The second Formula Renault UK race saw a bone dry track at Thruxton, with Manor Competitions Will Stevens setting the pace in the second qualifying session, ahead of Tom Blomqvist of Fortec Motorsport and the CRS Racing's Harry Tincknell.
As the race got underway Stevens took advantage of his prime qualifying position to take the race lead into the first corner at Allard, followed by team mate Williamson who had jumped the slow starting Blomqvist.
After the opening lap the two Manor Competition cars pulled away from the third place battle, which saw Blomqvist looking to pass Eighteen year old Tincknell; however Tincknell's experience counted as he was able to defend his third place from the attacking Blomqvist, who would finally find a way past Tincknell. This wouldn’t last long as Tincknell came back at the young Swede straight away finding a way back past before another lap had been completed.
Up front, Williamson was relentless in chasing down his team mate, setting the fastest lap in the chase for the win, but was unable to catch the flying Surrey based racer. Stevens took his first win in the series and led home the first ever Manor Competition one-two in the Formula Renault UK Championship. Tincknell backed up his race one podium finish with another third place, but with a gap of five seconds to the Manor Competition duo.
Race one winner Pa'l Kiss showed his potential to be the dark horse for the Formula Renault UK Championship title with a drive from tenth on the grid to fourth at the flag, the Hungarian driver claimed fourth on the final lap from Blomqvist.
As in race one, the Graduate Cup victory went the way of Alex Lynn, with another solid top ten finish, having taken the chequered flag in ninth place. Speaking after the race, Lynn commented on his weekend's results: “Being new to the championship I'm really pleased with how the weekend has gone for me. I've come away with a good point's haul and two Graduate Cup wins and hope to achieve more as the season develops.”
Speaking after the opening weekend, Championship leader Stevens said: “This first win has been a long time coming but I'm really happy. We've been quick in pre-season testing and we've been able to carry that speed into the opening rounds which is largely thanks to Manor Competition who have been brilliant in setting up the car. I'm pleased with how things turned out in round one as I had a disappointing qualifying session and in round two Lewis pushed me hard but I felt I controlled the race well.”
Stevens team mate Williamson said about his weekend: “Round one was disappointing for me but I'm really pleased with round two's result. I tried to catch Will but he was just too quick but overall a promising start.”
Tincknell commented on his weekend's performance: “Thruxton has proved a good start for me but I did struggle with qualifying which is something I need to work on. Tom pushed me really hard in round two so I'm pleased I was able to keep hold of the podium spot and hopefully I can look forward to some race wins at the next meeting.”
Race 2 result:
| Position | Number | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Will Stevens | Manor Competition | 18:51.611s | |
| 2 | 17 | Lewis Williamson | Manor Competition | 18:52.400s | 0.789s |
| 3 | 5 | Harry Tincknell | CRS Racing | 18:56.571s | 4.960s |
| 4 | 47 | Tama’s Pa’l Kiss | Atech GP | 18:57.124s | 5.513s |
| 5 | 10 | Tom Blomqvist | Fortec Motorsport | 18:58.420s | 6.809s |
| 6 | 11 | David McDonald | Team Firstair | 19:00.911s | 9.300s |
| 7 | 4 | Jordan Oakes | Team Firstair | 19:04.934s | 13.323s |
| 8 | 2 | Michael Lyons | CRS Racing | 19:10.545s | 18.934s |
| 9 | 36 | Alex Lynn | Fortec Motorsport | 19:12.788s | 21.177s |
| 10 | 55 | Robert Foster-Jones | CRS Racing | 19:15.763s | 24.152s |
| 11 | 12 | Nick Yelloly | Atech GP | 19:16.033s | 24.422s |
| 12 | 7 | Thomas Hylkema | Manor Competition | 19:19.039s | 27.428s |
| 13 | 99 | Chrissy Palmer | Fortec Motorsport | 19:20.715s | 29.104s |
| 14 | 15 | Victor Correa | CRS Racing | 19:23.770s | 32.159s |
| 15 | 33 | Marlon Stockinger | Atech GP | 19:27.945s | 36.334s |
| 16 | 22 | Jessie Laine | Mark Burdett Motorsport | 19:42.093s | 50.482s |
| 17 | 8 | Joe Crook | Scorpio Motorsport | 19:45.064s | 53.453s |
| 18 | 1 | Josh Mulholland | Manor Competition | 19:17.329s | 1 Lap |
| 19 | 21 | Fabio Gamberini | Mark Burdett Motorsport | 19:48.717s | 2 Laps |
| DNF | 27 | Ollie Millroy | Fortec Motorsport | 1:22.739s | 15 Laps |
Championship standings after rounds 1 and 2:
| Position | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Stevens | 60 |
| 2 | Tama’s Pa’l Kiss | 54 |
| 3 | Lewis Williamson | 52 |
| 4 | Harry Tincknell | 50 |
| 5 | Tom Blomqvist | 42 |
| 6 | Nick Yelloly | 28 |
| 7 | Robert Foster-Jones | 25 |
| 8 | Alex Lynn | 24 |
| 9 | David McDonald | 23 |
| 10 | Chrissy Palmer | 18 |
| 11 | Thomas Hylkema | 18 |
| 12 | Marlon Stockinger | 17 |
| 13 | Ollie Millroy | 16 |
| 14 | Jordan Oakes | 16 |
| 15 | Victor Correa | 15 |
| 16 | Michael Lyons | 14 |
| 17 | Jessie Laine | 12 |
| 18 | Joe Crook | 10 |
| 19 | Josh Mulholland | 3 |
| 20 | Fabio Gamberini | 2 |
Photo credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
