Scuderia Vittoria’s James Weston will look to build on his positive car racing debut when the Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre heads North East to Croft Circuit (5-7 July).
The Tunbridge Wells-domiciled driver, in his rookie season of car racing, faced a steep learning curve in the opening round of the newly launched Michelin Clio Cup Series at Snetterton.
A tentative start to proceedings was swiftly followed by a pair of storming drives through the field that resulted in a brace of Class 4 victories at the Norfolk venue.
Weston is keen to get back behind the wheel of his Scuderia Vittoria-prepared Clio Cup racer following an agonising eight-week hiatus without track time.
The 25-year old acknowledges that a lack of testing between events may put him on the back foot for the start of the Croft weekend.
However, with four free practice sessions scheduled for Friday (5 July), he believes there is ample time to acclimatise to the circuit’s intricacies and build towards the top five finishes he craves.
“I’ve never been around Croft before, so it’s going to be a whole new experience,” said Weston. “I studied how the BTCC drivers approached the track at their recent round and will download data from the supporting UK Clio Cup, which I will analyse with the Scuderia Vittoria team once we arrive in the North East.
“This year is all about seat time, building a profile and taking little steps up every weekend. Therefore, having achieved a seventh last time out at Snetterton, my aim has to be to better that – a fifth place would be great! Croft looks like a fun circuit to drive, as it has both high and low-speed tones to it and the team did well there in the UK Clio Cup recently, so it would be great to emulate some of that success.”
Scuderia Vittoria Director, Danny Buxton, added: “James did a stellar job at Snetterton, especially considering it was his maiden car race meeting. He stood up well against far more experienced drivers and bedded in to the circuit efficiently, which bodes well for this weekend at Croft.
“This is very much a learning year for him, but I believe his maturity and willingness to learn will help him improve further this weekend. Croft Circuit is a formidable adversary and only the most adaptable of drivers are able to master it – it will certainly be a challenge.”
Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre qualifying will take place at 9.30 on Saturday 6 July, with Round 3 at 14.00. The weekend’s second qualifying session will begin at 12.05 on Sunday 7 July, while Round 4 is scheduled for later that afternoon at 14.55.
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