Michelin Clio Cup Race Series newcomers Total Control Racing celebrated a fantastic victory for Renault returnee Mike Robinson at Rockingham on Sunday, 6th April, during the second round of the 2014 season – a successful conclusion to an event which also had more than its share of misfortune.In truth, the Wednesbury squad had the pace and performance to potentially win both races at the 1.94-mile International Super Sportscar Circuit but Robinson and team-mate Andy Jordan were both unable to take the start of round one due to mechanical issues.Determined to erase the memory of the round one nightmare, Surbiton’s Robinson underlined his championship credentials with a tremendous 4.2 second victory in round two while Jordan chalked-up a strong top five result despite battling with damaged steering.“It’s a shame what happened before the start of race one, we knew we could have had a win and at least a second in the first race – all weekend it was between David [Dickenson], Mike and Andy”, said TCR team principal Lee Brookes, “If you’re not in it, you can’t win it, and that’s how it was in the first race for us.“The second one made up for it though, to come back into Clios and get a win on our first weekend in this championship is great. There’s a lot of good competition out there in this Series, top teams and good drivers, so we’re pleased to get the win. It looks good as we’ve got two guys in Mike and Andy who can run in the top three. We’re really looking forward to the rest of the year now.”Robinson and Jordan were both in the fight for pole position during qualifying on Saturday, 5th April, with the former just missing out on the top spot of the round one grid by 0.1 seconds. So evenly matched were the TCR drivers, Jordan was third a mere 0.095 seconds adrift of his team-mate. On second fastest times, determining the grid for round two, they were second and third again.With hopes justifiably high of podium success at the very least in the first of Sunday’s races, as Robinson prepared to exit the pitlane on his way to the grid the driveshaft on his Clio failed meaning he couldn’t even take the start of round one. Literally seconds later, Jordan’s Clio then suffered a problem with the VVT sensor popping out of his engine – another issue resulting in a non-start.Putting the abject disappointment behind them, the TCR crew made the necessary repairs before round two and were rewarded with a superb lights-to-flag race victory for Robinson. Starting the race second on the grid, he out-dragged pole-sitter David Dickenson off the start and never looked back – despite mid-race rainfall – on his way to a 4.2 second winning margin.Jordan, starting third on the grid, held position on lap one but then sustained some damage to his steering following lap two contact at Deene. Recovering in sixth position, the Bridgnorth driver did a tremendous job to bring his Clio home in fifth place and, with it, the second fastest lap of the race.“I think Andy was on for a third in the second race, his pace was second quickest, but the damage made things difficult – the steering was bent but he carried on even though the handling was a problem”, added Brookes, “To get fifth after that was superb really.”Rounds three and four of the Michelin Clio Cup Race Series will take place at Oulton Park in Cheshire on Saturday, 17th May. In the meantime, TCR will be back on track with its Ginetta Junior team two weeks from now, on 19th/20th April, at Donington Park National Circuit in Leicestershire.2014 Michelin Clio Cup Race Series Driver Standings (after Rd2):5th Mike Robinson, 32pts; 10th Andy Jordan, 20pts
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