Teenage Cumbrian Frank Bird was back in action at Monza, finishing in the top 10 in both races.

Prior to the fifth round of the Renault Sport Eurocup Formula 2.0 taking place in Hungary next weekend, the Penrith-born racer took to the Italian circuit’s famous tarmac in the 12th Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup.

As part of 15 invited drivers, the 17-year-old took part in two 20-minute races over the weekend against some of the best young drivers in the world. And Bird was equally impressive.

In Saturday’s race, Bird used his experience of racing at Monza earlier in the year to good effect and came away in ninth place, before he bettered his performance by coming seventh the following day.

“The weekend started well and I was looking quick after free practice going into qualifying. Qualifying was OK but I just didn’t really manage to put my laps together and ended up P10 for both races, which was positive,” the Cumbrian said.

“Race one was good, I was in the pack for third place and my pace was good. I was fourth quickest overall and managed to stay out of trouble and finish seventh, but got a 10-second penalty which put me back to ninth.

“In race two, there were two safety car interventions so that was frustrating, but my pace was good again and I just managed to stay out of trouble and finish seventh.

“Overall, the weekend was good and to get two top tens was even better, so I’m now looking forward to racing at the Hungaroring next weekend.”

Paul Bird, owner of the Paul Bird Motorsport team, added: “This weekend will have given Frank a boost of confidence and he has made great progress forwards.

“Two top-ten positions are a real step in the right direction but we need to work a little on his race craft still. It’s all part of the learning curve and I’m proud of him.”