Devon Modell picked up the pieces of his fallen rivals to take a handful of points from the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup’s visit to Knockhill (23-24 August), but is more optimistic for the penultimate round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at his home Brands Hatch circuit (30-31 August).
Having acquainted himself with Knockhill’s high kerbs and unique demands in Friday’s free practice sessions to set a time just four tenths off the pace, Modell headed into Saturday (23 August) morning’s hotly contested qualifying session with confidence.
With less than a second separating the top 11, Modell was quick to set competitive times during the damp, but drying session before a flurry of quick laps in the dying moments saw the Maidstone native narrowly miss out a top ten qualifying position.
Conditions fluctuated throughout the day and, with rain clouds still looming over the 1.27mile Fife circuit, Modell ran a comfortable race in the Safety Car-interrupted Round 13.
With overtaking a tricky affair at Knockhill, Modell was quick off the line and looked threatening during the opening tour, before an accident involving debutant Paul Knapp and Mark Howard brought about the Safety Car.
Modell continued to pressure Charles Ladell in an attempt to break into the top ten after the restart, but was unable to make a pass stick and brought his Westbourne Motorsport-prepared car home 11th.
The Kent racer once again attacked the bulbous kerbs to finish a weekend’s best sixth place in Round 14 on Sunday (24 August), proving that he has the necessary skills to compete at the top.
Having started tenth, Modell was able to negotiate his way through a collision involving current Drivers’ Championship leader Josh Cook and multiple title-winner Paul Rivett to climb the leaderboard to seventh.
It was at this point that teammate James Colburn and Cook latched onto the back of Modell and put him under increasing pressure, but the 23-year old kept his composure and positioned his car perfectly to fend off his experienced rivals.
In the dying moments of the 20-lap contest, Charles Ladell made an uncharacteristic mistake after battling with Lee Pattison, running wide out onto the rough and in turn handing sixth place to an appreciative Modell.
Fresh from Knockhill, Modell’s next port of call will be his home Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit for Round 9 of the 2014 British GT Championship (30-31 August).
He and teammate Andrew Jarman will be hoping to reclaim the GT4 class lead, off the back of a productive test in their TF Sport team’s more powerful GT3-spec Aston Martin V12 Vantage at Snetterton, where they ended the day just four tenths off the pole position time from earlier in the year.
Having completed an 11th hour deal, Modell went into the highly competitive British GT Championship with an open mind, and, to be fighting for the title with two races remaining has far surpassed even his own expectations.
“Your home race is always special, as you can’t beat getting up in your own bed and making your way into the circuit,” said Modell. “I have some friends coming along to support me and, depending on the weather, it should be a really good weekend. There is always a great spectator presence, which gives you that boost come raceday.
“The Aston Martin has performed really well all season long, but most notably at Belgium’s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Oulton Park in Cheshire, where we stood atop the podium. As they are both fast circuits similar to Brands Hatch, I’m hopeful of replicating that success and coming away with the championship lead heading into the final meeting of the 2014 season.”
Qualifying for the Avon Tyres British GT Championship is scheduled to get underway at 16.15 on Saturday (30 August), which will be followed by the headlining two-hour endurance race at 13.05 on Sunday (31 August).
For more information on Devon Modell and his racing activities, please follow@Devon_Modell on Twitter.