Race 1: Qualified 3rd, Finished 4th
Race 2: Qualified 4th, Finished 3rd

Duncan had a tough Race One in extreme conditions at Donington Park yesterday, followed by a podium finish and fastest lap from a second challenge-filled Race Two.

Qualifying sessions were not quite what Duncan had hoped for after topping the timing sheets in practice on Thursday. Friday’s rain had affected the grip on the track and the first session in damp conditions was with a car that wasn’t quite as Duncan wanted. In session two he stayed out to try to get the most out of a still not perfect set-up on a drying track, but later regretted not making a pitstop for adjustments.

Race One was started in the rain and within a very short time the officials deployed the Safety Car until the race was then finished after just five laps. Under the rules the result is taken from the previous lap so officially four laps were completed.

The second race started in the dry but the track was extremely slippery following the rain. Despite struggling with the grip level, Duncan continued to push and battled with Will Bratt for third. Light rain started to fall and the race was red-flagged following an incident involving Riki Christodoulou who had been lying in second. Duncan hence regained third and took the podium, the fastest lap and valuable points for his championship campaign.

He said: “In the first race all I could see was mist! I got a good start and was closing in on Dean (Smith) in front but there was just more spray. I was being cautious and knew Riki was on the outside. Before I knew it he had passed me at the first corner and that’s how it stayed until it was red-flagged.

“It was my first time round Donington in the wet so I was trying to learn where the grippy bits of the track are. By the time we got back on track for Race Two the track was different again and it was really difficult to slow down with the low grip.

“It’s been a disappointing weekend after the test going well on Thursday. For some reason the same thing happened here last year. We’re at Snetterton next which is where I had my best 2006 result so fingers crossed on pinching a few points back.”

•   Filed under: Formula Renault UK
•   Tagged as: Donington Park, Fortec Motorsport, podium finishes