Young Hook racer Archie Hamilton suffered a heart-wrenching blow in the final round of the Formula Renault winter series after crashing out and losing the championship.
The disappointment follows the 20-year-old’s best weekend of his career at Snetterton on November 5 where he won three out of four races and took a 22-point lead in the championship.
At Rockingham on Saturday, he bagged a third-place podium position in the first race of the day and the fifth of the six race championship.
The two races were all about finishing to win the series, and after struggling in qualifying with the wrong set-up for the drying track, Hamilton chose to hold back and secure third place.
With a 19-point lead going into the final round, Hamilton only needed to finish the final race to claim the title.
In the final race, Hamilton maintained his strategy of finishing. But a safety car period bunched the drivers following an incident involving several of the faster TOCA Formula Renault cars, some of which rejoined the track at the back of the pack behind the BARC cars.
After the restart, Hamilton was hit from behind with such force that his car was catapulted into a gravel trap from which he couldn’t escape, ending his race and his title campaign. His points from the five races were sufficient for him to take the runner-up position and gifting the title to Victor Jiminez.
Speaking after the race, Hamilton said: “I’m devastated. In a way it would have been easier if I had made a mistake, but to lose a title when I had been so close to taking it by needless poor driving is hard to take.
“I had thought about starting from the pit lane and following everyone from the back, but that didn’t seem very sporting – now I just wish I had.
“I have to take away the three wins and five podiums from six races. I have made a lot of progress this season and I intend to make even more in 2012.”
