TO GRAB EARLY POINTS LEAD

Ant Whorton-Eales (Lichfield) was the winner of Easter Sunday’s Renault UK Clio Cup round at Brands Hatch in the closest top-three finish in championship history with just 0.508 seconds covering him, runner-up Ashley Sutton (Bishops Stortford) and third-placed Ash Hand (Nuneaton) at the chequered flag.

Sutton led the race from the start although SV Racing’s Whorton-Eales did nose briefly ahead at mid-distance only for his Team BMR Restart with Pyro rival to regain first place at the very next bend.

It all came down to the last corner when Whorton-Eales dived inside Sutton, the pair of them running side-by-side briefly in the sprint to the finishing line. Whorton-Eales just held on from Sutton while Pyro’s Hand, who had started from pole position but lost ground at the opening bend, got in on the act as well to take third in a thrilling finish.

Hand also set the race’s fastest lap for two bonus points. Sutton was the highest-placed driver in the Graduate class for younger racers in their first season of the Clio Cup.

Whorton-Eales’s win means he has taken an early championship lead as the title race next heads to his home circuit of Donington Park, Leicestershire in a fortnight (Sat 18/Sun 19 April).

“I’m delighted but, boy, that was a hard-fought win,” he reflected having gone from sixth on the grid into second spot at the first bend. He added: “It was a really good clean battle between Ashley and I but when my chance came I had to take it as I could see Hand was closing up fast on us. He took the wide racing line into the corner which gave me the gap I needed.”

Sutton said: “I’m not happy with how that worked out. I don’t feel that Ant’s move was quite in the spirit of things which was a shame because up to that point we’d had a very close but fair race, but it’s laid down the rules. We’ll go to Donington and see what happens there.”

Hand added: “I lost too much time in the early stages defending my place but once I was into my stride I was able to start inching towards the two in front. It was good to be right up with them at the end. Another lap and who knows, but I’ll take third and the bonus points for fastest lap – it’s important to start the season with a good points haul as it’s a long season.”Meanwhile 20TenRacing’s Jordan Stilp (Towcester), Team Cooksport’s Charles Ladell (Bury St Edmonds) – impressively up from 13th on the grid – and Pyro’s Brett Smith completed the top six. Next up came WDE Motorsport’s triple Champion Paul Rivett (Epsom) who had run fourth early on but then lost ground when a tangle with Stilp sent him off the track.

Cooksport’s Paul Knapp (Farniingham) was the winner of the Masters Cup for older drivers but there was a slice of luck involved – on his Clio Cup debut Ben Seyfried (Yeovil) looked to be on course for the accolade until the final bend when a clash with SVR team-mate Jack Mitchell (West Kingsdown) sent him spinning down the order.

Sunday’s race was round two of the 2015 Renault UK Clio Cup. Saturday’s opening round had to be abandoned due to an unfortunate opening lap accident and will be held at a future event on the calendar to be announced.

Result (Provisional), Renault UK Clio Cup, Round 2, Brands Hatch, Sun 5 April

1 Ant Whorton-Eales SV Racing 19 laps in 16m54.327s2 Ashley Sutton Team BMR Restart with Pyro +0.287s3 Ash Hand Team Pyro +0.508s4 Jordan Stilp 20Ten Racing +4.485s5 Charles Ladell Team Cooksport +5.264s6 Brett Smith Team Pyro +5.713s7 Paul Rivett WDE Motorsport +10.929s8 George Jackson JamSport Racing +18.580s9 Paul Knapp Team Cooksport +19.388s10 Mark Howard 20Ten Racing +24.222sFastest Lap: Hand, 52.501s (82.82mph)

Leading Championship Points: 1 Whorton-Eales 32; 2 Sutton 28; 3 Hand 27; 4 Stilp 22; 5 Ladell 20; 6 Smith 18; 7 Rivett 16; 8 Jackson 14; 9 Knapp 12; 10 Howard 11 etc

RACE DATES: 2015 RENAULT UK CLIO CUP

Sat 4/Sun 5 April Rounds 1 & 2 Brands Hatch Indy, KentSat 18/Sun 19 April Rounds 3 & 4 Donington Park, LeicsSat 9/Sun 10 May Rounds 5 & 6 Thruxton, HantsSat 6/Sun 7 June Rounds 7 & 8 Oulton Park Island, CheshireSat 27/Sun 28 June Rounds 9 & 10 Croft, North YorksSat 22/Sun 23 August Rounds 11 & 12 Knockhill, FifeSat 5/Sun 6 September Rounds 13 & 14 Rockingham, NorthantsSat 26/Sun 27 September Rounds 15 & 16 Silverstone National, NorthantsSat 10/Sun 11 October Rounds 17 & 18 Brands Hatch Grand Prix, Kent