Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Chris Middlehurst and Jorge Cevallos began the 2013 Protyre Formula Renault season with their first wins in the category.
Although both of the qualifications at Donington Park were topped by Sam MacLeod, Fortec’s karting graduate was not able to win any of the races.
The first race of the 2013 Protyre Formula Renault was dominated by MGR’s Middlehurst. The only man, who could stay close to him was polesitter MacLeod. AirAsia Caterham-backed driver Weiron Tan started his season on the podium, followed by Lebanese Joe Ghanem, Venezuelan Matteo Ferrer and Argentinian Mat?as Galetto.
The second run of the weekend was a much tougher and closer one, with five drivers having chance to win the race. However, the race concluded with a MGR Motorsport 1-2 in Cevallos – Middlehurst order, the two seperated by only 0.069 seconds. The fifth podium finisher of the weekend was Russian Ivan Taranov, closely followed by Jake Cook and Ghanem.
Victory in race one, and finishing second in race two makes Middlehurst a true title contender and the leader of the championship with a healthy lead of 20 points. His biggest challengers are Telmex-backed Cevallos, Ghanem, newcomer MacLeod and Ferrer.
The next round will take place at Snetterton with three races at 11th/12th May.
Race 1 results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Chris Middlehurst | MGR Motorsport | 17 laps in 21:49.725 |
| 2 | Samuel MacLeod | Fortec Motorsports | +2.308 |
| 3 | Weiron Tan | Fortec Motorsports | +8.628 |
| 4 | Joe Ghanem | MTECH Lite | +10.002 |
| 5 | Matteo Ferrer | MGR Motorsport | +13.694 |
| 6 | Mat?as Galetto | MTECH Lite | +15.315 |
| 7 | Hong Wei Cao | Fortec Motorsports | +20.779 |
| 8 | Matt Rao | Hillspeed | +21.069 |
| 9 | Shahan Sarkissian | MTECH Lite | +23.440 |
| 10 | Edward Brand | MTECH Lite | +31.395 |
| 11 | Jorge Cevallos | MGR Motorsport | +54.008 |
| 12 | Jake Cook | Hillspeed | +1 lap |
| Not classified | |||
| Tom Oliphant | MGR Motorsport | +5 laps | |
| Pietro Fittipaldi | Jamun Racing Services | +12 laps | |
| Shaun Thong | Fortec Motorsports | +15 laps | |
| Diego Menchaca | Jamun Racing Services | +16 laps | |
| Ivan Taranov | Scorpio Motorsport | +17 laps | |
Race 2 results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Jorge Cevallos | MGR Motorsport | |
| 2 | Chris Middlehurst | MGR Motorsport | 0.069 |
| 3 | Ivan Taranov | Scorpio Motorsport | +2.454 |
| 4 | Jake Cook | Hillspeed | +2.724 |
| 5 | Joe Ghanem | MTECH Lite | +6.097 |
| 6 | Hong Wei Cao | Fortec Motorsports | +13.668 |
| 7 | Matteo Ferrer | MGR Motorsport | +14.322 |
| 8 | Matt Rao | Hillspeed | +15.885 |
| 9 | Pietro Fittipaldi | Jamun Racing Services | +16.153 |
| 10 | Tom Oliphant | MGR Motorsport | +16.593 |
| 11 | Shahan Sarkissian | MTECH Lite | +25.286 |
| 12 | Edward Brand | MTECH Lite | +25.964 |
| 13 | Samuel MacLeod | Fortec Motorsports | +1 lap |
| Not classified | |||
| Weiron Tan | Fortec Motorsports | +8 lap | |
| Mat?as Galetto | MTECH Lite | +11 lap | |
| Diego Menchaca | Jamun Racing Services | +15 lap | |
| Shaun Thong | Fortec Motorsports | +15 lap | |
Drivers’ standings after 1 of 6 rounds
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Pts. |
| 1 | Chris Middlehurst | MGR Motorsport | 62 |
| 2 | Jorge Cevallos | MGR Motorsport | 42 |
| 3 | Joe Ghanem | MTECH Lite | 42 |
| 4 | Samuel MacLeod | Fortec Motorsports | 36 |
| 5 | Matteo Ferrer | MGR Motorsport | 36 |
| 6 | Hong Wei Cao | Fortec Motorsports | 34 |
| 7 | Jake Cook | Hillspeed | 31 |
| 8 | Matt Rao | Hillspeed | 28 |
| 9 | Ivan Taranov | Scorpio Motorsport | 27 |
| 10 | Weiron Tan | Fortec Motorsports | 25 |
| 11 | Shahan Sarkissian | MTECH Lite | 22 |
| 12 | Edward Brand | MTECH Lite | 20 |
| 13 | Mat?as Galetto | MTECH Lite | 18 |
| 14 | Pietro Fittipaldi | Jamun Racing Services | 12 |
| 15 | Tom Oliphant | MGR Motorsport | 11 |
| 16 | Shaun Thong | Fortec Motorsports | 0 |