Scuderia Vittoria’s James Weston once again narrowed the gap to the established leaders in the Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre, taking a brace of fifth places from Rounds 5 and 6 on Rockingham’s International Super Sportscar Circuit (10-11 August).
The Tunbridge Wells-based racer tempered his own expectations in preparation for a challenging weekend in the Michelin-backed Clio Cup Series on the banked Rockingham circuit.
Having had no seat time since his outing at Croft Circuit in July, Weston used free practice to re-familiarise himself with his Scuderia Vittoria-prepared Clio Cup racer, pushing to – and sometimes beyond – the limit in the pursuit of lap time.
The 25-year old had a somewhat delayed start to Round 5 and subsequently fell from seventh to ninth on the opening lap. Baulked in the main pack, Weston was prevented from realising his full potential, but pulled off a valiant recovery that resulted in a well-earned fifth place and victory in Class 4.
A better launch in Round 6 saw Weston surge up to sixth place at Dene Hairpin, where a bumper-to-bumper battle with Ian Jordan commenced.
The Scuderia Vittoria driver applied unrelenting pressure until Jordan eventually gave way but was unable to bridge the gap to the battle for second, third and fourth places, crossing the line in fifth and once again taking top honours in Class 4.
“Rockingham is a lot more demanding than I thought it was going to be,” said Weston. “I really enjoyed driving the circuit, but was losing chunks of time out of the final corner and around the banking at the start of the weekend. Thankfully my pace improved and my fastest lap in the second race was only around six tenths off the winner’s best.
“I achieved exactly what I set out to do, although I feel I could have been more competitive in the races had I made better starts. To drive up to fifth was a great feeling but I think I could have fought with the top three or four drivers. All in all it was a brilliant weekend and I can’t wait to race on my home circuit, Brands Hatch. I hope to be challenging for podiums there and develop my race craft further.”
Scuderia Vittoria Director, Danny Buxton, added: “It was a very positive weekend, during which James (Weston) made big progress in terms of his outright pace. The fact he was something like four seconds off the pace at Snetterton’s season-opener and is now within one second of the established frontrunners is unbelievable, especially as he doesn’t have the budget to test between race meetings.
“I think he’s within striking distance of the top three and I believe the podium will be a realistic proposition at Brands Hatch. His race craft still needs some improving, as he wasn’t able to finish off some overtakes at Rockingham, but that will come with experience – the more time he spends racing the leaders, the more he will learn.”
The final Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre will be held on the world-famous Brands Hatch Indy circuit on 21-22 September.
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