UK 2.0: Russell Racing Brands Hatch preview

Matt Russell heads to Brands Hatch Indy Circuit next weekend, 23rd/24th September, for rounds 17 and 18 of the Formula Renault UK Championship hoping to achieve his most promising qualifying performance and, consequently, best race results of the season.

The 22-year-old, from Harlesden in North London, enjoyed his best qualifying outing of the year last Sunday at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit during a bumper weekend which saw Formula Renault UK supporting the prestigious World Series by Renault at a race meeting attended by more than 90,000 spectators.

Next weekend at Brands Hatch, Matt will not only be aiming to better his Donington qualifying display, the Russell Racing star is also focused on finishing inside the top 15 in both races with just four rounds remainingin the 2006 championship.

"I'm looking forward to returning to Brands", said Matt, "Even though it's probably quicker to travel to Silverstone from North London, Brands is really my local track and we should have a good number of guests there so I'm hoping to have our best outing of the year.

"At Donington we had our best qualifying of the season so if I can continue to progress and get more confidence, I'm sure we'll be able to achieve our goal of the top 15. My aim is to have more good points finishes, get some better results under my belt and then build on that for the final two rounds at Silverstone in October."

Following on from a successful year in the Formula Renault BARC Championship during 2005, the current season has been one of frustration for Matt but the Doncaster-based team is confident next weekend's races could mark a turning point in performance for its Leoline Travel and Maltings Leisure & Fitness-supported car.

The opening two rounds of the Formula Renault UK season, of course, also took place at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit and saw Matt qualifying inside the top 20, just seven 10ths of a second away from pole position. Returning to the British Touring Car Championship support package next weekend, Matt is aiming to be even closer to the pace.

Official testing will take place at the Kent track on Friday, 22nd September, with qualifying scheduled for Saturday, 23rd September, The round 17 session is timetabled for 11.20 while round 18 qualifying will be held at 16.10.

Both races, which will be covered live on Motors TV, are scheduled for Sunday, 24th September, with round 17 starting at 11.55 and round 18 expected to get underway at 15.05. Motors TV will broadcast the race action on channel 413 of the Sky Digital platform and through cable provider NTL on channel 545.

-credit: rr