Hillspeed hold off on UK Formula Renault Championship until the right drivers can be found - 27.03.06
Hillspeed who originally intended to run two cars in both the BARC and UK Formula Renault Championships have put their 2006 entry into the UK championship on hold until later in the season. Richard Ollerenshaw, Team Principal, sighted the saturated market of drives available and the lack of drivers ready for the challenge of the closely fought championship as the reasons why.

‘We take a slightly different route to some of the other teams who are out there’ said Richard Ollerenshaw. ‘They’re running as many cars as possible to offer what at first appear cheap deals, to some teams it’s simply a numbers game. The bottom line is that it depends on what the individual driver is looking for, either a bargain basement deal that has been cut back so much it will at some point during the season come back to bite them, or a high quality package from a team that represents value for money. We are equally competitively priced as other teams but want to offer our drivers the highest level of service possible, this is why we choose to only operate two cars.’

‘We will look at entering the UK Championship but only with drivers who want to be there for the right reasons and who will work equally as hard as us commented Ollerenshaw. ‘We don’t see the UK Formula Renault Championship as something that should be done just for the sake of doing it year in year out. If you haven’t got the drivers that truly want to succeed and give 110% all of the time then there really is no point in being there. The UK Formula Renault Championship is one of the most tightly fought championships in the world at any level of motor racing. A driver making half an effort here will not be successful and can bring adverse attention toward the team’.

‘We have done our part in finding team sponsorship, but we simply cannot find the right drivers to benefit from it’ said Ollerenshaw ‘and James Littlejohn who we are running in the BARC Championship and is certainly on the pace is unable to commit to the additional demands due to his exam conflicts. This is obviously disappointing for us but we will utilise the funding in other areas until we are certain we are ready with the right drivers for the championship’.

Hillspeed now intend to prepare and develop its drivers through their newly formed BARC Formula Renault operation before graduating them to the UK Formula Renault Championship. This will allow the team to fully assess a drivers potential before embarking on a high profile national championship.