Renault Aftersales Racing team frustrated by Safety Car period at Oulton Park

Ed Pead and Árón Smith were frustrated at today’s fifth round of the ELF Renault Clio Cup after a long safety car period denied both drivers the chance to make their mark in the championship race. Pead finished the day in third place, while Smith took the chequered flag in 17th position.With Pead qualifying on the front row of the grid and Smith full of confidence on the ninth row, the Renault Aftersales Racing team had high hopes for a brace of strong results at a rain-soaked Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire.However, almost as soon as the race got underway, the 32-car field found itself cruising behind the Renault Sport safety car. With two cars beached a precarious position at the back of the circuit, organisers deployed the safety car so they could tow the stricken cars away.Unfortunately for Pead and Smith, the safety car period lasted for five laps and with the meeting running significantly behind schedule, organisers took the decision to shorten the race distance from 12 to nine laps.By the time racing got back underway on the 2.22-mile circuit, Pead and Smith only had three laps to make their mark and it proved too little too late.Pead looked a certainty to finish in second place but was overtaken at the hairpin on the final lap by his experienced rival Martin Byford and had to settle for the final podium place.The Ixell, Ixtar, Rapide Bodycare, Renaultp@rts, Motrio and Renault Trade Partner programme-supported driver was pleased to have scored a podium finish because it was a result that put him right back in the hunt for the ELF Renault Clio Cup title.However, he also felt slightly disappointed that he wasn’t able to challenge eventual winner, Stefan Hodgetts, for the overall victory.“I’m really pleased that I’ve moved back up the championship because a few more solid results and I’ll be right up there at the end of the season,” the 29-year-old said.

“However, I’m a bit confused as to why Stefan seemed to be quicker than me. I don’t know whether it was me or the car, but normally I would have expected to be able to challenge him hard and get past. We’ll be looking closely at our race data to get to the bottom on that.”For Renault Insurance-backed Smith, he finished exactly where he started the championship race – in 17th place.The young Irishman did manage to get past a couple of his rivals to move up the order but he dropped back after opting to air on the side of caution when a couple of other competitors drove him into an uncompromising position on the track.“I didn’t panic too much when I dropped back because I thought I still had plenty of time to fight my way back up the order,” he explained. “But by the time I realised the race had been shortened by three laps, there wasn’t any time to really do anything.“It’s really frustrating to only complete four laps of racing and it’s very telling when almost everyone finished the race in exactly the same position as they started. There simply weren’t enough racing laps for anyone to make the impression they wanted.”Results

1 Stefan Hodgetts (MOMO UK)   9 laps @ 19m 36.725s2 Martin Byford (Z Speed Racing)   +1.54s3 Ed Pead (Renault Aftersales Racing) +2.10s4 Ben Winrow (Total Control Racing)  +3.90s5 Michael Doyle (Robertshaw Racing)  +4.49s6 Jonathan Fildes (Total Control Racing)  +5.66s7 Robert Lawson (JHR Development)   +6.36s8 Philip House (PH Motorsport)   +6.74s9 Andrew Jordan (Team Eurotech)  +7.14s10 Andrew Bentley (Double Six Racing)  +7.47s17 Árón Smith (Renault Aftersales Racing) +16.02s

ELF Renault Clio Cup 2007

July 14/15 Donington Park (Leicestershire)July 28/29 Snetterton (Norfolk)August 18/19 Brands Hatch (Kent)September 8/9 Donington Park (Leicestershire)*October 13/14 Thruxton (Hampshire)

*World Series by Renault weekend – a high-profile celebration of Renault’s involvement in motorsport with racing and track displays by this year’s Formula One racing cars.

For further information about the ELF Renault Clio Cup, please visit www.renaultsport.co.ukhttp://www.renaultsport.co.uk> built by Racecar