SV Racing continues its phenomenal record of winning races at every circuit it visits and leads the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup Drivers’ Championship and Entrants’ Trophy, while David Pittard lies second in the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup standings.
A sensational weekend at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire saw a reinvigorated Ash Hand flip his fortunes with a brace of podium finishes in the UK Clio Cup, and Pittard secure his third victory in a remarkable debut GT4 Supercup season to bolster his championship standing (28-29 June).
Josh Cook looked set to tighten his grip at the top of the standings as Britain’s premier one-make saloon car championship embarked on a race weekend that precedes a lengthy mid-summer break.
However, it was 20Ten Racing’s Jordan Stilp who led from pole position in Round 9 – the first of two UK Clio Cup races at Croft – as a tap from multiple Champion Paul Rivett sent SV Racing’s Cook sliding down to fourth.
The first corner melee played nicely into Hand’s hands, as the Nuneaton racer kept his nose clean and emerged from Hawthorns in P2, directly ahead of his fast-starting KX Akademy teammates Ant Whorton-Eales, Cook and Alex Morgan.
Incredibly, Lichfield’s Whorton-Eales surged from eighth to third and Reading-based Welshman Morgan from tenth to fifth on the charge to Clervaux, where they hugged the tight inside line in avoidance of the traditional first-corner skirmish.
The KX Akademy quartet led by Hand ran nose-to-tail, reluctant to give each other breathing space while attempting to conserve their tyres on Croft’s highly-abrasive track surface at the same time.
The trio stayed in hot pursuit of each other and locked brakes into Sunny In was an indication of the pressure felt by Whorton-Eales, as Hand began putting the hammer down and closing in on race leader Stilp
Cook looked more pressing as the laps wore on, although Whorton-Eales left his SVR stablemate to fend off the advances of Morgan, Bushell, Devon Modell and Lee Pattison during the final two laps.
Only a few lengths separated Stilp and Hand as Round 9 came to a conclusion, with Whorton-Eales rounding-out the podium places in third, Cook fourth and Morgan fifth.
Stilp headed the field once again in Round 10 and second-placed Cook was an early casualty in the mayhem at Clervaux; edged out wide onto the dust and kerbing, a tap from Rivett left him pointing the wrong way with a severely disfigured Clio that ultimately resulted in a retirement.
Nevertheless, a disappointed Cook leaves the North East with a 15-point lead over James Colburn in the Drivers’ Championship.
As in race one, Whorton-Eales was a beneficiary of the start shenanigans and spent the majority of the race breathing down Rivett’s neck for third position, with Morgan a few places behind in seventh.
A determined Hand demoted the Lichfield racer to fifth on lap six and quickly dispatched Rivett, passing the WDE Motorsport driver in no uncertain terms at the Hairpin to take a comfortable third place finish and a second podium from as many races at Croft.
“I hope these podiums mark the end of an unlucky streak, because I had a couple of really good races and I leave here feeling really happy with what we’ve achieved,” said Hand. “I had extra pace in the bag if I needed it, which is encouraging, we had a plan, stuck to it and it worked out. It’s definitely a much-needed shot in the arm and it’s the perfect way of rewarding SV Racing for providing me with a fantastic car. It’s a bit annoying to be going into the mid-season break now, but I hope to carry this momentum through to the next round at Snetterton.”
A differential problem hampered Ginetta GT4 Supercup title contender Pittard’s Croft weekend and he was disappointed to qualify in the midfield on Saturday (28 June).
An average start from the third row of the grid forced him to cut across Jamie Orton’s bows in defence of his position away from the line, but while the Hertfordshire racer was on the inside for the first right-hander at Clervaux, he was seventh as it all shook out.
Racing was neutralised by a brief Safety Car intervention, but Pittard stood his ground against title rival Andrew Watson at the restart, in the knowledge that championship leader Charlie Robertson was fighting for victory.
He inherited sixth position at the expense of a wayward Tom Oliphant and would be fifth in the final classification after Orton was slapped with a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
With the top five reversed for race three, Pittard had pole position and a every chance of taking a victory away from his first ever race weekend at Croft.
He took the initiative through the first sequence of corners and drew out a significant 2.5s advantage before a deflating rear-left tyre compromised his charge and allowed Carl Breeze to mount an attack.
Still pushing hard and blissfully unaware that his tyre was flat, Pittard still looked controlled out front and maintained the racing line to achieve a remarkable race win – his third of the season – and move up to second in the Drivers’ standings, 29 points adrift of leader Robertson.
“Mechanical issues prevented me from learning on my first ever visit to Croft Circuit, but we finished races one and two when others slipped up and to win the third is really satisfying,” said Pittard. “I was slightly aware of the tyre issues in the final five laps, although I just thought it degradation. I slowed it down but feel so lucky to make it to the finish, let alone win the race! Every now and then you need a bit of luck. Being third in the championship exceeded all expectations, so to be second is great and we can only get better from here, as I have experience on all but one of the circuits that remain on the calendar. I definitely have high hopes for the future.”
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