Scott Malvern (left)

First time since October 2010 that Scott Malvern hasn’t appeared on the top step of the podium.

It was a weekend of mixed feelings for Barkingside’s Scott Malvern in the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship at Rockingham Motor Speedway at Corby in Northants.

Most drivers would be happy with a brace of second-place finishes in a near 30 car field, while also setting a new lap record in the second race.

But this was the first time in a race meeting since October 2010 that Malvern had failed to make it to the top step of the podium, such is the high standard that he has set with his results over the past 18 months.

“In the circumstances we should be pleased,” said Malvern.

“We are running on a shoe-string budget with a new and inexperienced team for this championship and competing well against highly experienced and professional outfits such as Fortec Motorsport who have drivers with much larger budgets, but no one likes to be beaten.

“If we could just find the funding to improve the car so that we could do things like run new brake pads and calipers and refresh the engine it would really make a difference,” said Malvern.

“We really lacked straight-line speed this weekend, but even then I still managed to set a new lap record.”

Malvern is headed by double weekend winner Seb Morris in the championship race by some 12 points, leaping previous leader Josh Webster, after he endured a nightmare weekend with only 11 points from the two races.

There is now a four-week break in Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship action with rounds six and seven of the 2012 season taking place at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire on Sunday, June 17.