Incredible Formula Renault debut at Donington

After five months since Michael had even sat in a competitive single seater racing car, he was preparing for his first test in a Formula Renault (2.0 litre) at a circuit that he had never driven on. "After evaluating our options for the 2006 season, we thought that the BARC Formula Renault series would be worth looking into as an introduction to the 'TOCA' Championship. A number of people recommended the BARC series this year as the cost is roughly half of what you would expect to pay in the main TOCA Championship". Michael was able to familiarise himself with the Falcon Motorsport team (who finished second this year's championship) earlier in the week, therefore maximising time before testing opened to study track data. "The telemetry provided me with a foundation to work on and we managed to do a couple of slow laps around the track to get an idea of conditions. I was amazed by the gradient change around the circuit and how steep it looked!"

It remained dry throughout the day but for most of the morning, the circuit was damp. "I found the conditions very tricky to begin with as it was hard to judge exactly how wet the track was; the car was quite twitchy and nervous until we altered the balance slightly". As the track began to dry, Michael started taking huge chunks out of his lap times before it was decided that slick tyres should be put on. Once the tyres were up to temperature, Michael was straight into the 1:12's before setting a best time of 1:11.400 before lunch. After the lunch break, the track had lost time and Michael was unable to beat his fastest time. "It was extremely frustrating to see the lap times remaining static because our data indicated that I was driving better than I had done in the morning but the circuit did not have the same grip. We were also loosing quite a lot of speed with a strong head-wind. Reviewing the data afterwards, I think we went the wrong way with the setup and should have softened the car to adapt to the conditions. However, I am very pleased with the outcome of this first test and cannot wait to get back behind the wheel!"

Nick Streatfield, the team principle of Falcon Motorsport commented: "We have tested a number of drivers over the last few weeks and I can honestly say that Michael impressed me more than any other this year. The conditions were particularly tricky early in the morning but I was impressed with the way he adapted as the track dried. To get down to a time of 1:11.400 in his first test in a Formula Renault car was quite frankly amazing! We feel that if the conditions had not of deteriorated towards the end of the day, Michael could quite easily of broken into the 1:10's. Incredibly, despite the poorer track conditions, that time would have put Michael fourth on the grid in the BARC Formula Renault race this year!
I have no hesitation in offering Michael a drive with Falcon Motorsport next year. The competition will be much stronger in 2006 but I?m confident that with sufficient pre season testing, he will be a very strong championship contender and one that I want to be racing with us. I sincerely hope that we can conclude a contract with Michael in time for the launch of our driver line up at the Autosport show on the 12th January 2006".