SV Racing with KX’s Josh Cook and Ant Whorton-Eales locked out the front-row for Round 3 of the 2014 Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup at Donington Park, following a hotly-contested and frenetic qualifying session (Saturday 19 April).
Nuneaton’s Ash Hand impressed in Thursday’s free practice sessions, ending up third fastest overall, as well as the quickest of the Graduate Cup contenders, thanks to his session two time of 1m17.610s.
Having had Easter Friday off, the drivers re-emerged from the SV Racing awning on Saturday (19 April) for UK Clio Cup qualifying.
The day’s fastest time came from Bristol’s Cook, suggesting he carries the momentum after recently leading the way in official testing at Thruxton as he chases his first win of the season.
The Bristol-based racer lapped Donington’s 1.96mile National Circuit in a time of 1m17.358s to go some seven hundredths quicker than teammate Whorton-Eales.
“That was a weird session,” said Cook. “Everyone was working in pairs so you had to look after yourself, but also making sure that the guy following doesn’t go into the back of you under braking.
“My second fastest lap only was a tenth slower than my fastest, which was in open air, so my race pace is looking really good. I’m hoping for a victory in race one and then in race two I’ll have to get a really good start and battle my way to the top from fourth on the grid.”
In keeping with his strong start to the season, Hand maintained his growing presence towards the sharp end of the field with the fourth-quickest time for the Cheshire-based SVR outfit.
Championship leader Alex Morgan, meanwhile, finished up sixth in his fourth generation turbocharged Clio after encountering mechanical issues that hampered his pace.
“We are not where we should be due to the mechanical problems, but we’ll look into it this evening and get the car sorted ready in time for tomorrow’s two races,” said Morgan. “Tomorrow, if I claim two top-four finishes, I’ll be really happy. I’ll start as the last of the KX Akademy drivers, but I’m sure we’ll all help each other out to get as many points as possible for us individually and the team.”
Following a tremendously successful opening to his 2014 Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup campaign at Brands Hatch three weeks ago, David Pittard clocked a time of 1m09.734s in Saturday’s short and sharp 20-minute qualifying session to line-up eighth for the afternoon’s first race.
The Herfordshire-based driver lined-up for the first race of the weekend and, as the lights went out, shot off the grid to propel himself past Will Burns to claim seventh within the opening lap.
Pittard then set about chasing Luke Davenport and closed to within a second of the United Autosports driver, although Pittard’s Brands Hatch rival Tom Oliphant was soon attached the tail of the duo looking for a way past.
Now engrossed in a heated three-way battle, Pittard drove the widest G55 in the field to maintain his position throughout the 12-lap race, crossing the line in a respectable and well-earned eighth place.
“I was under some serious pressure from Oliphant; he drove really well and showed his nose a few times, but we both kept it clean so well done to him,” said a gracious Pittard. “I felt that I was much quicker than Davenport and reckon I could have passed him and pulled away. But, at the end of the day, I’m still learning and brought the car home with a bag of points.”
SV Racing Team Principal, Danny Buxton, said: “It was a really successful qualifying session for the guys in the UK Clio Cup. Alex (Morgan) had a few mechanical gremlins and wasn’t able to post a representative time, but the championship leader lining up seventh for race one will certainly make for some interesting racing.
“It was an awesome qualifying session from Josh (Cook) and Ant (Whorton-Eales), so I’m really chuffed for them. It is also our first one-two of the year in qualifying.
Buxton concluded: “I’m also pleased with David’s (Pittard) result, it could have been better but it is a huge learning curve for him and he’ll bounce back and hopefully be standing on the podium by race three.”
Rounds three and four – which will be shown live on ITV4 and ITV4 HD throughout the day – are scheduled to take place tomorrow (20 April) at 10.05 and 15.47 respectively.