Rob Smith is determined to climb back into the top 10 of the Renault UK Clio Cup driver standings when rounds seven and eight of the season take place at his home track, Oulton Park Island Circuit, a week from now on 8th/9th June.As the closest venue to his hometown of Telford, situated less than 50 miles away, the Cheshire track is also the Total Control Racing drivers favourite motorsport venue and was the scene of some of his biggest successes during his formative career in Formula Ford 1600.Ahead of the fourth event of the Clio Cup season, Rob is 14th in the main championship and ninth in the Graduate Cup standingsa class for younger, less experienced competitorsas a result of a very tough weekend at Thruxton almost four weeks ago.Following a high-speed accident during qualifying, in which his Clio suffered a hefty impact at one of the fastest corners, he faced an uphill battle in both races in a rather second-hand looking car but still salvaged a best of 12th place and importantly scored points in each encounter.Since then, Rob has celebrated his 21st birthday but he has spent almost all of his time away from the track elbow-deep in revision for vital exams at Loughborough Universitywhere he is studying for a degree in Automotive Materials.
After the second race at Donington it looked like we were getting back to where we should be, then Thruxton was a tough weekend which put us back a bit, he said, We just need to box Thruxton off as a one-off, hopefully it was a bit of an anomaly and we can get back on track at Oulton.
It's a circuit I've done lots of miles around, it's always been a favourite of mine and we know we have a set-up that works there. Hopefully we can get some good work done on the test day, qualify wellthats so importantand then get back in the top 10 with two consistently strong results.Focused on returning to the sort of form which delivered a career-best Renault UK Clio Cup finish of sixth place during round two at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, the Goodride Performance Tyres, BMTR and Grouptyre-backed racer will receive additional support at his home race from Oak Tyres Ltd.Based in Haydock, Merseyside, Oak Tyres is the UKs leading regional independent distributor to the fast-fit industry. Operating throughout the North West and North Wales, the family owned business stocks more than 120,000 tyres from all major brands covering cars, vans and 4x4 vehicles.Its great to have Oak Tyres on-board again this year for the Oulton races, added Rob, Well have plenty of local guests coming along to support us, hopefully we can all celebrate some strong results and get back into the championship top 10.Qualifying for rounds seven and eight of the 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup is provisionally scheduled to take place at 11.00 on Saturday, 8th June, with the first race getting underway at 16.30. On Sunday, 9th June, round eight will begin at approximately 15.15 and will be screened live on Freeview, digital satellite and cable channels ITV4 and ITV4 HD. Live streaming will be carried at www.itv.com/btcc
Provisional 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup Driver Standings (after Rd6):14th Rob Smith, 54pts
Provisional 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup Graduate Cup Standings (after Rd6):9th Rob Smith, 80pts
