A tenacious drive from Ash Hand in Round 14 of the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup at Scotland’s Knockhill circuit (24 August) extended SV Racing’s impressive record of taking silverware away from every circuit it visits in 2014.
Fresh from a trip down Mexico way, Hand lined-up third as the top SVR contender in the final UK Clio Cup encounter of the weekend in Scotland, and shared row two of the grid with teammate and race one podium finisher Ant Whorton-Eales, with Josh Cook fifth, Alex Morgan seventh and Jamie Clarke 12th.
Lichfield’s Whorton-Eales got another one of his tademark lightning starts to leapfrog Hand into Duffus Dip and the SV Racing pairing took no time at all to dispose of Team Pyro’s Mike Bushell.
Whorton-Eales’ pace was initially stunning , although third-placed Hand found an extra gear and reeled-in his fellow KX Akademy recruit at a rate of knots, setting quick sector after quick sector to emerge as Jordan Stilp’s main challenger for victory.
Pushing hard, Whorton-Eales was unseated from P3 by a resurgent Bushell after clattering the kerbs, leaving the top three to concertina as the laps ticked down.
The gaps between Stilp, Hand and Bushell all compressed in the final laps and a big effort from Nuneaton’s Hand saw him better the lap record he set on Saturday – 57.288s – and get to within three tenths of Stilp at the conclusion of an exhausting race.
“I got a load of wheelspin and dropped back to fourth at the start, which didn’t please me,” said Hand. “I knew I had to make something happen immediately and, while the leading three got away, I made a daring move around the outside of (Mike) Bushell at Duffus Dip, which you shouldn’t really attempt. After passing Ant (Whorton-Eales), it was a mission and mentally exhausting to catch (Jordan) Stilp. It was a constant battle trying to chip away at his advantage, but I wasn’t far off at the finish. My mentality was to go out and win, but I’m really satisfied with this result for SV Racing and I. It’s good to be back on the podium.”
Fourth place for Whorton-Eales capped off a solid weekend in Scotland, although the misery and frustration continued for Cook, as he plummeted to 12th in an incident with Paul Rivett that earned him a grid penalty for the next round of the UK Clio Cup at Rockingham Motor Speedway (6-7 September).
Fired up, the Bristol racer pulled off a succession of bold overtakes on Rivett, Finlay Crocker and Charlie Ladell, and was climbing all over James Colburn on the final tour of the 1.27mile Knokchill circuit to cross the finish in eighth, just ahead of teammates Morgan in tenth and Clarke 12th.
However, Sunday’s programme began with the second of three Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup races and title contender David Pittard utilised a good start from fourth on the grid to challenge Will Burns for third place as the field dropped down Duffus Dip.
With no way through, Pittard kept hustling his Academy Motorsport rival and made a successful bid to pass later on the opening lap, but was unable to make an impression on the leading duo, as Carl Breeze asserted himself over second-placed Charlie Robertson out front.
Burns, reluctant to give up the final podium spot, kept pressing Pittard, who made an uncharacteristic error at Scotsman, tumbling to fifth position and coming under intense pressure from Luke Davenport in a battle that raged on to the flag.
Edinburgh’s Rory Bryant, meanwhile, was one of the star performers of Round 20, using his local track knowledge and supreme racecraft to pull off a series of impressive overtakes and scythe his way to a highly respectable eighth-place finish.
The GT4 Supercup debutant delighted his home fans with superbly clean passing moves on championship regulars Tom Oliphant and Reece Somerfield and finally locked horns with Fergus Walkinshaw in a tense tussle for seventh that went down to the wire.
The top six finishers from Round 20 were reversed for the third and final GT4 Supercup race, putting Pittard on the front row alongside Davenport and firmly in the frame for the win.
There was no change in the order away from the start but Pittard pressed Davenport hard until he was tagged into a spin by Andrew Watson as the leaders exited Taylors hairpin on lap two.
Watson would be docked championship points, receive a grid drop for Rockingham’s round of the GT4 Supercup and penalty points on his license for taking Pittard out of contention for a potential victory.
Bryant, on the other hand, lost ground in an early reshuffle involving Jamie Orton and Oliphant and was tenth when Pittard – on a recovery drive from the back of the grid – came by with the bit between his teeth.
Absolutely determined to conserve his fourth place in the standings, Pittard really put the hammer down and displayed race-winning speed by setting the fastest lap of the race – 52.290s – on his way to an eventual sixth-place result, with local hero Bryant’s Vaporized-liveried G55 in tow in eighth.
Looking back at his maiden outing in the Michelin-backed Ginetta GT4 Supercup, Bryant said: “All in all it has been quite a positive weekend. We’ve had a lot of teething issues, as we’ve practically been shaking down the car, so to get to this point having made improvements in each session is remarkable and a testament to the hard work put in by SV Racing and my sponsor, Vaporized. Ultimately, I’m disappointed with the results but, at the same time, my pace in clean air was very strong and on par with the established frontrunners. I hope to have an opportunity to drive the car again soon, as I feel on top of it now, which was always going to be the way.”
The next port of call for the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup and Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup is Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, Northamptonshire (6-7 September).
For more information on SV Racing, please visit the www.svracing.co.uk website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @SV_Racing on Twitter and Instagram.