UK: CR Scuderia Snetterton summary

STILL ON TOP

Snetterton Circuit played host to rounds 10, 13 and 14 of the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship this weekend.

Round 10 was the race postponed from Croft a few weeks ago and CRS' Adam Christodoulou might have preferred it didn't take place at all, as he had to retire from third place during the race on Saturday afternoon. The Championship-leader had a better time on Sunday though with two top five finishes cementing his position at the top of the leaderboard. Scott Jenkins made some great progress at Snetterton, showing that he is getting to grips with qualifying; Ryuji Yamamoto had a tough weekend, never quite getting into the groove; and Jesse Krohn made a good first impression on the team with two top ten finishes.

Adam Christodoulou:

"It's good to come away from Snetterton still leading the Championship, especially after such a difficult weekend. In Saturday's race I got a great start, passing Buzaid for third, but I just clipped his front wing as I tucked in front which sent me into the barrier and that was the end of that. I didn't get the best start in race two as the lights went out very quick and caught me out. Sims got me going into turn one so I had to work hard to get a tow from him to pass him back. A couple of laps in I went for the outside under Bridge, then took the inside line for the next corner and got him. Race two was better still as I moved up from sixth to fifth off the line and found myself battling again with Buzaid. I went for the inside under Bridge and got him for fourth. I then caught Sims and Calado but the car was starting to become a bit of a handful in the closing stages so I couldn't get close enough to challenge them. I also wanted to make sure I finished the race and take more points. Overall the weekend started bad but it got better. All thanks to the team who worked incredibly hard on Saturday night to fix my car."

Scott Jenkins:

"The first race on Sunday was looking good as I had qualified in sixth place. Unfortunately I lost three places at the start but I managed to get back up to eighth by the end and I was pleased that my qualifying performance is improving. I started 10th in race two and finished sixth so that was great. Overall the weekend was good for me. We all struggled a bit at the start but the team all worked around it and we started to get better results."

Jesse Krohn:

"I got a good start in the first race and managed to hold position. I got a good run along the back straight - there were four of us all side-by-side with me on t he inside - but I had to back off as I was getting squeezed onto the grass. I was then stuck behind Oakes because every time I got close to him I lost downforce. I passed a car off the line for race two, taking me up to 11th, then another at turn two to take 10th place. I had a good battle with Scott (Jenkins). I made a couple of mistakes and he pulled away a bit and passed the next guy. I got that guy a couple of laps later and managed to catch Scott again but then my engine started overheating. I had to back off and luckily I only had a few more laps to go and enough of a buffer to not lose any places so I finished eighth. It has been a really good weekend and I am happy with the results."

Ryuji Yamamoto:

"I never quite got into my rhythm at Snetterton. We made a slight set-up change after the test which may have confused us a bit but together with the team we will sort it all out in the next two weeks and try to come back s trong at Oulton Park and finish in the top five."

CRS Team Director, Andrew Kirkaldy:

"That was a difficult weekend for the team. Adam had an accident in Saturday's race which was of his own doing, as he admitted, but he was just trying to defend his position. The first of Sunday's races wasn't brilliant but Adam salvaged what he could and, as Fortec also had a tough weekend, we haven't done too badly on points. Scott had a very good weekend: he was good in the test and the race so I was very pleased with his performance. Jesse joined the team at one of the hardest tracks and did an outstanding job. Ryuji had a tough weekend as things really didn't go his way."

The next two rounds of the Formula Renault UK Championship take place in two weeks' time at Oulton Park.

-credit: crscuderia.com