A determined Devon Modell refuses to wave the white flag after a tough weekend in the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup at Corby’s Rockingham Motor Speedway (6-7 September).
Maidstone’s Modell used Friday’s free practice sessions to fettle the setup of his Westbourne Motorsport-run fourth generation Clio Cup racer and finished as high as ninth, and went tenth fastest (1m31.330s) in a hotly-contested qualifying session, which was delayed when heavy fog set in and reduced visibility to zero on Saturday morning (6 September).
With mist lifting and the sun attempting to break through the clouds, Modell lined-up for the first of two UK Clio Cup races and immediately propelled himself to eighth, clearly intending to challenge the frontrunners.
Modell drove the widest Clio on track to fend off series debutant Daniel Holland, but, as the duo exited the Brook chicane, Holland was able to get a run on Modell and slingshot his way past on the approach to the tight Deene hairpin.
Determined to fight up until the chequered flag, Modell latched on to Holland’s coattails in a bid to get a tow down the straights until an attempt to pass WDE Motorsport’s Charles Ladell and break free from the train of cars forming behind him, Modell was pushed wide and demoted to 12th by Lee Pattison at Tarzan.
In stark contrast to the previous day, Sunday’s (7 September) race was held under clear blue skies and bright sunshine. Round 16 got underway and, in typical Clio Cup fashion, several drivers came together at the Deene hairpin and Chapman Curve.
However, Modell avoided the ensuing contact to continue lapping the 1.94mile circuit damage free and would later be promoted three places after the SV Racing trio of Josh Cook, Alex Morgan and Ash Hand were handed drive-through penalties for false starts.
Now into ninth and in-line to collect a handful of points, Modell began to open a comfortable gap to tenth-placed Mark Howard, before Holland, Ladell and Lee Pattison went three-abreast into the Brook chicane on the penultimate lap, promoting Modell to eighth.
“It was a difficult weekend for me, but I kept my mind focused on the job at hand continued to push on,” said Modell. “We were hit quite hard during the first race, which knocked my wheels out of alignment and prevented me from progressing up the leaderboard. The second race was a lot better, as the car felt very good through the infield section and I was able to push harder, but due to the abrasive surface at Rockingham, the tyres dropped off sharply and I had to nurse the car a little. To come away with a handful of points isn’t all bad, and now I’ll dust myself down and prepare for this weekend’s British GT season finale.”
Still in the hunt for the top GT4 honours in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, Modell now heads to Donington Park for the season finale in his TF Sport-run Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 this coming weekend (13-14 September).
For more information on Devon Modell and his racing activities, please follow@Devon_Modell on Twitter.