FORMULA RENAULT 2.0 NEC – MATTY READY FOR SERIES SWANSONG
An up and down season draws to a close on Sunday morning with the final round of the 2014 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC at the fabled Nurburgring in Germany in what has been another meeting of varying fortunes for Matty
Following an excellent day on Thursday, where he was consistently placed in the top five, an administrative mix up relating to Matty’s outings in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup resulted in the 18 year old being forced to sit out the day’s only free practice session.
While weather conditions meant the usefulness of the session would have been limited, having not driven the car before having to push for performance in qualifying saw Matty compromised once again in the crucial grid deciding sessions.
Salvaging eighth in qualifying for Saturday’s race two, and narrowly missing out on the top ten in qualifying for Sunday’s race three from p11, accompanied by his p12 spot in race one, thanks to his finish at Most three weeks ago, Matty was still closer to the sharp end of the grid than recent events and hopeful of scoring well.
In race one, chronic understeer stymied his progress and forced him to settle for 13th at the chequered flag while in race two, the fast flowing nature of the bi-annual home of the German Grand Prix saw virtually the entire field unable to secure enough momentum to make moves up the order.
A rapid start did see the Co. Durham flyer challenge fellow BRDC Formula 4 graduate Seb Morris into the first turn, but the Welshman’s defence and Matty’s subsequent loss of momentum saw the opportunity quickly evaporate.
The 21 points earned so far this weekend does put Matty in a position to seal 10th place in the overall championship on Sunday morning, but that is not a thought that is pre-eminent in his mind.
“To be honest, I’m focusing more on just enjoying my NEC run that thinking about where I might and might not finish.” Said Graham.
“This is a difficult track to overtake on and with Andrea [PIzzitola] on pole, it’s an outside chance at best. All I want is to enjoy the race, have some fun, entertain the specatators and see if I can give the team another reason to celebrate after their first podium through Josef [Zaruba] yesterday.”
Supporters in the UK can watch the final race of the season by clicking here with lights out at 07:40 BST