Following a multi million pound redevelopment, the newly shaped Snetterton circuit renamed “300” is now 2.99 miles long and offers virtually every type of corner combination, ideal for testing high and low downforce setups.

Following a successful day’s testing around the Norfolk race track, Andrew commented on the new Snetterton 300 circuit:

“It took some getting used to the new layout, I have always been a big fan of the old Snetterton layout and some of that has been lost but overall the facilities and circuit are massively improved and it’s up there now with the best in the country”

“Out of all the changes, I miss the final chicane after Coram which was always a great overtaking place and somewhere you could make up time on the brakes if you got it perfect”.

“The new Coram is much more of a continuous curve, you still have to be brave to keep on the throttle as far into the corner as possible before the new left kind at Murrays which is tricky as your braking on a right hand bend into a left hand corner which would make overtaking very difficult”.

 ”The inside section initially didn’t seem to flow but as your speed builds you start to get a rhythm and the circuit feels much nicer to drive. Turn 3 (Palmer) is a tricky corner to master as you always feel more and more speed can be carried through it, but there’s not much run off if you do push over the limited”

 “There are plenty of hard braking zones in most of the hairpins which I’m sure would offer good overtaking opportunities and take advantage of anyone who gets it wrong. It’s a circuit where you can easily loose time and offers little room for error to get that perfect lap in, hopefully I will have a chance to race here as I’m sure it will provide some great racing. Overall 7/10”

 Andrew will next be on track at Croft Circuit, North Yorks for Round 7/8 of the BARC Formula Renault Championship on July 23/24^th.

Based in the North Yorkshire countryside, the fast 2.1 mile circuit is often a favourite on the calendar for its variety of fast sweeping corners and the slowest hairpin in British Motorsport, often providing fantastic racing.

But it was during a pre race test last season that Andrew discovered one of the most unique features to the circuit and something much unexpected.

It’s not often you expected to get so close to the local wildlife whilst driving at over 120mph, however one sunny day in March 2010 whilst testing at the North Yorkshire circuit, Andrew was just starting his second practice of the day and closely following a number of his fellow competitors who joined the un-official test.

After exiting the chicane after turn 1 and heading down one of the fastest parts of the circuit, a deer suddenly appeared from the hedges lining the circuit as Andrew and several of his competitors approached at over 120mph.

As you will see from the onboard footage, what happened next was one the luckiest escapes of Andrew’s racing career as the Deer decided to jump the circuit, narrowly missing Andrew’s crash helmet by less than a foot  as he passed underneath the “flying deer”.

The onboard footage is that of the car behind Andrew : Croft2010Test

Speaking to Andrew about his close encounter:

“I remember at the time coming into the pits and telling my team and they thought I was joking until one of the other teams looked at their onboard footage and could see how close it (the deer) was to hitting me”.

“It was so close I could see its eyes as it jumped over my car, at the time I just thought it was crazy but after seeing the footage I realised just how lucky I was not to hit it”.

“I’ve always enjoyed racing at Croft and that just makes it a little bit more special, I’m looking forward to returning there for the next round and continuing the progress we made with the car at Oulton Park”.

Round 7/8 of the 2011 BARC Formula Renault Championship will take place at Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire on July 23/24^th.

After a hectic two weeks for Andrew’s SWB Motorsport team to rebuild his Formula Renault in time  after the damage caused during Brands Hatch (Round 3 / 4), Andrew was keen to reward the team and his supporters for their efforts with a solid points finish.

Due to noise restrictions at Oulton Park, qualifying and rounds 5&6 took place on Saturday with the fastest two laps from qualifying deciding the grid positions for each race.

With limited running on Friday due to shaking down his newly rebuild Formula Renault and a string of red flags which stopped the sessions, Andrew and his SWB Motorsport team decided on a gambled setter for Qualifying in order to improve the car’s balance.

Speaking after qualifying Andrew commented:

“We struggled with the car on Friday and decided to go radical for Qualifying, overall the balance of the car was much improved but with only 20 minutes available I wasn’t able to get the best of the new setup and adapt my driving style which put us well down the grid. It’s possible to overtake here and our starts always help so there is still a chance for good points”.

Race 1:

Starting on the outside of row 10 for Race 1, Andrew made great start, moving up 4 places by the 2^nd corner and by lap 4 he was into 10^th place when a heavy crash at Turn 1 brought out the red flag.

After a long delay the race restarted with only 3 laps to run, once again Andrew made an impressive start to maintain his position. Chasing down the leading pack in front, as Andrew started the final lap, two drivers collided at the hairpin resulting in another red flag to stop the race.

With just 1 lap to go the result were declared with Andrew finishing a season best 8^th overall.

Race 2:

Starting again on 10^th row, Andrew got away well again, moving up 14^th as he started the 2^nd lap. Approaching the end of the lap 3 drivers in front collided exiting the fast Druids bend sending debris across the track which once again brought out the Red flag stopping the race.

As Race 2 got underway with only 5 laps remaining, Andrew got away well, making two places up into Island Bend. Heading up the hill Andrew took another place into Knickerbrook chicane putting him up to 11^th from 20^th on the grid.

