Scuderia Vittoria’s James Weston was delighted to hit his targets in Rounds 3 and 4 of the newly-launched Michelin Clio Cup Series and take a best fifth place away from Croft Circuit (6-7 July).
The Tunbridge Wells-domiciled driver arrived in the North East intent on building upon a highly encouraging start to his car racing career at Snetterton, where he finished seventh and achieved a brace of Class 4 victories.
Having never raced on the ultra-challenging Croft before, Weston used Friday’s free practice sessions to bed in to the circuit, before analysing reams of data and video footage taken from Scuderia Vittoria’s UK Clio Cup programme.
As a result, the 25-year old discovered significant chunks of lap time and qualified eighth for both races, the first of which took place on Saturday afternoon.
Losing places away from the start, Weston surged back up to eighth before a tyre stack strayed into his path and caused significant front-end damage to his Clio racer.
Undeterred, he continued on his way, battling excessive understeer to maintain position in eighth.
The second race was a more straight-forward affair, however. Weston initially lost ground but admirably recovered to fourth, until a charging Brett Lidsey got the better of him.
The brawling pair set their sights on third-placed Rob Gaffney – a former front-runner in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship-supporting UK Clio Cup – in the latter stages but were unable to bridge the gap before the flag, Weston finishing in a well deserved fifth place.
“I was a lot closer to the pace than at Snetterton and I’m absolutely thrilled to have reached my targeted fifth place,” said Weston. “I found looking through the data, watching video footage and receiving coaching from Danny (Buxton) very useful – it sorted my lines and braking points and translated into real pace on the track.
“Croft is a really challenging venue that makes you work hard. You have to think non-stop and it’s far more demanding than Snetterton. It requires a lot more technique and skill. I just kept my head down and cracked on in the races and the knowledge and experience I’ve gained this weekend will undoubtedly help me next time out at Rockingham.”
Scuderia Vittoria Director, Danny Buxton, added: “James yet again showed great levels of maturity and determination at Croft this weekend, which paid off to the tune of a fifth place finish – his best result of the year so far. He took huge strides forwards in terms of outright pace and used all the tools at his disposal to improve his technique. If he continues in this vein, I think he will be a force to be reckoned with come the end of the year.”
The Michelin Clio Cup Series’ next outing will be held on the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, Northamptonshire (10-11 August).
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