Motorsport and NUG

NUG is sponsoring young racing driver Matt Mason in his first season with Formula Renault as part of the MGR Racing team.

Formula Renault BARC is a junior class of single-seat racing cars in which Lewis Hamilton competed on the way to Formula 1. The cars have a 1998cc Renault Clio Engine producing 175 HP and a top speed of 150 mph.

Our driver is Matt Mason, an 18 year old 1st year student at Oxford Brookes University. Matt has raced Karts for 5 years with great success. His achievments so far include:

  • 4th Stars of Tomorrow Championship 2008
  • 11th Super 1 Championship Senior Rotax 2009
  • British Open Champion Senior Rotax 2009
  • 8th Super 1 Championship Senior Rotax 2010

24th April 2011 - Donington Park

Matt did very well at Donington at the weekend. There were 22 cars on the grid. Although he didn't quite make the top 10 in timed qualifying on Saturday (he made 12th for the 1st race and 11th for the second), he finished 8th in Race 1 on Sunday, and 9th in Race 2; this has put him in 8th place in the championship table.
 
The next round is at Brand's Hatch on Sunday 15th May. Good luck Matt.

15th May 2011 - Brand's Hatch

Round 2 (Races 3 & 4) of the championship was at Brand's Hatch yesterday.

After a very promising practice day on Friday, in which he was quickest in the final session, Matt could only manage a disappointing 12th in first timed qualifying on Saturday, meaning Grid 12 for the first race. However, the second timed qualifying session saw Matt 3rd fastest at one stage, eventually having to settle for 9th; only 13/100 of a second separating 2nd fastest from 9th...!

In Sunday's races, Matt, as at Donington, again improved on his starting positions, finishing 9th in the first race and 7th in the second. In the latter race, over 20 laps, he finished within 5.3 seconds of the winner, Dino Zamparelli, and less than 2.4 seconds behind second-placed James Thorpe, the championship leader! He has now had 4 top-ten finishes from 4 starts, and is joint 7th in the championship.

The official website report of Race 4, includes the following:

.....Webster finished fifth, over-turning (Fortech) team-mate Hamilton, with MGR’s Matthew Mason (Nottingham) an exceptional seventh for a career-best result.

See www.renaultsport.co.uk for the full report.

Next race is Oulton Park on Saturday 28th May.

 28th May 2011 - Oulton Park, Cheshire

 
The wheels came off Matt's championship campaign in the first race at Oulton Park when he recorded his first DNF (did not finish) of the season. Having qualified a rather lowly 13th, he had climbed to 7th place by the end of the first lap (!) but when, on lap 2, a car ahead of him spun, he found himself with nowhere to go, and the resulting collision ended his race. The damage to his front suspension and nose-cone could have meant the end of his weekend, as there is a desperate shortage of nose-cones in the paddock, but Matt, enterprisingly, managed to source a (slightly) damaged one from a rival team which proved more than adequate for the second race.
 
All drivers must drop one race result at the end of the season, so let's hope that this is his only DNF.
 
In the second race, Matt started 11th in a race which had also to be re-started following a collision on lap 3, by which time he had moved up to 10th. On the restart, he gained 3 places on the first lap, and a further place a lap or two later. His final position of 6th marks the best of his short career. However, the DNF means he now lies 9th in the championship table.
 
There is now an eight-week break until Round Four at Croft circuit, Co. Durham on Sunday 24th July.
 

Sunday 24th July: Rounds 7&8 - Croft

Following disappointing qualifying sessions on the Saturday, where he could only qualify in 13th place for both of Sundays races, Matt drove extremely well in Race 1 to climb to 8th place at the chequered flag. However, in race 2, an 'off' onto the grass at turn 2 of the first lap meant a drop to 20th place. He subsequently climbed back to finish 15th, but this represents his first finish outside of the top ten, and now lies 10th in the championship.
 
It's still very tight in the championship, though, and only 3 points separate the 4 drivers in 7th to 10th position! The next round is at Thruxton on Saturday 3rd September, a circuit which should suit Matt better. Watch this space...

3rd September 2011: First Podium for Matt at Thruxton

 

 

Matt finally came of age at Thruxton, Hants at the weekend with finishes of 4th and 2nd in races 9 & 10 of the championship, marking his first podium and elevating him from 10th to 7th in the standings with two races to go.

 

In the very limited practice time available to him on Friday afternoon, he was soon on the pace, finishing the day 2nd fastest. In timed qualifying on Saturday morning, he placed himself 3rd on the grid for race 9, and 2nd for race 10. In the first 12-lap race, despite losing two places early on, he fought back strongly to regain 3rd position, but a steering rack problem cost him the final podium place and he had to settle for 4th in a race which ended early under the safety car due to an accident. The winner was Zamparelli, with Thorp 2nd and Webster 3rd.

 

In the second race, he drove faultlessly from 2nd, tucking himself in behind the polesitter and eventual winner Zamparelli, eventually finishing runner up to him by less than 4 seconds, and over 4 seconds clear of 3rd placed Webster. Matt's average speed for the race on this very fast Hampshire circuit (where these cars can top 150 mph) was 113.49 mph!

 

15th & 16th October: Matt Mason achieves First Win from Pole at Silverstone!

 
Matt's qualifying sessions on Saturday gave him Grid 7 in Race 1 (a relatively poor starting position for him these days!), and Pole position (yes, Pole!) for Race 2. That is Matt's first Pole in car racing!
 
In Race 1, however, an electrical problem on the grid meant he had to start from pit lane, in 22nd position. During the race, he gained 11 places to reach 11th place at the chequered flag, but post-race eliminations from better-placed drivers elevated his finishing position to 9th. This result has lifted him to 6th in the Championship.
 
In Race 2, Matt narrowly lost his first place to Josh Webster at Turn 1, only to regain it at Turn 2! From then on, in the 18-lap race, he was never again headed, and took his first ever win at this level of competition in front of over 40,000 spectators and in full view of live television coverage on ITV4!
 
This has secured his 6th position in the Championship, and best rookie award by a long way. Well done, Matt!