Approaching the fast druids corner, Andrew was tucked close behind the 10^th place driver preparing to make a move when he lost down force and ran wide. After an amazing recovery to avoid the gravel trap Andrew managed to recover, dropping to 15^th.

Despite catching back up with the group in front, with only 2 laps remaining, Andrew was unable regain the places lost and cross the line to finish 15^th overall.

Commenting after Race 2 Andrew said:

“It’s been a crazy day today, so many red flags and incidents but overall I’m very pleased to get some solid points on the board after the difficulties of Brands. I really enjoyed both races today despite losing places in Race 2, to come from 20^th to 8^th has to be one of my best performance since moving into single seaters”

“I was pushing hard in Race 2 and wanted to make the top 8 again but ran wide when I got too close to the driver in front into Druids and lost aero but you have to try these things and I was lucky to recover back to 15^th”

“I have to thank everyone at SWB Motorsport for getting me to Oulton Park and all my sponsors TXM Recruit, Railcare, Raildoor Solution, Albatros, Danbro and Podium Motorsport for their continued support”

Round 7/8 of the 2011 BARC Formula Renault Championship will take place at Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire on July 24^th.

Having sustained heavy damage to the right hand side of his Formula Renault car, the SWB Motorsport Team have made an impressive effort to repair and rebuild Andrew’s Formula Renault car in time for what is a critical weekend for Andrew after a difficult start to his 2011 season.

Unable to take part in Race 2 at Brands Hatch due to the damage caused, Andrew is determined to bring his Championship campaign back on track this weekend with a solid points score. Unlike the previous Rounds, Round 5/6 of the Championship will be a single day event with qualifying taking place early Saturday morning followed by 2 Races in the afternoon.

Returning to Oulton Park for the first time since 2009, the Cheshire circuit is a favourite of Andrew’s and he is looking to reward the efforts of his team and supporters with a solid result this weekend.

“My championship starts this weekend, after Brands we didn’t even think we’d make it to Oulton Park and I have to say a massive thanks to everyone at SWB Motorsport for their amazing effort to get the car ready in time for this weekend”.

“Qualifying is again critical but I know we have the pace to be at the sharp end of the grid, the whole team are determined to get a great result this weekend and I personally will be pushing 110% to reward them for all their hard work over the last 10 days”.

Round 5/6 of the BARC Formula Renault Championship will take place on Saturday 26^th May at Cheshires, Oulton Park circuit.

For ticket detail: www.motorsportvision.co.uk

After a strong performance in Friday practice, Andrew was unable to replicate his performance during Saturday’s qualifying session which left him 14^th on the grid in what was the most competitive qualifying session of the year so far with just 1 second covering the top 16 drivers.

Starting on the outside row of the grid, as the lights went out, Andrew was lucky to avoid a collision on the grid after a stalled car was collected by one of Andrew’s SWB Motorsport team mates, causing a red flag and restart to the Race.

At the Race 1 restart, Andrew made a great getaway and jumped up from 14^th to 10^th. Quickly closing down the pack in front up to 6^th position, as Andrew headed into lap 5 the driver behind attempted to overtake around the outside of Druids Hairpin, catching the front wing of Andrew’s BARC Formula Renault on the exit.

Heading down into the fast left hand Graham Hill bend, Andrew’s front wing broke sending it under the car and Andrew off the circuit at high speed into the tyre wall.

The impact destroyed the right hand side of the car, breaking off the right front wheel. Fortunately Andrew was able to walk away from the accident with only minor bruising but the damage to his BARC Formula Renault was to survive to repair in time for Race 2 of the day, leaving Andrew with an early end to another difficult weekend.

Commenting after his Race 1 exit, Andrew said:

“It’s hard to find the positives after today, after Friday (Practice) I was full of confidence for a good weekend and some solid points but it’s just not gone our way again. We lost out to changing track conditions on Saturday and getting the best of the tyres which put us at the difficult end of the grid for today (Sunday)”. 

“Like Donington my start was great and I’d moved up four places by the second lap, I went defensive into the hairpin (Druids) and the driver behind tried to go around the outside and clipped my front wing on the exit which then broke under load heading into Graham Hill. It’s easy to point the finger in these situations but at the end of the day it was a racing incident and when your qualifying in the mid field you risk incidents like this, we were just unlucky that it broke the front wing and sent me into the tyres”.

“Our main concern now is repairing the car in time for Oulton Park (Round 5/6 BARC Formula Renault Championship) and how much it’s going to hurt our budget, but I know the team will do everything possible to make it happen and I have to say a huge thanks to all the SWB Motorsport team for their support this weekend and of course to my sponsors TXM Recruit, Railcare, Raildoor Solutions, Danbro, Albatros UK, EFD Corporate and Podium Motorsport”.

Round 3 and 4 of the 2011 BARC Formula Renault Championship will take place at Oulton Park on Saturday 28^th of May. www.motorsportvision.co.uk/oulton-park