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| For immediate release: 11th September 2005 JARVIS BACK ON TOP AT DONINGTON Race-goers at Donington Park got a breath-taking finale to a fabulous weekend today, when Oliver Jarvis drove a blinder to reassert himself as Formula Renault UK championship with Michelin leader. "People were starting to doubt me," said the 21-year-old, who has not been on the podium since Croft. "I've had a few bad rounds but I think it proves character to deliver when the pressure is on. People thought that I'd lost my way but I can come back from a couple of difficult rounds and now I aim to finish the season with a bang." Jarvis started in second place behind round 15 winner Yelmer Buurman (Ubbergen, Holland). But the Manor Motorsport pulled off an inspired move at Redgate, dummying left and then diving up the inside on the second lap to take the lead. Buurman finished fourth after failing to find the pace which won this morning's round race.
Jarvis' weekend got better when his closest championship contender, Sean McIntosh (Vancouver, Canada) beached his Team Firstair car at Coppice. "I don't really know what happened," said the 20-year-old. "The marshal says the left tyre touched the kerb and it just whipped me around. I've made things harder for myself but we've still got four races left and I won't give up." McIntosh lost his second-place championship position to James Jakes (Cullingworth, Yorks), who drove a stunning race, at one point passing two cars between Fogarty's and Goddard's. "Donington's International circuit is good for over-taking," said the 18-year-old Team AKA driver, who started the race in fourth, but was knocked back to seventh after a bad start. "People have said you can't overtake in single-seaters anymore but if you want the position you can get it. Now I'm one step away from winning the championship and I think we've shown everyone that we have the pace."
Third place went to Stuart Hall (Halstead, Essex), equaling his best result this year. "I got held up by Yelmer and Oli got away from me," said the 20-year-old, who drives for Fortec Motorsport. "Oli just responded like a champion and I couldn't do anything about it. The first few laps were absolutely nuts. There were cars going everywhere hitting each other. It was great fun. Then it settled down and I just knew I had to put some laps together." Renault rookie, Joe D'Agostino, astonished the paddock by setting the fastest lap of the race. "It's definitely a consolation prize," said the 20-year-old, who finished dead last after a spin at the Old Hairpin in only his second ever Formula Renault race. "I really had confidence in myself and to be right there against guys with experience is a nice feeling and I'm glad I was able to show I've got the pace."
In the Graduate Cup Richard Keen (Amersham, Bucks) has stretched his lead over Will Bratt (Banbury, Oxon) to 30 points after scoring two sixth-place finishes this weekend. Provisional round 16 result: 1. O. Jarvis; 2. J. Jakes; 3. S. Hall; 4. Y. Buurman; 5. S. Simpson; 6. R. Keen |
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