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Webb Frustrated by Donington Deflation

Knutsford based, Oliver Webb had a weekend of highs and lows in the Formula Renault race at Donington on the 3^rd and 4^th May.

The Formula BMW graduate had a good testing session and was lying fourth in qualifying when he came in to alter his tyre pressures in a last-gasp bid for pole. Webb came in and was just about to return to the circuit when the pit lane was shut two minutes early barring from going back out. Unfortunately, with the track getting quicker as the session went on, Webb who had been 4^th when he came in was relegated to 10^th in a matter of minutes.

The frustration of his grid position drove Webb to nail a great start in the single-seater Renault, rocketing off the line and getting up to 6^th by the first corner. Webb sat in 6^th briefly before being overhauled by Dean Stoneman for a few laps, once in seventh he pushed hard and battled back to sixth. There he held station, while simultaneously battling the fifth placed driver and fending off the seventh placed driver, in a dog fight that went on until the chequered flag.

Race two had the added excitement of a rain shower as the cars were lined up ready to start. Every driver started on slicks and the tricky conditions contributed to the driver behind Webb pushing him into Christodoulou. The collision caused a bent Webb’s wishbone and punctured his tyre, but undeterred, Webb recovered the car to the pits, changed the tyre and had running repairs to the suspension. Amazingly, despite running dead last after losing several laps in the pits, Webb still set the sixth fastest time with a car that was far from perfect.

Webb will be back in action on the 18^th May at the ultra-fast Thruxton circuit, a venue with a reputation for favouring the bravest drivers.