Ash Hand might have narrowly missed out on a podium finish in the finale to the fiercely-contested 2014 Renault UK Clio Cup at Brands Hatch – but he made sure to play a major role in what was by common consent the race of the year.
A self-confessed fan of Brands’ legendary ex-F1 GP Circuit, Hand was immediately on the pace in practice, lapping an excellent second-fastest amongst the 15 high-calibre Clio Cup contenders in his SV Racing with KX-run, Sigma and QTS-backed car – and on old tyres at that.
The talented young Nuneaton ace went better still in a damp-but-drying qualifying session the following day, exhibiting maximum commitment in the tricky conditions and timing his last run to absolute perfection to bag his maiden car racing pole position by a scant 11 thousandths-of-a-second and steal some thunder away from the two title protagonists. He even managed to include a brief sideways slide along the way.
As the cars completed their formation lap ahead of race one, the heavens opened, and the decision was taken to delay the start on safety grounds, obliging all competitors to switch over to wet-weather rubber. The glare from the setting sun injected an extra element of difficulty, and for the first three laps, Hand additionally found himself battling against a steaming-up windscreen that left him barely able to see where he was going.
Once his visibility had improved, the KX Akademy protégé was the quickest driver on the track – albeit down in fourth position. His effort to make inroads back into the leaders was aided by a mid-race safety car intervention, and a superb re-start saw him assertively scythe his way through into second place.
With grip at a premium, what ensued was a mesmerising multi-car scrap over the runner-up spoils. A penultimate lap tangle with champion-elect Mike Bushell dropped Hand to fifth, but he opportunistically regained third with a tremendous two-for-the-price-of-one manoeuvre into Paddock Hill Bend beginning the final tour. Unfortunately, a late shuffle demoted him to fourth – which would become seventh following a post-race penalty for earlier contact.
Fastest lap and the two bonus points that go with it offered some consolation, and regardless of the result, the highly-rated Maple Park hotshot thoroughly enjoyed what was a thriller from lights-out to chequered flag – a race for which the term ‘action-packed’ would be a distinct understatement.
Hand should have lined up right at the front of the grid for both encounters, but a track limits transgression saw him relegated to sixth for Sunday’s showdown – which would transpire to be almost as intense as Saturday’s. A first corner mêlée sent cars scattering in all directions, and after safely navigating his way past the chaos to move up to fifth, the 20-year-old Warwickshire star subsequently found himself surprised by a rival’s braking and spun backwards into the tyre barriers at the high-speed Hawthorn Bend.
Gamely recovering to seventh at the flag, the result gained Hand one spot to conclude his sophomore campaign in the single-make, ITV4-televised British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) support series ranked eighth in the final classification.
“It hasn’t been the easiest of seasons,” he reflected, “so I was really eager to end on a high. I felt confident going into the weekend, and we were on the leading pace from the word ‘go’, which was encouraging. I love the GP Circuit; it’s really quick with a lot of character – a proper old-school drivers’ track. It rewards you for pushing hard – and that’s just the way I like driving! It really suits my attacking style.
“It was awesome to secure my first pole position in qualifying, and whilst it was clearly frustrating to be denied the double, it was nonetheless immensely satisfying to have proved our potential. Race one was then absolutely mental – just crazy. There was so much contact, and for a while it felt like we were in an episode of Wacky Races!
“It was hard, mostly fair and a lot of fun – a product of the slippery conditions and the fact that almost everybody believed they had a chance of winning! I was disappointed with the result and felt pretty hard done-by given some of the other incidents that went un-penalised, but at the end of the day, that’s racing – sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t.
“The start of race two was even more insane – going through the first corner, there was carnage everywhere! I just about managed to sneak past it all, and then I had a ‘moment’ all of my own later around the lap! The driver ahead braked really early going into Hawthorn and caught me completely off-guard. I had to jump on the brakes, and before I knew it, the rear end had snapped round at over 100mph and I was heading for the barriers. I nudged the tyres, but luckily I was able to rejoin.
“From then on, I was simply playing catch-up, but I was so far behind the rest of the pack that progress was always going to be limited. Two seventh places obviously wasn’t what I had been looking for to finish the season, but at least we gave it a go, got stuck in and put up a fight.”
Nobody could ever accuse him of not doing that...
