TOTAL Control Racing lived up to its name at Croft Circuit yesterday afternoon when four of its drivers led the ELF Renault Clio Cup field home in the 10th round.
At the head of the pack was Jonathan Adam (Kirkcaldy, Fife) meaning the 20-year-old will now retake the championship lead from main rival Ed Pead (Northampton) who was hampered by first lap action.
“Hopefully now we can pull away in the points,” said Adam, who is currently just six points clear of Pead. “The next round is at Snetterton and we hold the track record there and were quickest in testing.”
Pead’s afternoon went wrong from the outset when he pulled across the track early in the first lap to find Tom Onslow-Cole (New Maldon, Surrey) blocking his way. The ensuing contact flicked the Boulevard Team Racing car onto the grass from second place.
Pead managed to rejoin at Hawthorns but the 28-year-old, who had been leading the championship going into this 10th round, could not maintain his momentum and found himself back in ninth place lapping more than one second slower than Adam.
Nick Adcock (Bromyard, Herefordshire) took advantage and moved into second place where he stayed for the rest of the race making it two second-place finishes in a row. The 40-year-old’s previous best was third and the weekend means he moves up one championship place to fourth.
“I don’t even know why it’s suddenly come good for me,” he said. “I’m driving now like I know I can. After the first lap when I was in second place there was a lot of fighting behind and once I was clear it was just a matter of keeping my concentration. But nobody could touch Jonathan. He’s an exceptionally talented driver and he certainly has immense speed and car control.”
Meanwhile a fierce battle for third place had developed. Onslow-Cole was passed by Matt Allison (Taverham, Norwich) for third at Tower Bend on lap seven. The pair were inseparable for the rest of the race, with TCR’s Ben Winrow creeping up in fifth.
The pressure culminated on the final lap when Onslow-Cole got past Allison at the Complex, forcing the Boulevard Team Racing driver onto the grass and letting Winrow through.
The result was a TCR-dominated podium – with Ben Winrow in fourth making it a very successful day for the West Midlands team.
Team owner Lee Brookes said: “It’s a long championship and I just hope Jonathan can do it now.”
After the race Fulvio Mussi (Colchester, Essex) was given a formal reprimand and deducted two championship points for an incident with teammate Stephen Colbert. Mussi finished in seventh – one place ahead of Pead.
Provisional ELF Renault Clio Cup Points (after Rounds 9&10):
1st Jonathan Adam: 277, 2nd Ed Pead: 271, 3rd Matt Allison: 216, 4th Nick Adcock: 204, 5th Stephen Colbert: 184, 6th Tom Onslow-Cole: 172, 7th Ben Winrow: 150, 8th Dave Loudoun: 98, 9th Steven Hunter: 94, 10th Martin Johnson: 87
For all the latest ELF Renault Clio Cup news visit the official Renault Sport UK website www.renaultsport.co.uk built by Racecar
