SV Racing was a regular fixture on the Renault UK Clio Cup podium at Donington Park and the highlight of a thrilling weekend was the sensational one-three finish delivered by Ant Whorton-Eales and rapid rookie Jack Mitchell (Sunday 19 April).
Danny Buxton’s SVR team continued its run of success in a wild and raucous UK Clio Cup ‘triple-header’ in the East Midlands, all three of its drivers – Whorton-Eales, Mitchell and Ben Seyfried – coming away with silverware.
In Round 3, Sunday’s (19 April) opening race, Whorton-Eales lit up his front tyres and propelled himself to P1 ahead of pole-sitter Ashley Sutton as the field raced towards Redgate for the first time.
Whorton-Eales’ main protagonist put him under intense pressure, but the local man used his years’ of experience and knowledge in Britain’s premier one-make saloon car championship to retain the lead at the close of the opening tour.
With a strong tow going in favour of those behind the leader, it wasn’t long before Sutton and Ash Hand closed the gap to Whorton-Eales, who held the initiative until Sutton pulled off a brave move on the run down to the final chicane.
The leading duo continued their brawl along the following straight and traded paint on several occasions as Mitchell latched on to the back of the train, five cars going into the final chicane as one in the battle for second position.
Lichfield’s Whorton-Eales emerged from the dust in third. However, Sutton received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits to promote the SVR driver to P2 in the final classification, with two bonus points for setting another lap record.
Mitchell collected his first piece of UK Clio Cup silverware after crossing the line as the highest-placed rookie in fourth, narrowly missing out on an overall podium by two tenths of a second.
Round 4, meanwhile, would see Whorton-Eales line-up on pole alongside Sutton, with Mitchell in a supporting role, one row behind in third.
Whorton-Eales was the quickest off the line and remained unchallenged throughout the 14-lap contest to secure a lights-to-flag victory and extend his lead in the Drivers’ standings.
2014 Ginetta Junior Champion, Mitchell, willingly filled Whorton-Eales’ shoes as Sutton’s main rival, soaking up immense and unrelenting pressure lap after lap, but was eventually demoted to the bottom step of the podium in the final throes of the race.
Seyfried received a time penalty after the day’s opening race and had to relinquish his Masters’ Cup victory to Paul Knapp, but made amends in Round 4 by bringing his fourth generation Clio home as the first of the Masters’ Cup runners in 11th overall to leapfrog Knapp in the points table.
“The car has had mega pace all weekend and it has been a brilliant day,” said Whorton-Eales. “We’ve not been suffering with the front tyres dropping off, as the team did a brilliant job in setting up the car. It was great to have my wingman Jack (Mitchell) up there to fend off Ashley (Sutton) and allow me to run quite a relaxed race. The tow didn’t affect us as much as yesterday due to it not being as windy, so it was easier to make a gap.
SV Racing Director, Danny Buxton, said: ““It’s been a really encouraging and exciting weekend. This morning’s race was just unbelievable. Ant (Whorton-Eales) was up to first, then fourth and then third, constantly swapping places, while Ben (Seyfried) comes away with two out of three Masters’ Cup trophies and Jack (Mitchell) did a fantastic job to keep Ashley Sutton at bay, as well as recording a fifth, fourth and a third. Overall, it is very encouraging for the season ahead.
“It’s a solid start to the year, but we cannot get carried away with it. We have to keep ticking the boxes and chalking up the podiums. It was always going to be a close weekend and we have got to be very happy with the points haul.”
The Renault UK Clio Cup will resume in three weeks’ time at Britain’s fastest circuit, Thruxton (9-10 May).
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.