Formula Renault UKOpen Wheel

Millroy Heads Manor Quartet At Croft

2 Mins read

Ollie Millroy confirmed his status as one of the 2011 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship contenders with an impressive performance during the series' official two day test at Croft. The 20-year-old finished in the top three on day one before topping the timesheets on day two as he regularly outpaced his Manor Competition teammates.

In the opening session of the first day, Millroy set the pace with a 1min 17.050s lap, with teammate and reigning Formula Renault BARC champion Alice Powell 0.447s back in third. Formula Renault rookies Jordan King and Josh Hill finished just 0.004s apart with the sixth and seventh fastest times respectively.

Chipping Norton driver Powell set the pace in the second session, becoming the first driver to break the 1min 17s barrier. With Millroy sitting out the session, King was next up for the New Ollterton team, setting the third fastest time, while Formula Ford graduate Hill was just 0.750s off Powell in sixth.

The final session of the day saw many of the drivers run on fresh tyres, seeing all the Manor drivers setting their quickest times of the day. Millroy finished the day third overall with a 1min 16.321s lap, with Powell 0.203s behind in fifth. Hill and King were the next two names on the timesheets as they made it four Manor drivers in the top seven.

Millroy began day two just like he began day one with the quickest time in session one. A 1min 17.884s lap saw him 0.430s ahead of his nearest rival, with Powell 1.070s off in third. King finished seventh fastest while a slow start for Hill saw him back in tenth.

Session two saw Millroy continue to be the quickest of the Manor runners, finishing third overall. King was next up in fifth, with Hill 0.3s behind in seventh. The session saw Powell focusing on some set up work rather than lap times, leaving her just ninth fastest with a 1min 18.102 lap.

The final session of the day once again saw new tyres being taken and Millroy used them best to light up the leaderboard with a 1min 16.467s lap. Hill impressed to go fourth fastest; just 0.433s off Millroy, with King next up in fifth. There was disappointment for Powell though as an early spin on the fresh rubber meant she was only able to set the ninth fastest time again.

Team co-owner Sarah Shaw commented: “It's been a good couple of days at Croft. All of the drivers did a tremendous job and Ollie looked very strong indeed. It's really competitive at the front as always in Formula Renault UK and the great thing is that Alice, Jordan, Josh and Ollie have all been going really well – they all have the pace to be regular podium contenders this season.”

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Simon is an experienced journalist and PR officer, who has worked in the national motorsport paddocks for over a decade, primarily on the BTCC support package.
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