car in qualifying, Josh immediately moved into second place at Redgate and then grabbed the lead with a tremendous pass on James Thorp at Craner Curves.

From there, the 2010 Formula Renault BARC Winter Series Champion was never headed and he fully controlled the race from the front. Building a lead of over two seconds by lap nine he then posted a then lap record of 1m08.169 seconds (104.51mph) on the 11th tour to seal two bonus points.

Taking the chequered flag on lap 14, and with it his first main championship victory, the teenage star was thrilled with his faultless race performance: “Absolutely fantastic! Before the race I knew what I had to do and it all worked out. We made some changes to the car overnight after qualifying, as we had some problems which slowed me down, but today everything was really good.

“I got a fantastic start, made sure I got the tyres really warm on the green flag lap and then had great traction to get up into second past Dino (Zamparelli) and Archie (Hamilton). Then, down the Craner Curves, I had some extra grip, got past James (Thorp) and pulled away – fantastic!”

Running this weekend with support from Nine Telecom Group, Admiral Group, Integra ICT, Melbek Technology, Sunwise, Everyone Active and Flying Saucer, Josh started round two an uncharacteristic seventh on the grid – due to the aforementioned car issues in qualifying on Saturday.

Even so, much was expected of him after his scintillating race one performance and during the early stages of the race Josh looked on course to potentially mount a podium challenge. Moving into fifth on the opening lap, Josh climbed into the top four prior to a short Safety Car period on lap four with a fantastic pass on the vastly more experienced Dino Zamparelli at the chicane.

Underlining his determination to make amends for the car issues in qualifying he raced with great commitment, dueling hard with Zamparelli, but heartbreak struck on lap 13 when his FR 2.0 ground to a halt entering Hollywood.

Thoroughly disappointed, and unable to prevent his earlier lap record being bettered, Josh still ended the weekend sixth in the driver standings and a certain bet to close down the championship leaders as the season progresses. His sights are set on nothing other than title success and he’ll undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with during the remainder of the season.

After months of major uncertainty about whether or not he’d be racing at all in 2011, Josh will head to Brands Hatch in Kent three weeks from now, 14th/15th May, for the third and fourth rounds of the championship knowing he has the pace and potential to fight for race wins and championship glory.

Provisional 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings (after Rd2):
1st James Thorp, 60pts; 6th Josh Webster 34pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship rookie Zaamin Jaffer made a strong start to the 2011 season at Donington Park today, Sunday, 24th July, by just missing out on a top six finish on his racing debut in a ‘slicks and wings’ car.

Taking seventh place in round one, a gain of two positions on his grid slot, the 21-year-old Indian born racer was on course for an eighth place finish at least in round two but contact from a rival, and subsequent puncture, spoiled his hopes two laps from the finish.

Zaamin, who resides in Dubai when not racing or studying in the UK, concluded the first weekend of the 12-race championship 11th in the driver standings and is confident there is much more to come during the next event at Brands Hatch in Kent three weeks from now.

“The speed is definitely there”, he said, “We just need to get everything right in qualifying and then we can consistently challenge at the front. You need to be in the top six in qualifying at least and we just missed out on that this weekend. I know we have the pace though.”

Qualifying did indeed prove to be the most decisive part of the weekend for Zaamin. Running very strongly in the round one session, and sitting atop the timing screens during the early stages, traffic issues during the second half resulted in a relatively unrepresentative ninth fastest time. In round two qualifying, the Hillspeed driver ended the run 12th quickest.

Zaamin made a decent start to the season-opening race and having avoided an incident at Schwantz Curve on lap one he headed into the second tour on the edge of the top 10, eager to make up as much ground as possible.

Quickly moving up into ninth and then into seventh by lap four, the Formula Ford graduate spent the second half of the race trying to close down the gap to the top six runners having made terrific early progress. Taking the flag on lap 14 in seventh place, he thankfully survived a late-race scare when rival Matt Mason attempted a do-or-die pass at the chicane.

In round two, Zaamin – who is sponsored by Dubai-based Active PR – moved up from 12th into the top 10 by the end of the opening lap and although slipping to 11th prior to a two lap Safety Car period he soon moved back up the order.

Holding ninth position at the halfway point, Zaamin moved up into the top eight again but contact to his rear tyre at the end of lap 14 resulted in an excursion and a puncture. Although dropping to 14th position at the finish, he was at least able to make it round the final couple of laps to secure some additional championship points which could be crucial come the end of the season.

“I definitely expected more this weekend and so I am a bit disappointed”, he added, “We shouldn’t be starting races mid-grid and that’s mainly where everything went wrong – if you’re on the first two or three rows you just don’t get caught up. I’m aiming much higher for Brands Hatch.”

Zaamin now has a three week break from motor racing action ahead of rounds three and four of the 2011 season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent over the weekend 14th/15th May.

Provisional 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Standings (after Rd2):
1st James Thorp, 60pts; 11th Zaamin Jaffer, 23pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.