JON BARNES LOOKING FOR ITALIAN JOB

12th September 2006

Southampton race ace Jon Barnes will have just one thing on his mind as he heads to the final rounds of the Formula Palmer Audi Championship at the Mugello circuit this weekend.  Victory in two of the three rounds will assure him of the title he currently leads courtesy of six wins in seven races and 10 podiums from 12 rounds.

The 22 year-old dominated last time out at Dijon , with fastest lap in both free practice sessions, pole for both races and a double victory with fastest lap. Now, the BRDC Rising Star who holds a 31 point advantage over Viktor Jensen will be determined to do the same when the series reaches a thrilling climax in Italy on Sunday.

“I'm really looking forward to it,” said Jon .  “Ideally I'd like to win the first two races so I can wrap it up and then be able to enjoy the final race on Sunday afternoon.  I'd like to take my total race wins to 30, which I'll do if I can win two races in Mugello.

“But there's still a lot of work to do.  The circuit is an unknown to all of us there; many people put my success in Dijon down to circuit knowledge, even though many of them had tested there before too.  Hopefully I can prove them all wrong this weekend and show that that was not the case.

“We'll all be equal when it comes to track experience and it should be a challenge, one that I'm relishing.  The circuit looks great, flowing with lots of different elevations and I can't wait to get there.”

The three-day event will see Jon take to the track for just 30 minutes of free practice at 10.15am on Friday September 15 th before qualifying at 13.45 that afternoon.  Qualifying two will take place at 11.20 on Saturday with the first of the three 30minute races at 13.55.  Race two will take place later on Saturday afternoon at 17.45 with the third and final round at 17.00 on Sunday afternoon.

As usual, Hay Fisher Productions will film the action, which will be broadcast on Motors TV at the following times: Race one: 28 th September 20.30, 29 th September 07.30, 29 th September 18.00, 30 th September 16.00, 2 nd October 15.30, 4 th October 14.00.

Race two will be broadcast at 5 th October 20.30, 6 th October 02.30, 6 th October 18.00, 7 th October 11.00, 9 th October 16.00, 10 th October 00.30, 11 th October 07.30, 11 th October 20.00.

Championship points after Round 12

1. JON BARNES 254pts

2. Viktor Jensen 223pts

3. Chris Hyman 210pts

4. Giacomo Petrobelli 154pts

5. Tom Haines 150pts

6. James Wingfield 149pts 

ENDS

For media information:   Cathy Metcalfe, MPR Associates

                                     Tel: +44 (0) 1327 352199

                                     Mob: +44 (0) 7802 332398

                                     E-mail: cathymetcalfe@mpr-associates.co.uk

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