Organisers of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship are looking forward to one of their biggest seasons of recent times as interest soars ahead of the 2011 campaign. The annual Autosport Show in Birmingham saw substantial interest come from a host of new and established teams, as well as privateers.
Championship officials believe the season opener at Donington Park could see as many as twenty cars on the grid, which would be the first time since 2008 the series has seen a twenty car field.
Hillspeed have already confirmed two drivers, as it looks to retain the drivers crown it won with Alice Powell in 2010. 17-year-old Sean Walkinshaw has joined Formula Ford graduate Zaamin Jaffer in the Derbyshire outfit's line up, with more drivers set to be signed soon.
Fortec Motorsport are expected to run three or four cars in 2011, though no driver deals have been announced yet, while SWB Motorsport have confirmed two signings, with Andrew Jarman also set to race for them. Scorpio Motorsport, who won the drivers titles in 2008 and 2009, have received lots of interest for drives, as has MGR Motorsport.
Both Antel Motorsport and MTech Lite are expected to run two cars for the new season, with James Thorp already signed on for MTech. RPD Motorsport's Steven Durrant is set to return for a fourth consecutive season, while Max Robinson and James Birch head the list of privateer's interested.
Commenting on the interest, Championship Promoter Simon North said: “Following the Autosport Show we've had a fantastic response from teams and competitors and interest is really building ahead of the season. Registrations have just opened and we've already received the first entries and are confident we will have around 20 cars on the start line for the opening rounds.”
