BUSHELL NOW EYES TITLE AT SILVERSTONE
Max Coates (Scorton) and Lee Pattison (Halifax) shared the wins in Rockingham’s two Renault UK Clio Cup races while Mike Bushell (Tunbridge Wells) survived a weekend of differing fortunes to put himself in with a strong chance of winning the drivers’ title in the championship’s penultimate two rounds at nearby Silverstone, Northamptonshire in three weeks’ time (Sat 16/Sun 17 September).
Ciceley Motorsport driver Coates set a new qualifying lap record to take pole position for both races at Rockingham and also led both from the start.
In the first he was able to stay ahead throughout as WDE Motorsport’s Pattison – who set a new race lap record – and Team Pyro’s Jack McCarthy (Bromley) took second and third positions.
In the second race Coates led away again but was soon passed by Pattison and Pyro’s Bushell. They went on to finish ahead of him in first and second as the UK Clio Cup again enjoyed massive exposure thanks to live coverage on ITV4.
Bushell’s second place and the tenth he finished in race one on Saturday (incidentally his worst result in more than three years!) mean he leaves Rockingham with a mammoth 82-point championship lead over nearest rival Pattison. He only needs to be 69 points clear after Silverstone’s races to become Champion, even with the final two rounds – around Brands Hatch’s mighty Grand Prix circuit – still to go…
McCarthy was one of the stand-out performers at Rockingham. The 17-year-old’s third place in race one marked his first outright podium result in the UK Clio Cup – he was also the highest scorer in the Graduates Cup for young, first-year drivers in both races to close on class leaders Nathan Harrison (Oxford) and James Dorlin (Barnsley).
Elsewhere there were impressive debuts from three drivers – 16-year-olds Bradley Burns (Farnham) and Zak Fulk (Guildford) and James JJ Ross (Watford). Each showed great pace with Burns qualifying a remarkable fifth for race two’s grid…
Meanwhile the battle for the UK Clio Cup’s Teams’ title intensified further at Rockingham with WDE closing to within 33 points of leader Pyro with a possible 240 still available from the season’s remaining four rounds. WDE’s Paul Rivett (Epsom Downs) continues to lead team-mate Pattison at the top of the Masters Cup standings for older drivers…
