Conway's Dominance Continues At Croft

Sevenoaks racing ace Mike Conway took yet another step closer to lifting his first major motor racing title with another display of absolute dominance in the latest rounds of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Croft in North Yorkshire.

The 20-year old from Kent piloted his Fortec Motorsport single-seater to two pole positions and a pair of race wins in the two races, and set a new lap record for the circuit in the process. Conway now leads the championship standings by a comfortable 122 points from ComTec Racing's Westley Barber with eight races left.

Conway's Croft weekend did not get off to the best start in testing on Friday, when a problem with his car's engine meant it had to be replaced, leaving Mike with very little time to practice on the tricky Croft circuit. The timing of his original engine had slipped and had bent a valve, meaning there was no choice but to change the power unit.

With a brand new engine in the car, Conway knew he had his work cut out if he was to make an impression during qualifying on Saturday. But he went about his work with his customary coolness, and set a double pole position despite suffering more problems.

In first qualifying, Conway set his pole time early but was on a quicker lap later in the session when a rear wishbone broke, ending his session. During the second qualifying session, he again set the quickest time and was endeavouring to go even faster when his left rear tyre blew, again curtailing his efforts. The blow-out would also mean that he had fewer tyres to use than his rivals for the rest of the weekend, and had to drive on older rubber during the two races.

However, the job was done, and Conway would start from the front of the grid for both races. In race one, he got a good start, and immediately pulled away from Barber before it started to rain, which caused very tricky conditions. "It was difficult," explained Conway. "Half the lap was dry and half was wet and we were all on slick tyres but I still managed to pull out a gap of almost five seconds.

"I could see the rain on my visor but thankfully it never really came to much and later, the track got drier and drier so I was able to stay ahead quite easily."

In the event, it was Manor Motorsport's Paul di Resta who finished second behind Conway, ahead of Barber, but di Resta was still 3.4 seconds behind the Fortec star.

Race two was slightly wetter than the first event, with more continuous rain falling throughout the 14-lap race. Conway again started well, and pulled away from the rest of the field, the damp weather not affecting him as his Fortec car's set-up was perfect.

"Before the race it was dry, but I could see the rain coming," said Conway. "The rain wasn't heavy, it was just lightly spitting all the time but that made it very tricky. It was difficult to tell what the conditions were going to do so I took it easy during the middle of the race."

Despite this, he still made the win look easy, crossing the finish line 3.8 seconds ahead of team-mate Charles Hollings and setting his new lap record of 1m18.500s in the process.

Although Conway's lead is now a healthy 122 points, that gap will close after dropped scores are taken into account because Conway's lowest finishing spot so far has been fourth. He knows he has to keep the pressure up if he is to take the FRenault crown on which he is closing fast.

"We go to Knockhill in Scotland next, and the weather could easily play a part there too," he said. "Fortec's Formula 3 team went to Knockhill earlier this year so I can get some help on data from them and our wet weather set-up is very good anyway, as we proved at Donington earlier in the summer.

"I know I have to keep pushing to the end. I just have to keep winning races and racking up points."

Conway's Knockhill weekend takes place on August 7/8 for rounds 13 and 14 of the FRenault UK Championship.

Media contact: Andy Bothwell 07944 651166

ship," he admitted. "It's been a long break but this was the perfect way to keep myself focussed on my driving."

Media contact: Andy Bothwell 07944 651166