RIVETT WINS ON RETURN AS BYFORD TAKES CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD
Former double champion Paul Rivett (Banstead) won round nine of the 2007 ELF Renault Clio Cup on Sunday, 19th August in a sensational return to the championship at Brands Hatch Indy circuit. The JHR Developments’ driver beat Z Speed Racing’s new championship leader Martin Byford (Colchester) and Total Control Racing’s pole-sitter Ben Winrow (Earls Barton).
Momo UK’s Championship leader Stefan Hodgetts (Redditch) was one of eight drivers who failed to start the race after tricky track conditions caused the first attempt to run the race to be aborted. With a drying but still damp track, all drivers went out on slick tyres. Amery Motorsport’s Jonathan Shepherd (Sandbach) spun on the green flag lap before six other drivers retired on lap one causing a red flag. On the green flag lap for the restart, Hodgetts spun at Graham Hill Bend causing a second red flag and the race was moved to the end of the day.
When the race began at its rescheduled time, Winrow led away from Byford and Rivett with PH Motorsport’s Philip House (Harrogate) moving up to fourth around the outside of JHR Developments’ Robert Lawson (Richmond, N Yorks) at Paddock Hill Bend. Lawson also dropped behind team-mate Jim Edwards Jnr (Maidenhead) and TCR’s Jonathan Fildes (Co Meath) on the opening tour.
Full Speed Racing’s Mark Speller (Hertford) made the best start of anyone to surge through from 27th on the grid to 15th, while his team-mate Ant Scragg (Tunbridge Wells) thrilled his local crowd by moving from 20th to 11th. Benham Motorsport with Robertshaw Racing’s Barry Benham (Cheltenham), in the race as a reserve following the earlier incidents, made his way through from the back of the grid to 20th by lap three.
Rivett, in his first race of 2007, made his move for the lead on lap four with a pair of superb overtaking moves. First he passed Byford on the inside at Druids and immediately closed onto the back of Winrow. Carrying greater speed through Clearways, Rivett took the lead as they crossed the line and was never seriously challenged.
With the top seven pulling away, Youth 4 Human Rights with SVE’s Niki Lanik (Ashurst Wood) was in a lonely eighth place as Mardi Gras Motorsport’s Árón Smith (Rathfarnham) headed a train of 12 cars. Pierce Race Team with Robertshaw Racing’s Derek Pierce (West Kilbride) was making progress through this group, passing Mardi Gras’ Chris Rice (Beverley), Scragg and Speller on successive laps.
Lanik lost his comfortable eighth place with an error at Druids, falling to 20th place. Edwards Jnr then ran wide at Paddock Hill Bend after a tap from Fildes, somehow keeping the car going and losing only two places. Lawson took the opportunity to pass Fildes for fifth place.
On lap 10, Pierce overtook TCR’s James Williams (Norwich) at Paddock Hill Bend with slight contact between the two resulting in Williams spinning to the rear of the field. JHR Developments’ Steve Wood (Ashleworth) was unluckily caught up the incident and fell to last place. Speller caught and passed both Smith and Pierce, at Paddock Hill Bend and Druids respectively, to finish eighth.
At the halfway stage, Rivett had opened a 2.7s lead, while Winrow was still resisting Byford’s pressure in second place. In the lower points-scoring positions, Cleland Motorsport’s Jamie Cleland (Melrose) produced a daring overtaking move at Paddock Hill Bend to pass EPS UK with IDL Racing Services’ Robert Gaffney (Waltham Abbey).
With three laps to go, Winrow finally made a mistake under pressure from Byford and ran wide on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend. Byford took full advantage to pass on the inside at Druids and score three extra championship points. House then started to catch Winrow but as rain fell and drivers began to struggle on slick tyres, the red flag was deployed to halt the race one lap from its scheduled conclusion.
For Rivett is was a triumphant return to Clio Cup racing, with the 2002 and 2004 champion winning by 5.171s and earning the RFS Driver of the Day award. Commenting after the race he said: “I came here to do a job for all the sponsors who have given me an opportunity this weekend and to win the race is the best way to thank them. The team is very professional and gave me the car to perform in and once I got past in the early part of the race there was no looking back.”
Second placed Byford commented: “Today’s race was about maximising points with Stefan unable to race. Paul was very quick and as he’s not in the title race I didn’t defend too hard against him. I was more intent on passing Ben and when he made a small mistake I took my chance so it worked out really well.”
Third placed Winrow commented: “I’ve been going well all weekend and it’s a relief to get on the podium with all the problems earlier in the day. Paul and Martin are great competitors and for my championship hopes it’s a solid podium finish. I like Donington Park and won there last time so hopefully the next race meeting will be good for me.”
The ELF Renault Clio Cup leaves the British Touring Car Championship support package for its next race meeting, which takes place alongside World Series by Renault at Donington Park on 8th/9th September. Renault has issued more than 250,000 free tickets for the event.
Drivers’ Championship standings after Round 9 - provisional
1 Martin Byford GBR Z Speed Racing 201 pts
2 Robert Lawson GBR JHR Developments 181 pts
3 Stefan Hodgetts GBR Momo UK 176 pts
4 Ben Winrow GBR Total Control Racing 165 pts
5 Michael Doyle GBR In Tune with Robertshaw Racing 142 pts
6 Ed Pead GBR Mardi Gras Motorsport 140 pts
7 Jim Edwards Jnr GBR Kangaroo Int/SMC Renault/JHR 124 pts
8 Andrew Jordan GBR Team Eurotech-John Guest Speedfit 112 pts
9 Mark Speller GBR Full Speed Racing 106 pts
10 Philip House GBR PH Motorsport 81 pts
For all the latest ELF Renault Clio Cup Championship news visit the official Renault Sport UK website www.renaultsport.co.ukbuilt by Racecar
