Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire will host rounds nine and 10 of the all-action Renault UK Clio Cup this weekend, 22nd/23rd June, where 2012 Masters Cup winner Simon Belcher is confident of further extending his points lead as he bids to retain the coveted title.With an unbroken run of seven class podiums since the second race of the season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit at the end of March, a tally which includes two Masters Cup victories, the KRCHER and No Fear Energy-sponsored driver has also been steadily climbing the overall championship table.Heading into the second half of the 16-race campaign, the Swindon driver has a 13-point cushion in the Masters Cup and other than a highly unfortunate non-finish during the first race of the season he has been in the top two in class in every round. In the overall title race, he is in equal 16th position.Importantly, the second year Clio Cup racer has also been challenging for overall top 10 results during the most recent events at Thruxton and Oulton Park and is determined to maintain that great momentum at Croft.Im looking forward to Croft, weve got a big break in the calendar coming up after that so itd be nice to go into the summer with our best results of the season so far, said the 39-year-old, I really want to break into the overall top 10 for the first time this year, weve been up there for the last few rounds and weve had good pace in the races by and large.Everything is going well in the Masters, weve been able to open up a bit of a lead and the intention is to increase that even more at Croft.  We did have a few set-up issues last time out at Oulton but we still came away with some good points, the aim is to qualify as close to the top 10 as we can next weekend and then take it from there.Although having tested at Croft during the pre-season, where he fortunately escaped unharmed from a fairly substantial accident, Belcher hasnt raced at the 2.12-mile track before in his Handy Motorsport with Pyro-run Clio due to the championship not having visited the North East since 2011.While presenting a fresh challenge for the Wiltshire driver, it will also be the first time Renault UK Clio Cup cars will have raced on Dunlop tyres at the Darlington trackso theres the potential for a few surprises.Pre-event practice will take place on Friday, 21st June, with round nine and 10 qualifying getting underway at 10.50 on Saturday, 22nd June, and race one following at 16.15. On Sunday, round 10 will begin at 15.50 and will be screened live across the UK on ITV4, in High Definition on ITV4 HD and online at the www.itv.com/btcc website.

Provisional 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup Masters Cup Standings (after Rd8):1st Simon Belcher, 204ptsProvisional 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup Driver Standings (after Rd8):=16th Simon Belcher & Josh Wakefield, 43pts