Dan de Zille Impressed At Rockingham - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Dan de Zille enjoyed another impressive weekend during his maiden Formula Renault campaign with a sixth place finish in Round Five of the 2011 Protyre Formula Renault 2.0 UK Finals Series at Rockingham.
Coping well in tricky conditions, de Zille qualified ninth for both the final weekends two races. A good start in the opener saw him leap into fifth position, before slipping into fourth at the second corner. Dan slipped a place when avoiding drivers colliding ahead, before a mistake at the hairpin meant he dropped to seventh. The 019 racewear-backed driver fought back though and took sixth a couple of laps later, before holding on to the spot until the end.
With adrenaline high, the final race of the campaign was set to be eventful and so it proved. The trouble started from the off, with de Zille hit from behind at Deene Hairpin, with a concertina effect crash ending de Zille's race and two of his rivals. It was a disappointing end to the series for de Zille, but the Formula Ford graduate still left Rockingham happy after a positive campaign.
Dan commented: “It has been a great weekend, I feel like I have made a big improvement in my qualifying performance since last weekend and even though it was wet for the race, I feel like I have got to grips with understanding the slicks on the Formula Renault. I am pleased with the result from Race 1 and feel it bodes well for a good year in the main series, I am looking forward to some serious winter testing now.”
