Formula Renault - Thruxton

[Amanda]

I have just got around to watching the Motors TV coverage ~ I know, better late than never! What was happening on the green flag lap? The three cars at the back of the grid were driving very slowly and had to be hurried up by the safety car!!!! As a result the leaders were kept waiting on the grid for a long time running the risk of their engines over heating. Hopefully the offenders were given a good talking to.

[Reynard]

Inexperience, I'm afraid, and occasionally sheer stupidity...

I shoot FRenaults on a regular basis so get to see a fair bit of their antics. Needless to say some of them aren't exactly clued up to what is going on and as a result have been known to do the daftest of things.

Case in point - at Snetterton earlier in the year, there was one tail-ender (car #9, can't remember his name wich may be just as well) who kept on brake-testing the faster guys at Russell during qualifying, which is rather stupid. More than one had to stand on the brakes just to avoid hitting this eejit who insisted on driving in the middle of the road, not quite on the racing line, but not quite off it either.

To prove the point I've got a photograph proving that - the #4 car has got the rear wheels in the air as the driver stood on the brakes to avoid hitting the #9. It wasn't a one-off incident.

I believe he also threw it at the scenery during both races...

[Cleland Fan]

Number 9 - Wayne Clark. He was one of the Thruxton stragglers as well.

[Invincible]

Number 9 at Snetterton was that Hong Kong banker Paul Lau, who inappropriately (sp?) used one of Michael Schumacher's crash helmets when racing!

He got kicked out for being too slow!!

[tvgod]

Originally posted by Reynard


I shoot FRenaults on a regular ...

Is that like clay pigeon shooting? :D

[Reynard]

Originally posted by tvgod
Is that like clay pigeon shooting? :D

*lol* I wish... Unfortunately I do this with a camera, lens and lots of film. Mind you, some of the drivers in the FRenault field do really deserve to be shot if only for their sheer incompetence ;)

Thanks Invincible, it was Paul Lau. Gods he was dire - am not surprised he was given the yo-heave-ho for being too slow...

[Peter]

It was bizarre what happened in the warm up lap for that race. I make no bones about that. However, I do sympathise with Wayne Clarke(?) for pulling into the wrong grid position at the start of the race, as there were no labelled boxes for the drivers starting right at the back. Clarke's starting position really was extremely close to the apex of the Club Chicane.

Over the long run, Thruxton need to consider moving the start/ finish line a little further down the straight.

[Alan]

Or was the grid just too big!

Only the first one of the three stragglers could have been at fault of course, the other two are not allowed to overtake him.

[The Stig]

Hopefully, most of these drivers with a lot to learn will do so. The rest can clear off and get a proper job where they won't maim themselves or worse still, others. Presumably licences to go racing can be rescinded in all categories for those who clearly are not man/woman enough for the task.

[Stuart]

Unfortunately it seems possible to drive a very quick single seater these days with very little experience, hence the debacle at Thruxton. Clearly money won over talent for certain drivers on that day.
Alan makes a very valid pint though about it being the first of those three drivers creating the problem.
In the odd Kart races I've done, I used to try to keep the front of the grid waiting for an extra couple of seconds- its all part of the game - but never to the extent that these guys were doing.
As for Reynards photo - this just proves that some people are simply too stupid to be allowed into a racing car! Maybe the single seater fraternity could learn from ASCARs rookie training programme that EVERY driver has to go through.

[Reynard]

Indeed - it is often a case of money being put before ability. It's always been an unavoidable part of motorsport to a certain extent, but is it just me or is this getting more prevalent in UK single seaters?

F3 is a good example as well. There is a bunch of wealthy Malaysians in the Championship Class this year, but they're so incompetent that they're slower than the virtually all of the Scholarship class in cars that should be considerably quicker, and the only talent they seem to have is throwing it at the scenery in the biggest possible way... Dangerous? I think so.

Not just that, it seems that there are also quite a few drivers coming into front line single seaters (FRenault & F3) straight from karting, bypassing Formula Ford completely - surely that can't be right?

Take Lewis Hamilton for example... That he's quick is beyond doubt, but in his season and a bit in FRenault, he's shown a singular lack of ability in putting a consistent weekend together. This is something that only comes with track experience, and small wonder that he is being shown up this year by drivers who have had at least one season in Formula Ford before stepping up to Formula Renault.

I reckon it should be mandatory for drivers to have raced in Formula Ford before moving to wings-and-slicks. Having a rookie test at the beginning of each FRenault / F3 season to ascertain a driver's level of competency is also an excellent idea.

However, this year's ASCAR rookies didn't quite manage to keep their noses clean last time out. In fact, they're all being RE-TESTED before the next two races due to be held this weekend. ;)