The Danny Buxton-led SV Racing team emerged from a tumultuous weekend at Rockingham Motor Speedway as the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup Teams’ Champion, Ash Hand and David Pittard achieving podium finishes at the Corby circuit (6-7 September).
Josh Cook returned to his customary position at the top of the timesheets in Friday practice following an unsuccessful outing at Knockhill two weeks ago.
The Bristol racer went quickest in the morning when Ant Whorton-Eales and local racer Ash Hand completed an SV Racing one-two-three, and set the pace again later in the day by recording the best overall time (1m30.462s) and gapping title protagonist and perennial threat Mike Bushell by three tenths of a second.
However, Cook would face an uphill battle in the races, having been slapped with a harsh ten-place grid penalty for playing a role in an unfortunate tangle at Knockhill two weeks ago.
As heavy fog blanketed Rockingham, championship leader Cook took provisional pole, with fellow KX Akademy scholars Whorton-Eales, Hand and Alex Morgan third, fourth and seventh respectively, but was eventually bumped down to second – 11th after his penalty – with a second best time sufficient for pole in the second UK Clio Cup encounter.
It was an even start away from the front row for pole-man Bushell and Whorton-Eales, who was pinned to the outside of the banking and then survived a lurid slide at the exit of Deene hairpin, which left him trailing in sixth position.
Hand, meanwhile, used a superb getaway from sixth on the grid and graciously took the mantle as the lead SVR contender, emerging from a typically frenetic opening lap in third position and immediately ahead of teammate Morgan.
The Nuneaton driver was unable to make an impression on the leading two cars of Bushell and Jordan Stilp in what he described as “a mentally exhausting” race, and was subsequently overjoyed to net a podium finish.
“Friday practice was really good because we went from being third in both sessions with a car that was perfect in race trim,” said Hand. “Everything was different in qualifying – the car was a handful, I struggled with speed and wasn’t too pleased with sixth and seventh. I knew a good start was needed and got into the top three, but I struggled massively with speed and was forced to adjust the car’s balance during the race, which made it mentally exhausting and a real thinking driver’s race. I had to be so patient and it makes this third place more satisfying.”
Morgan lost track position to Paul Rivett on lap six and valiantly soaked up immense pressure from James Colburn to take a solid fifth, as Whorton-Eales received the chequered flag in seventh after yo-yoing up and down the order in a spirited, yet dramatic recovery.
For Cook, offsetting his Knockhill losses would be easier said than done from the back end of the bumper-crunching UK Clio Cup grid but, after an early tap, the championship protagonist made his way back into the top ten.
Sunday’s race looked a brighter prospect, but a slightly over-exuberant start from pole position proved costly, as the Bristol racer was served with a drive-through penalty before capping off a miserable day in the gravel to lose the Drivers’ Championship initiative.
From fourth on the grid, Whorton-Eales was tagged into a slide at Deene hairpin in a repeat of race one, but went on to put Colburn under immense pressure while running in a comfortable fifth place.
There was no daylight between the brawling pair in the final two laps and Whorton-Eales called upon all of his guile and experience to pull-off a neatly executed passing move and snatch fourth on the run to the line, while Morgan and Hand ran at the back of the field after serving drive-throughs for jump starts.
UK Clio Cup newbie, Simon Horrobin, meanwhile, made a good impression on Danny Buxton and the leading SV Racing team by mixing it with some of the series’ more established runners and continually upping his pace as the weekend progressed.
He raced as high as seventh in the opening encounter before becoming embroiled in a protracted battle with Westbourne Motorsport’s Devon Modell over top ten honours, and was left disappointed when a drive-through penalty for a jump start took him out of contention for a potential top ten finish in race two.
David Pittard, who arrived at Rockingham with prestigious backing from Sandy Tyres and Saxon Gate Motorist Centre in Sandy, Bedfordshire, went as high as fourth during Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup free practice and recorded the third fastest time (1m22.232s) in qualifying.
The Hertfordshire racer’s Knockhill foe, Andrew Watson, was demoted from second to fifth for a misdemeanour in Scotland and Pittard subsequently shared the front row of the Round 21 grid with points leader Charlie Robertson, confident he would be capable of racing well with an optimised setup.
A relatively slow start forced Pittard to the inside of the banking in a bid to halt Carl Breeze’s advances and the KX Akademy racer maintained second as pole-sitter Robertson survived a heavy lock-up at Deene hairpin.
The gaps between the top four – Robertson, Pittard, Breeze and Watson – remained equal for the duration of the 18-lap race and despite being unable to make inroads on Robertson’s lead, Pittard finished in a comfortable second place.
The KX Akademy racer was then monstered his by rivals off the line in Round 22, losing two places to a brisk Breeze and fast-starting Watson on the initial blast to Deene, but stayed on the cusp of the podium while being pressed hard by a charging Tom Oliphant.
Following a Safety Car intervention, Pittard was forced to give way to his Century Motorsport rival, who pulled off an ambitious lunge and held fifth to the finish, satisfied with his weekend’s work, “I’m quite disappointed overall, as I had hoped for two podiums. Second in the first race was a confidence booster, but it was all pretty chilled, I couldn’t quite do anything to catch the leader. Race two came down to the start, because I began creeping a tad and had to get off the throttle, which meant I initially bogged off the line. I was then pushed from pillar to post through the first few corners, slotted into fourth and, while I had the pace to catch third, the Safety Car forced me to stick out my elbows and I eventually fell to fifth. I got my hopes up for another podium, but I scored decent points and I’m still in a good championship position. I would really like to thank Sandy Tyres and Saxon Gate Motorist Centre for their support this weekend.”
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