MTECH Lite had an eventful weekend during Rounds Eight and Nine of the 2012 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship at Croft.
Early drama for the team came in qualifying, when Sean Walkinshaw overturned his car in the dying minutes of qualifying, causing substantial damage to it. Hard work by the team, with support from a couple of rival teams in the paddock, ensured the car was rebuilt in time to allow Walkinshaw to race the next day.
Walkinshaw repaid their efforts with an 8th place in the opening race, comfortably his best result of the season so far, although he could only secure 18th in race two, meanwhile Mexican team-mate Jorge Cevallos continued his impressive run in the series with two more top ten finishes, a best of 7th in race two.
Lebanese duo Joe Ghanem and Shahan Sarkissian didn't enjoy the same fortune though, with a 12th for Ghanem and a 17th for Sarkissian being accompanied by a retirement for each.
Jorge Cevallos: “Iʼm reasonably happy with 9th and 7th place finishes from the two races. My car is though looking a bit battered with tyre marks along the sidepods from clashes with competitors. It was very tough out there!”
Sean Walkinshaw: “First of all I've got to say a big thank you to the team and also to the guys at the Fortec and Antel Motorsport teams who helped out too with rebuilding my car after I flipped it in Qualifying. I finished eighth in race one but really I think that I should have been seventh because I was overtaken under a yellow caution flag. Annoyingly though, there wasn't enough evidence to prove it.”
Joe Ghanem: “Racing can be harsh sometimes and I was forced out of race two with just three laps to go while running in midfield. However, there have been lots of positives to take from the weekend and although the ultimate results donʼt yet show it, the lap times were good and consistent. This I hope will soon translate into some strong race results.”
Shahan Sarkissian: “Iʼm happy that on my first visit to Croft that Iʼve been able to show improvement. Formula Renault is very competitive in the UK with a large entry too so to have improved on my qualifying and race result from the last event is good.”
Les Jones, MTECH Lite Team Manager: “The fundamental point of BARC Formula Renault is that it is a learning formula and it is pleasing to see that our four drivers are taking on board the lessons they learn and continuing to progress in their racing development.”
