Young Scot impresses on FRenault debutposted in FREN10 | 11 | 2010
GLASGOW'S DAVID Wagner heads into this weekend's finale having impressed on his debut in the BARC Class of the Formula Renault Winter Championship. The 17-year-old, making the leap from karting to single-seaters, finished second in both opening rounds at Snetterton. Despite qualifying sixth in class for both rounds, Wagner (pictured) improved in leaps and bounds in race trim and going in to the final event of the Winter Championship at Pembrey in South Wales next weekend, he leads Hillspedd team-mate Howard Fuller by three points in the battle of the BARC drivers. The duo are second and third in the standings.
At the start of round one Wagner made an excellent getaway and moved into 22nd place overall, from 25th on the grid, to run fourth in the BARC class at the end of the opening lap just ahead of team-mate Fuller.
By the end of lap two Wagner and Fuller were up to third and fourth in class respectively, 19th and 20th overall, and into the third lap Wagner dived up the inside of fellow BARC runner Mackenzie Taylor to grab second in class with a great, well-timed move.
On the same lap, an unfortunate moment for Fuller dropped him down to fifth in class but he fought back impressively and the 18-year-old eventually finished third in BARC to seal a podium result on his competitive debut in Formula Renault machinery. He also posted the second fastest BARC lap.
Wagner, meanwhile, continued in second place but he was unable to do anything about vastly experienced runner Josh Webster who had already built a substantial lead in BARC from the class pole position. Nonetheless, the runner-up spot was a great return in his first ever car race.
Round two delivered more of the same for Wagner, an excellent drive from the back of the grid lifting him into a very competitive second place in class. Immediately taking fifth place in BARC he moved into third on lap eight when Fuller and Roman Beregech dropped back.
Taking second in class on lap 14, Wagner remained there to the chequered flag – finishing a highly creditable 15th overall. He also posted the second fastest BARC lap to mirror the achievement of his team-mate in race one.
“It’s been a good start to the Winter Championship and we’re pleased with the progress David and Howard made throughout the weekend”, Hillspeed boss Richard Ollerenshaw told Scotcars. “David’s performance in both races was exceptional considering it wass his first weekend in cars.
“We move on to Pembrey very happy as the results we achieved were the maximum we expected really. With Josh Webster, who is a very experienced and very capable driver, as competition we’re really looking for second and third places for Howard and David and we’re working to get them as close to Webster as possible.”
The final race meeting of the 2010 Formula Renault Winter Championship will take place at Pembrey Circuit this weekend, with four races scheduled to be held at the Welsh track.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news by following us on twitter.com/scotcars
Jim McGill