Ryan Hooker Finishes 7th In Latest VdeV UK Race After A Hard Fought Race.
Ryan Hooker (Upminster, Essex) and team-mate Sarah Reader proved their excellent showing in the opening round of the VdeV UK Championship was no fluke when the pair put on an equally strong performance in the 2nd round held at Anglesey.
Driving the TFL Racing prepared Juno SSE-CN sports prototype, this was Ryan's first time at the Welsh circuit since it has undergone major development and he was full of praise for the track which sits on the coastline with views of Snowdonia in the distance.
"They have made a wonderful job of this track, it's awesome" said Ryan "and driving a Juno on it just makes it all the better. It has everything, challenging corners, powerful straights and undulations. It makes the driver and car work hard for every moment of the race."
A problem with a wheel nut caused a delay in qualifying meaning Ryan could only get in a handful of fast laps so knew their qualifying position of 11th didn't truly reflect the car's ability which was to be ably demonstrated in the 3 Hour race.
Ryan started the race and cut through the pack to take 5 places in the first lap alone before taking 5th place on lap 2 which saw a battle lasting over one hour with the 4th place Juno of Tony Freeman. After an epic tussle Ryan was passed and pulling away. As the driver change over to Sarah loomed he had lifted the car to an impressive 2nd place.
However, the emergence of the safety car at th epoint of their changeover worked against the pairing and Sarah came out for her stint in 4th place. Sarah put in a spirited performance but with the final half an hour the race approaching a warning light flashed on the dashboard suggesting a failing battery. Sarah battled on valiantly, finally having to pit in the belief the battery had failed but a tiny wire fault in the alternator turned out to be the cause. Quickly remedied, Sarah was back on track having lost 2 laps but was still able to come home in 7th place, picking up more valuable Championship points.
"This really is proving an exciting car, team and Championship" said Ryan afterwards. "Sarah and I work very well together and for this race we really streamlined our driver changeover and the refuelling which has saved us over 15 seconds in the pitstop. The car is very competitive and we have shown we can make the run for the podium places."
Their next race will be at Oulton Park, Cheshire on Saturday 28 June and will be a 4 Hour race.
Ryan Hooker (Upminster, Essex) and team-mate Sarah Reader proved their excellent showing in the opening round of the VdeV UK Championship was no fluke when the pair put on an equally strong performance in the 2nd round held at Anglesey.