Clio Cup: Hand remains in the driving seat after damage limitation weekend

Ash Hand has vowed to ‘come out all guns blazing’ in the 2015 Renault UK Clio Cup title showdown after suffering a rare ‘off’ weekend at Silverstone – but a brace of top six finishes mean the talented young Nuneaton ace will head to Brands Hatch GP still very much in the driving seat. Hand has indubitably been the fastest driver in the field this season in the hotly-disputed, single-make British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) support series, with seven victories and five further rostrum finishes bearing witness to his imperious form. The celebrated ‘Home of British Motorsport’ played host to the Clio Cup’s largest entry in almost two years, but that did not faze the 21-year-old Warwickshire star as he instantly featured right up at the sharp end of proceedings, lapping second-quickest in free practice. To put that into context, he was a scant 16 thousandths-of-a-second adrift of the outright benchmark around Silverstone’s short National Circuit, which is renowned for producing exceptionally close racing. Behind the wheel of his Team Pyro-prepared, Sigma, The Manchester College and QTS-backed car, Hand subsequently lined up third and fourth on the 20-strong grid for the brace of high-octane, ITV4-televised encounters, but he conceded a position when the starting lights went out in the opening contest. Whilst the leading quartet – composed of the four contenders for the coveted crown – soon pulled clear of the chasing pack, engine gremlins meant the Andy Priaulx Sports Management (APSM) protégé was able to do little more than hold a watching brief, remaining well in touch with his three chief rivals throughout but never quite having the opportunity to attack. An assertive start to race two saw Hand indulge in an entertaining tussle with multiple Clio Cup champion Paul Rivett, before making third place his own on lap five with a bold move at Luffield. By then, however, he was more than three-and-a-half seconds behind the duelling leaders, and although he had nigh-on halved that deficit by the chequered flag, a retrospective five-second penalty for exceeding track limits relegated the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star to sixth. Symptomatic of what was inarguably his toughest weekend of the season, it speaks volumes for Hand’s outstanding success rate that it was also his worst finish in 16 starts. He will travel to Brands Hatch in a week-and-a-half’s time still atop the drivers’ table, albeit with a reduced margin over his nearest pursuer of 15 points on dropped scores. He promises to return fighting fit and ready to reassert his supremacy.“It was all a bit of a nightmare,” the highly-rated Maple Park hotshot reflected of his Silverstone struggles. “We weren’t quite on the money in qualifying – and when it’s as close as it invariably is around the National Circuit, that’s going to cost you – and then our engine issues in the first race meant we didn’t have the absolute pace we needed to challenge.“In race two, I had to battle my way past Rivett, and although I was as quick as the two leaders once I was up to third – possibly even a touch quicker – by that stage, the gap was too large to do very much about. It’s such a short lap that any gains are always minimal because everybody is so evenly-matched. The penalty then rubbed salt into the wounds and effectively rendered it a weekend of damage limitation.“We need to take away the positives and press the re-set button before Brands Hatch. I love the GP Circuit – it’s where I achieved my first pole position in car racing last year – and we have to come out all guns blazing. There’s no doubt at all that it’s going to be a fierce scrap for the title, which is what everyone wants to see – and ultimately, the best driver will win. I’ve just got to make sure that’s me!”


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