Jordan King endured a 'very disappointing weekend' in the latest rounds of the 2011 Formula Renault UK 2.0 Championship at Oulton Park, with the Manor Competition driver going off circuit in race one, before being stuck in traffic down the field in race two.
The weekend's first qualifying session saw Jordan finish a competitive fifth, the quickest of the Manor drivers, but a disastrous second session saw him only able to set the eleventh fastest time. Race one saw the BRDC Rising Star slip to sixth at the start and as he challenged for fifth, slipped off track and into the gravel. He hoped to make up for the retirement in race two, but another slow start saw him slip to twelfth. With overtaking at a premium in the single seaters, King was only able to make progress to tenth place at the finish.
Stoneleigh-based King commented: “There were wet patches on the circuit in the first race, and I must have been just half-a-foot too far to the left and hit one of them, because as soon as I turned in, I lost the rear end. I managed to catch it again, but by then I was facing the wrong direction and heading towards the gravel trap! That was a shame, because we had been strong in terms of pace and looking set for a good result, and that tiny moment cost me the race.
“The main positive we can take from the weekend is that I was the quickest driver in the team, so now we need to get back on-track next time out at Croft, which was quite a strong circuit for Manor in pre-season testing. I think our pace should be good there, and hopefully we can score a decent result to quickly forget about Oulton Park.”
King is taking advantage of the Formula Renault's annual summer break after Croft to become the youngest driver ever to compete in the modern-day FIA Formula Two Championship. He will be racing in the championship for three meetings around some of the world's most legendary circuits, Spa-Francorchamps, Nürburgring and Brands Hatch.
