Handy Motorsport with Pyro driver Simon Belcher enjoyed, by far, his most competitive outing of the 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup at Thruxton in Hampshire over the weekend, 4th/5th May, by claiming his first two Masters Cup wins of the year and, with them, the class points lead.

 Marking a major turning point in his second season in the high profile Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship support category, the Swindon racer delivered his best qualifying performance so far this year and went on to produce two excellent races. Notably, the terrific showing also banished memories of a high-speed, car-wrecking accident at Thruxton during winter testing in February.

 It was a massive ask to come to Thruxton and be totally committed after the accident I had during the pre-season, I had to bury some demons, explained Belcher, We did that in qualifying though and both races were great, weve re-grouped since Donington and the Handy Motorsport and Pyro guys gave me a great car like they always do.

 Posting the 11th fastest time overall in qualifying, second in the Masters Cup, the reigning class champion was just 0.6 seconds shy of the outright pace with a best lap time of 1m25.490 seconds (99.21mph), signifying a big step forward compared to the first two events of the season.

 Unfortunately, the first race of the weekend round five didnt start as intended when he was shuffled back to 16th place on lap one when avoiding a spinning car at the complex. The KRCHER and No Fear Energy-backed racer mounted a strong recovery though and into the second half of the encounter he was in the thick of a five car scrap just outside the top 10.

 Holding 13th overall into the final lap, second in the Masters Cup, Belcher piled on the pressure to the battling Rob Smith and James Nutbrown and on the run to the line out of the chicane he just missed the outright top 12 by a mere 0.1 seconds.

 Even so, the result marked the 39-year-olds best of the year and he was also credited with his first Masters Cup class win of 2013 with the vastly experienced Lee Pattison ineligible to claim the victory due to finishing in the overall top three.

 For round six, which was televised live on ITV4 and ITV4 HD, Belcher enjoyed a clean opening lap and moved up into 11th place from 12th on the grid before having a fantastic battle with Alex Morgan and overall three-time champion Paul Rivett.

 Running very similar pace to Clio Cup mainstay Rivett, Belcher more than held his own and although slipping to 13th before the finish he was delighted to again secure the Masters Cup win. In doing so, the Wiltshire driver leapt to the top of the Masters standings with a four point lead.

 We knew we had the pace to go well in the races this weekend, he commented, Unfortunately in race one I had to check up because there was a spinning car. That took me from 11th to 17th, but I enjoyed the race and came back through well. In race two I knew I had to avoid the trouble on the first lap, I kept it pinned around the outside and we came through in P11 which was great.

 But I wasnt banking on having the drivers first and second in the main championship chomping away at my heels! They didnt have anything I didnt though, I kept my head down but then the wily old fox [Paul] Rivett got through but he did it very cleanly.

 Its always the same with Paul Rivett, hed never take you off. Then [Alex] Morgan came through so we settled for 13th but it was a great battle and we take a huge amount from that. This has given us a lot of confidence for Oulton Park were aiming to be in the top 10 there.

 Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire is next on the calendar for the Renault UK Clio Cup with rounds seven and eight taking place five weeks from now, over the weekend 8th/9th June.

 Provisional 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup Masters Cup Standings (after Rd6):1st Simon Belcher, 148pts

 Provisional 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup Driver Standings (after Rd6):18th Simon Belcher, 29pts