SV Racing recovered remarkably from an adverse start to the weekend at Croft Circuit, Lichfield’s Ant Whorton-Eales retaining the championship initiative with a sensational drive from the back of the grid to the podium on Sunday (28 June).
Conditions may have been changeable for Friday practice, but the weather was set fair for the 30-minute qualifying session on Saturday (27 June), although the very short shelf life of Dunlop’s slick tyres on Croft’s notoriously abrasive surface was a cause for concern and, as a result, there was a sense of urgency to the session and a feeling that the best times would likely come on the first or second flying laps.
All three SVR drivers pushed hard from the outset but, sadly, a severe case of oversteer and perhaps too much haste pitched championship leader Whorton-Eales into a slide across the track and into the tyre barriers, causing substantial front-end damage to his Green Room Group-liveried Clio and resigning him to the back of the grid for both races.
Jack Mitchell, who had been compromised by a brake problem in free practice, proved he had far more to give by going fourth fastest, with local man and championship returnee Paul Donkin putting in a very strong performance to go eighth fastest, only to have his time disallowed.
A determined effort saw SVR and the mechanically-minded Whorton-Eales complete a full front-end re-build during the short interval between qualifying and Saturday’s race, which transpired to be an intense, hard-fought affair from lights-to-flag.
Mitchell stood his ground in fourth and kept a watching brief on a heated battle between Paul Rivett and Ash Hand for the runner-up spot, while Donkin narrowly missed out on a top-ten finish to regular frontrunner, Jordan Stilp, in the final throes of the 12-lapper.
A fast-starting Whorton-Eales, meanwhile, picked off several rivals for seventh position and was unrelenting in his pursuit of Brett Smith. The pair traded places while drawing in on the back of fifth-placed Charlie Ladell to instigate an enthralling three-way fight, which culminated with Smith pulling off a retaliatory move on Whorton-Eales on the final lap.
Nevertheless, Whorton-Eales still led the championship and, with an optimised setup and fresh tyres, the Lichfield racer was determined to keep hold of the initiative going into the lengthy summer break by scoring more points from the back of the grid in the second UK Clio Cup race on Sunday (28 June).
There’s a typically frenetic start and Whorton-Eales was ninth after a stonking first lap, when the race was briefly neutralised behind the Safety Car.
Controlled aggression helped Whorton-Eales pick off three more rivals during the next two racing laps and he was soon on terms with Ladell for fourth position after being released by young teammate, Mitchell.
The 21-year old’s intent was clear when he recorded the fastest lap of the race (1m32.940s) to earn two bonus points, and he left Mitchell to keep Ladell preoccupied in a race-long fight for fourth as he went in pursuit of the final podium place, held by Rivett.
By lap nine, Whorton-Eales was on the three-time Clio Cup Champion’s tail and a well-executed overtake at Sunny Out sealed third position and concluded a sensational damage limitation exercise that keeps him ahead of Ash Hand in the Drivers’ standings.
“I had the second fastest lap in the first race on Saturday and the car felt quite good, but we set up the car properly for Croft this morning and put brand new tyres on and I had some serious grip,” said Whorton-Eales. “To start the race on tyres like that, I knew I’d have the front-end grip to make my way through the field and I am hugely satisfied with this third-place result. I never thought I’d reach the podium and I’m delighted to lead the championship at the mid-point of the season.”
Later Whorton-Eales was deducted two points and relegated two places on the next starting grid for his part in an incident which resulted in retirement for Pyro’s Brett Smith and a spin for Cooksport’s Rory Collingbourne. Meanwhile, a stellar weekend for Mitchell elevates him to fifth in the championship, with scope to improve further during the second half of the season.
In the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup, a host of issues combined to reduce Hale’s pace, the Bristol racer going tenth fastest in first practice on Friday (26 June) and then replicating that result in a stop-start qualifying and a frustrating opening race on Saturday (27 June) afternoon.
His next outing on Sunday afternoon was more encouraging, as the 22-year old made hay early and rose as high as sixth before an unforced error cost him track position and ultimately forced him into the pits to clear grass from his radiators.
Sadly, things didn’t improve in the third race either. Hale found himself in eighth after two laps and he ran a relatively lonely race when he was struck by a recurring and terminal mechanical problem.
The Bristol resident is understandably keen to move on from what has been a disappointing and unfulfilling weekend in the North East, believing the situation can only improve when the championship resumes after a mid-season hiatus.
The Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup recommences at Snetterton (8-9 August, but the Renault UK Clio Cup will re-join the TOCA package at Knockhill, Scotland (22-23 August).
For more information on SV Racing, please visit the www.svracing.co.ukwebsite, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @SV_Racing on Twitter andInstagram.