News
16.06.07
Younger Hancock starting to show his class
Nineteen year old Ollie Hancock, younger brother of sportscar and Carrera Cup racer, Sam, made his mark last weekend in the Oulton Park round of the BARC Formula Renault championship, with a charge from the back of the field to finish fourth having qualified in second place, just 0.007s off pole and being taken out of the lead on the first lap of the race.
Having secured his front row start position in a damp and greasy qualifying session, Hancock was fast off the line took the lead into the first corner on a dry track.
The hard work was soon undone however, when an over-ambitious move into the Island hairpin by pole sitter and 2nd place man Aaron Steele saw him thump into the back of Hancock’s car, pushing him into a spin.
Having dropped to 20th place, Hancock appeared to enjoy his charge back through the field and impressed onlookers by regaining enough ground to finish fourth in a short fifteen lap event.
“The car was good,” said Hancock after the race, “and I was pretty hacked off with the incident on the first lap so, yes, I was pushing hard all the way to the flag. I am totally convinced we had the car to win today so I’d like to say a special thank to the team and my engineer for their hard work. It hasn’t been an easy season so far and I’m on a steep learning curve but there’s a long way to go and if we keep improving at the current rate, I’m sure we can fight for the title.”
Following on from his debut podium finish at Croft a month ago, Hancock now lies 3rd in the standings after just four rounds and with eight races remaining.
The BARC Formula Renault championship is a 12 race series run at the UK’s premier circuits and features a field of identical single-seater chassis prepared by individual teams.