After Twist In Penultimate Race
Martin Byford (Colchester) is the 2007 ELF Renault Clio Cup champion after a dramatic round 11 at Thruxton circuit on Saturday, 13th October. The Z Speed Racing privateer finished second in round 11 to Kangaroo International/SMC Renault/JHR’s Jim Edwards Jnr (Maidenhead) who took his first win of the season, after a red flag ended the race early due to oil on the circuit.
Two podium finishes for JHR Developments’ duo Edwards Jnr and Andrew Herron (Dromore) ensured the Dronfield-based team clinched the Entrants’ title with one race to spare.
Byford becomes the first champion in the new era of Clio Cup racing, which saw a record 44 entries at the start of the season following the introduction of the new Clio Cup race car, based on the road-going Clio Renaultsport 197. The field included former Clio Cup champions Edwards Jnr and Jonathan Fildes (Co Meath) with double champion Paul Rivett (Banstead) contesting the final four races.
An oil spill at Club chicane put paid to five of the race’s leading eight drivers, including title contenders Stefan Hodgetts (Redditch), Robert Lawson (Richmond, N Yorks), and Ben Winrow (Earls Barton).
Lawson made a perfect start from pole position as Edwards Jnr and Árón Smith (Rathfarnham) dropped back on the opening lap. Lawson led by 1.8s at the end of lap one but the Safety Car was deployed following two separate incidents that left Derek Pierce (West Kilbride), Chris Law (Guernsey) and Michael Doyle (Gartocharn) out of the race and Jonathan Fildes, Alex MacDowall (Carlisle) and Carl Bradley (Morecambe) well down the 32-car field.
Hodgetts took advantage of the shuffling ahead of him to rise to second place and boost his title chances with championship leader Byford down in fifth. Edwards Jnr dropped one place to third ahead of Winrow, with double race-winner Paul Rivett in sixth ahead of Árón Smith.
At the restart on lap six, Lawson stayed just ahead of Hodgetts but was forced to defend at the chicane on successive laps as the Momo UK ace made use of the slipstream up Woodham Hill. A coming together between Smith and team-mate Ed Pead (Northampton) saw Pead drop to 19th as Smith was passed by Niki Lanik (Ashurst Wood), while Rivett passed Byford for fifth place.
Further down the field, Total Control Racing’s Jonathan Fildes was beginning a recovery drive and ended up in 11th place, while Amery Motorsport’s David Shepherd (Sandbach) consolidated his remarkable opening lap that launched him from 25th to 12th.
As the leading duo broke away from the field, fourth-placed Winrow made a slow exit from Club chicane allowing Rivett to pass into Allard. Byford and Lanik also found their way past on lap nine, with Rivet immediately closing onto the rear bumper of his JHR Developments team-mate Edwards Jnr.
In midfield, Fildes and PH Motorsport’s Philip House (Harrogate) reached the top 16, while Lawson set the fastest lap of the race at 1min 24.710s (100.12mph). Meanwhile, Ed Pead had recovered to 15th place, going on to finish eighth.
Lap 11 saw a change for the race lead as Hodgetts drafted behind Lawson up Woodham Hill before moving to the outside as they entered the right-left-right chicane. Forcing his way through at the second apex, Hodgetts took the lead and was on course to reduce Byford’s championship lead to just 10 points.
Disaster struck for the race leader on lap 12 as, ironically, his team-mate Robert Brown (Billericay) hit the kerb at the chicane and broke his sump, dropping oil on the racing line. Hodgetts was the first of the leaders to encounter the slippery surface on the following tour, his slick race tyres leaving him no chance of avoiding sliding off the circuit and ending his race and championship bid in the tyre wall.
Lawson, Rivett, Lanik and Winrow were also unable to avoid the same fate as marshals attempted to warn the drivers, while third-placed Edwards Jnr, fifth-placed Byford and eighth-placed Andrew Herron spotted the warning flag and safely negotiated the chicane to claim the podium positions as the Clerk of the Course deployed the red flag to end the race.
The result leaves Byford with a 50-point lead over Hodgetts with a maximum 34 available from the 12th and final round on Sunday, 14th October. The number of retirees also resulted in season-high top-10 finishes for David Shepherd in sixth, Alex Osborne (Northampton) in seventh, James Williams in ninth and Steve Wood in 10th.
Commenting on the race, new champion Byford said: “It’s not the ideal way to clinch the championship but I’m definitely happy to have wrapped it up with one round spare. When I set out this season I knew there were a lot of drivers who could win races and that consistency would be key. That has paid off for me and now all I need is a win in the last race to cap a fantastic season. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Race-winner Edwards Jnr said: “It’s an absolutely fantastic way to end the year and makes all the hard work this season from myself and the team worthwhile. It’s a slightly lucky way to win the race but for once my pace over the weekend had put me in position to benefit from the luck. I pulled a lap out of the bag late in qualifying to get second on the grid and pole for round 12 and made the most of it in the race today.”
Third placed Herron, scoring the first podium of his debut season in car racing, said: “I feel as though a podium finish has been coming but I didn’t quite expect it to happen this way. I had the pace today to run with the leaders and made up a couple of places early on. Everyone needs a bit of luck from time to time and the luck shone on me today. This gives me the confidence to believe I can run at the front.”
Round 12 takes place on Sunday, 14th October and is scheduled to begin at 13.50.
Drivers’ standings after round 11 – provisional
1 Martin Byford GBR Z Speed Racing 254 pts2 Stefan Hodgetts GBR Momo UK 204 pts3 Robert Lawson GBR JHR Developments 203 pts4 Ed Pead GBR Mardi Gras Motorsport 176 pts5 Ben Winrow GBR Total Control Racing 173 pts 6 Jim Edwards Jnr GBR Kangaroo Int/SMC Renault/JHR 160 pts7 Michael Doyle GBR In Tune with Robertshaw Racing 156 pts8 Andrew Herron GBR JHR DEvelopments 117 pts9 Mark Speller GBR Full Speed Racing 116 pts10 Philip House GBR PH Motorsport 108 pts
For all the latest ELF Renault Clio Cup Championship news visit the official Renault Sport UK website www.renaultsport.co.ukbuilt by racecar
