Josh Webster - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Despite sitting nineteen points adrift of the championship leader, Josh Webster heads into the final rounds of the 2011 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship with belief that he can claw back the points deficit and take home the 2011 championship trophy.
Webster, who drives for Fortec Motorsport, has been a real revelation this season, using his experience from a maiden campaign in the series in 2010 as the foundation for a title charge this year, taking two wins and five other podiums so far this term.
Two of the podium finishes came last time out at Thruxton, however with his main championship rival Dino Zamparelli taking two wins, the Stowmarket-based driver slipped back in the championship fight.
Looking back at Thruxton, Webster reflected: “It's disappointing to lose out again to Dino [Zamparelli], I came into the weekend hoping to get back at him, get the points back and come out in the lead, but at a circuit like this where he's as strong as he is, you've just got to look logically at it and it could have been a lot worse. Two podium finishes definitely keeps the championship alive.”
Despite the disappointment, the 17 year old heads into the Silverstone finale with real belief in overturning Zamparelli's advantage and taking home the main championship title, to add to his 2010 BARC Winter Cup crown. Webster knows he will need to be challenging for both wins at Silverstone to hold any hope.
Webster commented: “When it's this close, you might start driving conservatively if you start thinking about points. I'm just going all out to win at any cost and fight to the end. I'm up for taking a few risks, as I'm not in the mood to finish second in the championship. Unless it's dangerous, I will take risks, more than I have done so far this season.”
The final rounds see the Formula Renault BARC series join the British Touring Car Championship package, thrusting Webster and his rivals into the spotlight, with thousands of fans watching trackside and hundreds of thousands viewing it live on ITV4. This is a new experience for Webster, but one he is really looking forward to.
Josh concluded: “It's a new thing for me really and it's going to be quite different being on TV, having the cameras around, but it's an awesome opportunity. I'm really looking forward to it, the sponsors are looking forward to it, and with thousands of people watching it, there's bound to be one new sponsor out there for me too. It's a good opportunity for me to show what I've got and fight Dino for the championship on the big stage.”
