Matthew Brabham made an instant impact on his debut in the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship at Silverstone, finishing in sixth place in the competitive 32-car field.
The latest Team USA Scholarship winner was competing in the UK for the first time and despite it being his first race meeting in a BARC car, and his first visit to Silverstone, the American was able to qualify fifth.
After dropping a place on the opening lap of the first race, Brabham was embroiled in a race-long battle with series regulars Ivan Taranov and Kieran Vernon, emerging in front to take a top six finish with Cliff Dempsey Racing.
“It was a lot of fun as the racing was quite tough,” he said. “I was a little nervous as it’s been a long time since I’ve done a standing start, but I got away well. Into the second corner I got a little nudge from behind and went wide. I didn’t lose any positions but I lost a bit of time to the people in front, so the rest of the race I was defending quite hard. The last few laps I managed to get a slight gap and hold my position. I’m very happy to finish sixth. These guys have been racing all year and I still have a lot to learn about these cars and the way these guys race over here.”
