FORMULA BMW AT THRUXTON

QUAIFE-HOBBS RECOVERS WELL FROM ACCIDENT AT THRUXTON

Recently awarded M.S.A. Elite driver Adrian Quaife-Hobbs recovered from a lucky escape in qualifying, when another car drove over the top of him, to record a top ten finish in Saturday's Formula BMW race at Thruxton. The 16 year-old rookie, who took pole position last time out, lost both valuable track time at the ultra-fast Hampshire track, plus the back-end of his car when Josef Kral flew over the back of his Fortec Motorsport vehicle in Saturday's second session.

A sterling job by the team between qualifying and the race to repair the damage and he was able to take up his place on the grid for the afternoon counter. 

At the start of race one, Adrian struggled to get away, costing him valuable places and dropping him down the order, but a superb drive saw him carve his way through the field to take ninth place at the flag.

"I dropped a couple of places off the start and then I was in the mid-field group and got to the front of that, but then I missed a gear and they all came back past me again. So then I was at the back of the group and had it all to do again but, by the time I did that the next group were just too far ahead as they were all giving each other slipstream and pulling away and I just got stuck at the front of the group for a few laps."

In race two, Adrian attempted a daring move, which unfortunately saw him swamped by the pack as the field headed into the first corner.  As he neared the start/finish line at the completion of the opening lap, he was forced to take avoiding action after being squeezed onto the grass by another competitor, sending him into a spin and dropping him down to last position.  Another remarkable recovery saw him come through to take 12th at the finish.

"On the run up to the start line for the first time I was on the outside of Carlos and we were side by side and he just kept moving over and as he moved over I got a wheel on the marbles on the edge of the track and just spun right round. I got going again and just kept going, trying to catch the pack ahead, which I did and passed a few people, but I just missed out on 11^th on the line by 2 thousands of a second” .

"It's not been a very good weekend for me, as I wasn't able to get a toe from anyone in qualifying and ended up six tenths off the pace. It's vital at Thruxton to get a tow, to get a good position. Now looking ahead to the next round at Croft -  I am hoping that everything should come together and it will be a much better weekend, as I went well in the official testing, so we should be able to get near the front on the grid which is what it's really all about -  qualifying well."

Adrian now has a four-week break from racing, whilst he concentrates on his GCSE exams and revision,  before the next rounds of the championship at Croft, North Yorkshire, over the weekend of June 2/3 where he aims to gain more points in the championship.

Further information on Adrian cam be found at www.quaifehobbs.com and www.crash.net

Formula BMW UK, Thruxton, Round 5 Provisional Results

1 Henry Arundel GBR Fortec Motorsport     20:35.516
2 Marcus Ericsson SWE Fortec Motorsport 20:38.051
3 Josef Kral CZE Double R Racing              20:38.611
4 Daniel McKenzie GBR Fortec Motorsport 20:40.950
5 Henry Surtees GBR Carlin Motorsport      20:41.119
6 Kimiya Sato JPN Nexa Racing                 20:41.565
9 Adrian Quaife-Hobbs GBR Fortec             20:54.816

Formula BMW UK, Thruxton, Round 6 Provisional Results

1 Josef Kral CZE Double R Racing              20:42.276
2 Henry Surtees GBR Carlin Motorsport      20:45.025
3 Henry Arundel GBR Fortec Motorsport     20:51.341
4 Jonathan Legris GBR Motaworld Racing   20:54.613
5 Marcus Ericsson SWE Fortec Motorsport 20:54.958
6 Oliver Webb GBR Carlin Motorsport          20:57.052

11. Kimiya Sato J  Nexa Racing                 21:04.912
12 Adrian Quaife-Hobbs GBR Fortec           21:04.914