News Article
King completes solid test day at Rockingham
Jordan King had to settle for fifth and eighth respectively in the two Formula Renault 2.0 UK test sessions at Rockingham on Friday, despite leading the order deep into the closing stages of the day’s running.
17-year-old King is making his Rockingham racing debut for rounds 15 and 16 of the series this weekend, but that didn’t show during testing as he set the quickest lap time of all the drivers on old tyres.
The competitive nature of the UK series shone through however, as King dropped to fifth at the finish during the morning running. His lap time of 1:16.421s left him just over half a second behind pace-setter Eftihios Ellinas, but King continued to set an impressive number of similar times throughout the remainder of the day. The talented youngster clocked no fewer than five lap times to within three tenths of his afternoon benchmark of 1:16.419s, showing good consistency ahead of Sunday’s two 16 lap races.
Despite not running as quickly as he’d hoped on fresh rubber, King is confident ahead of the weekend. “I can’t say where we’ll be exactly but we are definitely up there,” he said. “Running quickest and consistently on old tyres is always a good sign but we just need to get it right in qualifying. I obviously hope I’m at the front of the grid but there are good opportunities to overtake here anyway.
“Running on the oval section feels a bit crazy. It’s knowing went to plant your foot coming out of the last corner and that wall on the outside looks extremely close as you approach speeds of around 130mph.”
King’s rookie season so far has included several highs and lows, including having been denied certain victory at Snetterton after being hit from behind by over-zealous rival Alex Lynn. He then suffered a similar fate at Silverstone but King’s confidence took a major leap forward after his last outing however, when the Hugo Boss Brand Ambassador claimed a maiden podium in the ultra competitive Formula Renault 2.0 North European Cup at Most in the Czech Republic.
Now he is all set for qualifying on Saturday, with the sessions taking place at 10:20 and 14:30 respectively. The official Jordan King website will keep you updated throughout the weekend.
