Leads To Early Brands Exit For Herron
ELF Renault Clio Cup driver Andrew Herron saw his run of eight consecutive feature race points-scoring finishes come to an unfortunate end at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit yesterday afternoon, the JHR Developments driver forced into retirement on the opening lap.Heading into the ninth round of the season 12th on the grid after finishing in sixth during his qualification heat on Saturday afternoon, the 19-year-old from Dromore had strong hopes of a competitive top 10 finish in today’s race but instead the Northern Ireland ace saw his involvement ended after contact from a competitor pitched him into the barriers.Making amends for a sluggish getaway in yesterday’s encounter, Andrew made a good start to round nine. Contact between Michael Doyle and Robert Lawson at Paddock Hill Bend, however, triggered a chain of events which ended up with Andrew spinning off into the barriers on the run to Druids Hairpin.Eliminating him on the spot, red flags were then shown after a subsequent collision between Stefan Hodgetts, Ed Pead and Chris Dymond along Cooper Straight. Unable to take the re-start, Andrew expected to watch the race unfold as a frustrated spectator but a bizarre set of circumstances would follow leading to the race being abandoned.With several cars unable to take the re-start, as the formation lap got underway Hodgetts spun off of his own accord at Graham Hill Bend which resulted in his contact with the barriers on Cooper Straight. Causing a second delay, race officials decided to abandon the race due to strict TV scheduling for the headline British Touring Car Championship. Bumped back to being the last race of the day, the ninth round of the Clio Cup did take place in the end but it was sadly without Andrew’s participation. Although his car was too damaged to make the race start, he would have been prevented from racing anyway due to having received assistance from track marshals following his accident.Although unable to add to his points total this weekend, the Co. Down racer is still in 10th position in the championship standings albeit tied on 81 points now with Dan Eagling and Philip House.“I got a good start for once, moved alongside Jim (Edwards Jnr) but I was on the outside line and it was wet there”, explained Andrew, “I realised that wasn’t going to work so I pulled back in behind him for the run through Paddock but when we got there Mickey (Doyle) was spinning in the middle of the track.“I had to brake hard to avoid him but that sent me sideways a little bit. It wasn’t by much and I thought I’d recover it fine but then I felt a tap and after that I don’t know what happened, I just ended up hitting the barriers. Obviously, it was race over from that point and that was hard to take. But that’s racing, I need to look forward to Donington now.”He added: “I can’t wait to race with such a big crowd there (100,000-plus spectators are expected for the 10th round of the ELF Renault Clio Cup in three week’s time). I want to be back on a high there, I was on a high after Snetterton where I scored my best result but this weekend has put my feet back on the ground that’s for sure!”
Andrew will be back in action on 8th/9th September at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit for the 10th round of the ELF Renault Clio Cup. However his first experience of the world famous layout will come on Wednesday, 5th September, during official pre-event testing.Rather than in its regular support slot on the British Touring Car Championship package, the Donington event will see the Clio Cup racing alongside the pan-European World Series by Renault category for its annual UK visit. By far the biggest race meeting of Andrew’s career, over 100,000 spectators are expected to attend during the weekend.Provisional 2007 ELF Renault Clio Cup Driver Standings (after Rd9)1st Martin Byford, 201pts; 2nd Stefan Hodgetts, 182pts; =10th Andrew Herron, Dan Eagling & Philip House, 81pts
