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| Race Report - Rounds 11 & 12 - Croft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An eventful weekend!
"It was certainly an eventful weekend. They weren't the best results, but it hasn't worked out too badly for the championship." Race one looked like it was going to be over before it had really started for Paul, after he was knocked in to the gravel trap at the first corner. "I don't think I've ever been so glad to see the red flags", he said. Starting second on the grid, alongside Jonathan Adam, Paul made the better start. SpeedEquipe driver Ian Curley also got away well form the second row. As they approached the first corner, there was contact between the pair, with Curley hitting Paul from behind, sending both drivers off into the gravel. Under normal circumstances, it would have been game over for Paul, but fortunately the red flags were out before the first lap was completed - the amount of Clio wreckage being too much for the marshals to cope with under race conditions. After being dragged clear of the gravel, Paul was able to take up his position on the grid for the restart, giving the team a few moments to patch the worst of the damage to the car. The second attempt at getting the race underway was not much better. This time it was Mark Davies and Steve Wood that came together, forcing the safety car out on to the track. A couple of laps later and racing could finally get going. Paul and Jonathan Adam soon pulled away form the rest of the field, which was led by Nick Adcock in third. Behind the leaders, close racing was frequently punctuated by questionable contact, with Michael Simpson and Barry Sime amongst those taking excursions off the track. Lap seven saw the safety car out again; this time to clear debris from the track. Once racing again, Paul and Adam were again quicker than the rest. With Adcock battling successfully to keep third position from championship leader Ed Pead, the order at the chequered flag was: Adam, Rivett, Adcock, Pead, Martin. Following the race, SpeedEquipe lodged a protest concerning the incident that resulted in Curley's early exit. Renaultsport upheld the complaint and handed Paul two penalty points on his racing license. "I can't believe I've had my license endorsed when I was hit from behind", said Paul. "I don't really understand it." Saturday night gave Paul's Boulevard Team Racing crew time to check and repair the car ahead of Sunday's race. Paul was again second on the grid, with Adam, Curley and Adcock around him. Another good start from Curley saw him lead through the chicane for the first time. Paul took up second, with Adcock third. Adam passed Adcock going through Tower on lap one, and the top three then started to pull away. Adam put Paul under continued pressure over the course of the early laps, but it was the series newcomer who cracked first. Going through Tower, Adam hit the back of Paul's Clio, launching him into the gravel. Adam dropped a few places, whilst Paul could only rejoin at the back of the field. "I deliberately dropped back from Curley so I only had Jonathan to concentrate on. I think he was probably just a bit frustrated at not being able to get past." Paul pitted to allow the team to straighten the battered bodywork, before rejoining and running a lonely race to finish 15th. Adam finished 7th. After the race, television footage was reviewed by the stewards and Adam's move was deemed illegal. He was subsequently excluded from the result. Adam and his TCR team appealed the decision, but this was rejected. "When you look at the tv footage, you can see that he hit me, but then he pushed and pushed until I ended up off the track. There is actually quite a lot of damage to the car. The bodywork at the rear was pushed in, which is why I had to pit, and the car will need a new floor as well." "To be fair to Jonathan, there have been similar examples this year when drivers have got away with it." The result of all that is that Paul is now just three points behind Ed Pead in the championship chase, when dropped scores are taken in to account. "It's probably the best last place I've ever had", commented Paul. "In fact, I think it's the only last place I've had!" The championship continues with rounds 13 & 14 at Knockhill in Scotland over the weekend of 7/8 August. |
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Returning to action after a break of almost two months, Paul travelled to the Croft circuit, in North Yorkshire, this weekend for rounds 11 & 12 of the 2004 Elf/BTE Lawline Renault Clio Cup. It was a weekend that was not short of incident, and one that saw the title race take on a dramatic development after one of the contenders was excluded from the round 12 result.
