SV added another convincing podium finish to its tally in Round 15 of the 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup on the legendary Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit (12 October), Stefan Hodgetts bringing his KX Akademy and One Call Insurance-backed racer home in third place.
Countless red-flag stoppages and treacherous weather heavily curtailed UK Clio Cup Friday practice, but a lack of running didn’t faze the Redditch-based Hodgetts, who emerged from a frantic qualifying session with the third fastest time.
A solid launch from row two of the grid helped Hodgetts to maintain third place. The One Call Insurance-supported driver found himself in the midst of a six-way fight for the lead, but kept Alex Morgan busy for second place while trying to put some clean air between himself and fourth-placed Josh Files.
Two Safety Car interventions bunched up the pack and, despite a persistent effort, Morgan proved to be an immovable object and Hodgetts was forced to settle for the final podium spot.
“It was a fairly straight-forward, easy race in all honesty,” said Hodgetts. “At this stage of the season everyone is driving well and they’re on the limit, which makes passing hard work, especially on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. A lack of Friday running put us on the back foot in terms of setup, but we’re getting there and it’s a fantastic result for the SV team. I’m hoping for more of the same tomorrow!”
KX recruit Ant Whorton-Eales was left out of position on the fifth row of the grid after the frenzied qualifying session, but showed great pace in Round 15 on Saturday by holding the fastest lap for much of the race on his way to a seventh place finish.
“We had the fastest lap, but this circuit is a real follow-the-leader track and there are limited overtaking opportunities,” said Whorton-Eales. “There’s no doubt we had the pace and the Safety Car helped me out by bunching up the pack on a couple of occasions, but I don’t think we could have done much more today. I’m hoping for dry conditions tomorrow, because we’re fast and we haven’t done much wet testing.”
Local man, Devon Modell, only completed a handful of laps in qualifying after a rotation link failed on his SV-prepared Clio Cup racer.
The Maidstone resident has shown flashes of brilliance during his maiden campaign in Britain’s premier one-make saloon car championship and hoped to break his podium finishes duck on home tarmac at Brands Hatch.
Modell, aged 23, once again demonstrated his class, storming from the very back of the grid to 14th by the penultimate lap before spinning into retirement while embroiled in a tussle with Aaron Williamson and fellow rookie team-mate Josh Wakefield.
“It all kicked off at Hawthorns corner when Williamson had a bad run at the exit and on the run to Westfield,” said Modell. “I was squeezed out onto the grass. Braking on wet grass only ends in disaster, but I was damned no matter what I did. Looking at the results I probably would have finished 12th, which would have been great considering where I started. I’m pleased to have made up so much ground, but it obviously could have had a happier conclusion.”
Wakefield, Ronnie Klos and Finlay Crocker all emerged unscathed from several intense on-track battles. Klos sensationally overcame a recurrent gear-selection issue to reach the finish in 15th, between Wakefield in 13th and the One Call-backed Crocker in 18th.
SV Team Director, Danny Buxton, said: “We’re delighted with Stefan’s (Hodgetts) podium and he showed great speed throughout. Of course, he starts from third on the grid in tomorrow’s race and we believe we’re more than capable of at least replicating today’s result. Ant (Whorton-Eales) also performed well and the fact he held the fastest lap until the penultimate lap proves that seventh place isn’t representative of his true pace.
“For Devon (Modell) to move up from the back of the grid to 14th was phenomenal and he was unfortunate to be caught up in an incident on the final lap. And I have to applaud Josh (Wakefield), Ronnie (Klos) and Finlay (Crocker) who all emerged unscathed from several battles. Ronnie’s showing was particularly impressive given that he had to a niggling gear-selection problem. All in all, it’s good and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”
The final race of the 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup season (Round 16) is scheduled to begin at 13.30 tomorrow (Sunday 13 October) and will be broadcast live and in high definition on ITV4 and ITV4 HD.
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