REIGNING Formula Renault BARC Champion Alice Powell had mixed fortunes last weekend at Brands Hatch for the penultimate rounds of the Formula Renault UK Championship.

Cotswold driver Powell struggled in qualifying, only managing to post the 12th and tenth fastest time for her two races.

For race one, Alice got a fantastic start, gaining two positions off the line to move into tenth. Throughout the race, she had a great battle with team-mate Josh Hill, who overtook her on the penultimate lap, with Alice finishing eighth.

For race two, Alice was in eighth at the end of lap three. From then on, she pressed Ed Jones but could not find a way past, still managing to set the fifth fastest lap of the race and finish second in the Graduate Cup.

She crossed the line in eighth but received points for sixth place, as two drivers in front of her were not in the championship standings. Alice said: “I am disappointed with the way the weekend went. I was hoping for much better results, but the positives are that we showed in the last race that we had the pace, and also that we can start well.

“I just need to stay calm and focused to try and get a better result at Silverstone in two weeks. I have dropped to seventh in the championship, but only two points behind sixth, so it is not impossible."

Alice will also be joining the ITV4 commentary team at Silverstone for the Formula Renault BARC Championship races.