Clio Cup Racer Belcher Retains Masters Cup

Renault UK Clio Cup racer Simon Belcher secured the Masters Cup class title for the second year running during a dramatic, action-packed and rain-hit final round of the season at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit on Sunday, 13th October.

Going into the last race of the campaign with a slim six point advantage over chief rival Lee Pattison, the reigning class champion knew he had an incredibly tough battle on his hands to retain the crown he secured in style in 2012 during his first year in Clios.

But despite some robust on-track action in the challenging wet conditions, and no less than three Safety Car periods, Swindon racer Belcher retained great composure throughout and steered his Handy Motorsport with Pyro-entered car to third in class in round 16. With Pattison failing to finish following mid-race contact, Belcher won the 2013 crown by a significant 31-point margin.

“We’ve really made this championship hard work over the last two rounds with a DNF and a wrong tyre call at Rockingham”, said Belcher, “If it was meant to be, I knew the championship would come to us this weekend and it did. Third in class in the second race wasn’t enough, but I didn’t want to do anything silly and just bided my time.

“If I needed to do anything more ambitious I was going to wait until the last couple of laps. The aim was to stay with all of the other Masters drivers, which we did, but then I saw [Lee] Pattison in the gravel about halfway through the race and knew we’d got the title. Although the spray made things pretty frightening, the car felt good in the conditions – the team did a great job with it.”

Rain was a factor from the start of the weekend during official testing and while the opening race on Saturday, 12th October, was dry, the conditions on Sunday were certainly more akin to the sort of thing multiple Jet-Ski champion Belcher may have experienced in his past sporting career on water!

Lining up second in the Masters class for the start of round 16, the 39-year-old knew if he could hold on to the place he would be able to retain his Masters Cup title even if Pattison won. Should Belcher slip to third or lower, a Pattison class victory would see the Yorkshireman snatch the crown.

Elbowed down to third in class on lap one, Belcher wasn’t ruffled and the KÄRCHER and No Fear Energy-backed racer calmly held position ahead of the first Safety Car period on lap four. After three further laps of racing, the Safety Car reappeared for a second incident – one which had a dramatic bearing on the Masters Cup battle with Pattison going off in a three-car tangle at Druids.

At the resumption Belcher held third in class still but with Pattison out of the equation, the Wiltshire driver knew his second Masters Cup crown was secure. He went on to end the race in 16th position overall, third in class – his 11th Masters Cup podium of the year.

Saturday’s 15th round started with Belcher third in class but out of the first corner, Paddock Hill Bend, he was knocked out wide into the gravel. Rejoining in fourth in the Masters, outside the overall top 20, he mounted a good recovery and moved back into third in class on lap three after a moment for Pattison before the Safety Car was then deployed.

When racing resumed on lap five, the recovering Pattison successfully attacked Belcher for third in class at Surtees and following a second Safety Car period, between laps eight and 10, the 39-year-old continued to circulate in fourth in class – which helped to set-up his eventual title win.

“I was really happy to start the weekend 10th fastest overall in practice but then in Saturday’s race I got beaten-up”, reflected Belcher, “At the first corner I was put straight in the gravel which dropped me to last place and so I had to fight my way back through, it seemed everyone I was fighting with wanted to take me off the track!

“I went away a little bit despondent after the first race, so I decided to go to the cinema on Saturday night to watch Rush to get me in the frame of mind I needed to be in to try and do a James Hunt or Niki Lauda sort of job in race two! I went out there, tried to drive the best I could, and it worked out for us. It’s been a tough year but, in the end, we did the job we set out to do – to win the Masters.”

Provisional 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup ‘Masters Cup’ Standings:CHAMPION: Simon Belcher, 376pts

Provisional 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup Driver Standings:18th Simon Belcher, 71pts

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