The jubilant SV Racing team remains unbeaten having emphatically locked-out the first four places in Round 4 of the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup, while David Pittard sensationally added to his podiums tally in Round 6 of the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup at Donington Park on Sunday (20 April).
Bristol’s Josh Cook carried momentum to the East Midlands after topping the timesheets in official UK Clio Cup testing at Thruxton recently, translating pole position into his first race win of the season at Donington on Sunday morning.
Cook and Ant Whorton-Eales locked-out the front row of the grid, briefly switching places as they led the field away on a drying circuit.
Cook used clean air to extend his lead, while Whorton-Eales shadowed his fellow KX Akademy recruit, before a last-gasp move from Mike Bushell relegated him to third on the final lap.
Championship leader Alex Morgan and Ash Hand found themselves involved in some fraught fights, the former losing out to Jordan Stilp and the latter seeing off a challenge from former UK Clio Cup Champion, Paul Rivett, to finish nose-to-tail in sixth and seventh places.
However, the bulk of the action occurred in Round 4. Hand initially led the SVR charge after qualifying third, immediately ahead of his teammates, but Cook could be found at the head of a KX Akademy one-two-three-four as the field completed the opening lap.
Team Pyro’s Mike Bushell was an early casualty at Redgate, bringing out the Safety Car. But racing was quickly resumed and Cook made a break, leaving his three SVR stable-mates to duke it out with Rivett and Stilp.
The pace was breathless and the action frenetic as positions were exchanged and paint traded in some robust, but fair racing that demonstrated the class and professionalism of all concerned.
Several nail-biting moments featured spectacular acrobatics, but the SV Racing contingent were masterful and determined, seeing off the competition and preserving their stranglehold of the top four places, Cook leading home Hand, Morgan and Whorton-Eales.
Cook said: “This has far exceeded my expectations and I just want to maintain this momentum going forwards to Thruxton,” said Cook. “SVR and my own mechanics are so passionate and I have to thank them. This is all for them. It was pretty intense out there and to have a one-two-three-four is just awesome. Danny (Buxton) wanted a one-two-three so it’s great to go one step further and soak him in champagne!”
Nuneaton’s Hand said: “From the start, the race was hectic and racing my KX teammates was just hard work! I couldn’t find a way past until the pack got involved – at some points, four of us went for a position and only one was going to come out. But I’m delighted to be on the podium and we need to carry this momentum forwards for KX.”
Morgan said: “The start was the deciding moment for me as I got into second place behind Josh (Cook) at the first corner. There was no way I was going to give up the podium and we came away with a sensational one-two-three-four result – I did predict it and I’m glad we’ve achieved it so early. I’m also delighted to be still leading the championship too.”
Whorton-Eales added: “It was one of the best races I’ve had in a long time and the team had cracking pace. The KX Akademy boys locking out the top four places is mega and I’ll be well in the hunt at the end of the year if I carry on getting these results. It’s difficult when battling your teammates, because we’re all the same speed, in identical cars. We had a pep talk off Danny (Buxton) beforehand and we listened, which is why it was such a great battle.”
Pittard started Round 5 of the Ginetta GT4 Supercup from seventh and maintained position on the opening lap after teetering his way around the waterlogged Donington Park circuit with little or no visibility through his windscreen or rear-view mirrors.
The rain eased off for the concluding half and, while standing water remained an issue, it never deterred the drivers from locking horns.
Threats came from all angles as Pittard tried to dispose of Harry Woodhead and resist Tom Orton’s advances, but the SVR driver bided his time and made one final instinctual overtake on lap 11 to take sixth place.
Woodhead, Orton and Pittard ran three-abreast along the back straight, but the KX racer bravely sent his car through the middle of his rivals in a superb late-braking manoeuvre at the final chicane and used a clean exit to surge away.
Thereafter, Hertfordshire’s Pittard caught Sean Huyton hand over fist and passed the Academy Motorsport contender for fifth place, before sadly losing the place to Tom Oliphant on the charge to the chequered flag.
Pittard’s sixth place meant he inherited pole position for race two, although there was a significant shake-up in the order as the drying racing line prompted the majority to start from the pit lane on slicks.
SVR took the strategic gamble to sacrifice its pole position for slicks and this would prove to be an inspired decision, as those on grooved Michelin rubber soon ran out of grip on the increasingly drying track surface.
Pittard would record consecutive fastest laps while climbing the leaderboard and ultimately achieved his second Ginetta GT4 Supercup podium finish in as many race meetings, yet again boosting SVR’s trophy haul.
“We were under pressure to make a tyre decision on the grid and we had the most to lose,” said Pittard. “The call was a tad late, but it was the right one. I came onto the track last, so to surge to third is amazing! It was a case of picking them off one-by-one and I really revel in these mixed, low-grip conditions where it’s a level playing field. I didn’t know I had the fastest lap until after the race, I just really enjoyed myself out there. Achieving two podiums at Brands and Donington is a lot more than I could have asked for!”
For more information on SV Racing, please visit the new www.svracing.co.uk website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @SV_Racing on Twitter.