News
30.09.07
Ollie Hancock seals 3rd overall in Formula Renault BARC championship
Ollie Hancock secured third overall and best-placed rookie in his debut season of the Formula Renault BARC championship after a gutsy comeback drive in the 2007 finale at Oulton Park.
Having missed the chance to set a competitive time in qualifying when the session was mistakenly flagged early, Hancock was disappointed to line up seventh on the grid, but made amends at the start by charging through to second into turn one. Unfortunately, a red-flag for an incident further down the field deemed his good work redundant.
At the restart, the Hampshire racer immediately climbed to fifth, but was forced off the track at the hairpin on lap two by Dean Stoneman’s robust defence as Ollie challenged for fourth. Having rejoined well down the field in 17th, Hancock climbed his way back into the points to finish ninth at the chequered flag, just holding the position despite a late scare when his car’s right rear wishbone broke on the final tour, a result of contact from behind during the first start.
With Rossi Worswick, who began the weekend just 13 points behind Hancock in the standings, finishing the race in second, Ollie’s two points proved to be critical in securing him third place in the championship, whilst he also completed the season with a 100% finishing record.
Ollie said: “My first season of Formula Renault BARC has been an amazing experience and I have learned so much. We’ve had our share of bad luck, but I feel my racecraft and starts have really improved. To finish as best placed rookie and third overall is good for my first year of modern single seater racing, but now the objective is to return next year and win the title.”