IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD
Paul Rivett (Banstead) won his second ELF Renault Clio Cup race in succession in front of 80,000 fans on Sunday, 9th September. The double former Clio Cup champion, who has only started two races this season, clinched a 2.463s victory from Momo UK’s Stefan Hodgetts (Redditch) as the premier one-make saloon-car series made its annual appearance as a support race to the World Series by Renault at Donington Park.
Rivett started on pole position but lost out to the fast-starting Hodgetts on the run to the first corner, Redgate. He then lost another place, to Z Speed Racing’s championship leader Martin Byford (Colchester) at Coppice corner, while Benham Motorsport with Robertshaw Racing’s Barry Benham (Cheltenham) also lost out on the opening tour falling from fourth to seventh with a problematic clutch.
Total Control Racing’s Jonathan Fildes (Co Meath) and Youth for Human Rights with SVE’s Niki Lanik (Ashurst Wood) both gained six places on lap one, the pair going on to be involved in intensely close racing throughout. Out of a season-high grid of 38 cars, Collison Racing’s Steve Collison (Hailsham) made the best start of all to pick up eight places and lie 28th at the end of the lap.
As Hodgetts looked to build an early lead and close the gap on Byford in the drivers’ standings, Byford made a small error at Fogartys Chicane giving Rivett the chance to drive past on the run to Melbourne Hairpin. Hodgetts had a two-second lead at the end of lap two, but Rivett soon began to chip away at the gap. Mardi Gras Motorsport’s Ed Pead (Northampton) held fourth-place after getting past JHR Developments’ Robert Lawson (Richmond, N Yorks) on lap two as Kangaroo International/SMC Renault/JHR’s Jim Edwards Jnr (Maidenhead) dropped back from fifth to 12th.
Just outside the top 10, Fildes and Lanik were joined by Edwards Jnr and Mardi Gras’ Árón Smith (Rathfarnham). TCR’s Ben Winrow (Earls Barton), who won round six at Donington Park, and In Tune with Robertshaw Racing’s Michael Doyle (Gartocharn) caught the group on lap four after earlier falling down the order. Doyle went on to set the fastest lap of the race on lap six at 1min 47.387s (83.81mph).
At the head of the field, Rivett was inexorably reeling in Hodgetts and closed to within half a second at the end of lap five. Two laps later came the change of leader as Rivett pulled alongside into Hollywood and the pair raced side by side through the Craner Curves, each giving the other just enough room and proving they have the quality to race at Touring Car level. Rivett emerged from the Old Hairpin in the lead and was never threatened as he went on to score a valuable win.
Further down the field the action was non-stop with Smith, Edwards Jnr, Pierce Race Team with Robertshaw Racing’s Derek Pierce (West Kilbride) and Cleland Motorsport’s Jamie Cleland (Melrose) running four-wide approaching Redgate, the quartet sriving superbly to emerge from the corner as close as ever. Former Clio Cup champion Edwards Jnr won out in the end to finish 14th ahead of Smith and Pierce, while Cleland did brilliantly to recover a huge slide as a result of a tap from Amery Motorsport’s David Shepherd (Sandbach).
The final lap saw only one change in the top 10 as Doyle passed JHR Developments’ Andrew Herron (Dromore) for ninth place. Meanwhile, Winrow recovered from a minor off at the chicane to re-pass Edwards Jnr for 13th place. Pead threatened to overhaul Byford for third by lapping more than half a second quicker in the final three laps but a podium place eluded him as the race ended after 10 laps with Pead just 0.3s adrift.
Two top-five finishes for Rivett and Lawson have virtually assured JHR Developments will win the Entrants Championship, which it leads by 110 points from Total Control Racing with a maximum of 120 available to score at the final race meeting.
Commenting on his victory, an ecstatic Paul Rivett said: “I have to thank my team for giving me a great car and all my sponsors for supporting me and giving me this opportunity. I made it hard for myself with two small mistakes on the first lap but came back from that. I could see Stefan was really pushing the car so I kept cool and just went for it through the Craner Curves. We both trusted each other not to make contact and it’s fantastic to get another win.”
Second placed Hodgetts commented: “I’ve closed the gap in the championship on Martin slightly but I was obviously hoping for more. We just couldn’t find the ‘sweet spot’ on the car’s set-up that we needed this weekend. But there are still two more races possible and it’s never over until it’s over.”
Third placed Martin Byford said: “I’m pleased to be up on the podium, especially this weekend with the huge crowd. We were strong here earlier in the season and had a good set-up. At this stage of the season I’m thinking about the championship and consolidating my position so if I couldn’t beat Stefan the best place to be is one place behind and that’s what I managed to do.”
The 10th and final race meeting for the ELF Renault Clio Cup takes place on 13th/14th October at Hampshire’s Thruxton circuit in support of the British Touring Car Championship. The grid at Thruxton can accommodate 38 Clio Cup cars and two championship races will be held unless the entry exceeds 38.
Drivers’ standings after round 10 – provisional
1 Martin Byford GBR Z Speed Racing 226 pts2 Robert Lawson GBR JHR Developments 204 pts3 Stefan Hodgetts GBR Momo UK 201 pts4 Ben Winrow GBR Total Control Racing 173 pts5 Ed Pead GBR Mardi Gras Motorsport 162 pts 6 Michael Doyle GBR In Tune with Robertshaw Racing 156 pts7 Jim Edwards Jnr GBR Kangaroo Int/SMC Renault/JHR 128 pts8 Mark Speller GBR Full Speed Racing 118 pts9 Andrew Jordan GBR Team Eurotech-John Guest Speedfit 106 pts10 Philip House GBR PH Motorsport 99 pts
For all the latest ELF Renault Clio Cup Championship news visit the official Renault Sport UK website www.renaultsport.co.ukbuilt by Racecar
