Adam Bugeja, 19, of Naxxar, has been offered a drive in the 2006 BARC Formula Renault UK championship. This was the result of a test held recently at the Mallory Park race track in the UK.
According to team owner Mike Read: “We were surprised and impressed with Bugeja’s mature and professional approach; Adam provided the team with useful and accurate feedback.
“We were expecting lap times in the region of 50 to 51 seconds and Bugeja gave us an excellent 48.7 seconds. We are very happy to offer Adam a drive in our Formula Renault or Formula 3 team for the coming season.”
The test follows Bugeja’s success in the 2005 National UK Club Karting Championship. Adam came an excellent second in the July race meeting setting the fastest time during Saturday practice.
Immediately after completing his karting commitments, Bugeja was taken to Bruntingthorpe to start practising. Driving a BMW M3, Bugeja was closely monitored by racing instructor, Carolyn Barker.
Then, on Monday, Bugeja, who already has the FIA National A class karting licence, obtained the official FIA racing car licence. He was assessed by British Motor Sport Association racing instructors in which he impressed them with his consistent driving.
Accompanied by Barker, Bugeja arrived at Mallory Park on the Wednesday on a fine, rather warm and dry day, which suited him well. He met Read and together they went through a series of discussions about the Formula Renault racing car and various tips on the Mallory Park racing track. This was Bugeja’s first time in a single seater car and indeed the first time at Mallory Park; so much had to be absorbed quickly. Bugeja had three sessions of 30 minutes each.
His first session was a cautious one, getting used to the race car and track, building up speed gradually. Coming back into the pits after the first session, he was very pleased with the overall performance of the Renault, although he did have difficulty selecting third gear.
The second session also went extremely well. Bugeja started to better understand the car, although a slight late braking manoeuvre induced a small spin. Back in the pits, Read was pleased with the progress, but still concerned about the difficulty of selecting third gear, which was hampering Bugeja’s timings. Despite this, Bugeja’s time came to around 1.5 seconds of the top experienced Formula Renault drivers.
Following further exchange of information between driver and the team, Bugeja once more pushed a little bit more in the final session. He was consistently improving and visibly gaining confidence. Bugeja was only using about 80 per cent of the car’s available downforce, so there is still plenty of scope to improve on his already excellent lap times.
Bugeja was sponsored on this test by local Renault distributors Auto Sales Ltd. Commenting ahead of the test last week Bernardette Bonnici Kind, director of Auto Sales Ltd, stated: “Supporting such young talent who is making a name for himself abroad in such a highly competitive environment is strategically important. We wish him every success!”
Bugeja would not have been able to exploit this opportunity without his current sponsors, OnVol, Air Malta, Westin Dragonara Resort, Bridges Worldwide Express and M-Zone.