Holmes awarded Driver of the Day | 16.07.07 | 12.53 Chris started both Formula Renault UK races at Donington Park from further down the grid than he would have liked after two tricky qualifying sessions on Saturday. Qualifying one saw Chris end up p12 with all the AKA cars struggling for pace, and even worse had to start last for race two, 20th after the rear right suspension failed early in the second qualifying session. Race one began with heavy rain falling, but this did not slow Holmes making up three positions in just 3 laps and lapping as the fastest AKA Cobra car, however a lap later the safety car was deployed and after a further two laps the red flag was shown (lap 5). The results were taken from the end of lap four with Manor Competition’s Sims winning, and Chris finishing 9th. Chris commented "I actually enjoyed the first race the rain made it a real challenge but it was the danger of the spray that meant it had to be red-flagged, it was virtually impossible to see following anyone, especially in the midfield! However my car was working great and i passed a few cars and had the race gone on we could have certainly challenged for a top 6 result" Race two saw Chris start last after a mechanical fault in second qualifying however the AKA Cobra driver was looking forward to showing what he could do. Starting P20 Chris had a fantastic start and after the first lap he was up to 14th, then the following lap he was up to 9th! Holmes was on a charge!! Then a fantastic battle unfolded with Adriano Buzaid, they exchanged positions twice on the same lap, then they both passed Alex Morgan (Manor Competition) at once 3 cars wide into Redgate (turn 1) again Chris capitalised and two laps later Chris was up to 8th, and on the final lap passed Richard Keen (Apotex Scorpio) for 7th postion, but the race was red flagged and results were taken back a lap, leaving Chris 8th from 20th again the fastest AKA car, a stunning recovery drive and one which earnt him 'THB Clowes Driver of the Day' "That was a fantastic race, not far off the best in my career so far, fair and a lot of fun! I made a great start and just made the right moves on the first few laps and gained so many places, everything i tried worked" "Adriano and I had a fantastic battle and ended up changing positions back and forth and both passed a Manor car into the first corner in one move, it was just a great race, and thankfully a good haul of points after having to start last, and obvioulsy its great to get Driver of the Day, i really believe we can win a race by the end of the year or at least hav a podium!" Chris and all the other Formula Renault UK drivers will be out again this Thursday (19th July) at Snetterton in Norfolk for an Official Test in the run up to the Race meeting there in two weeks time. << back to news