Mixed fortunes for Paul in Scotland

Racing north of the border at Knockhill in Scotland, Paul experienced both ends of the spectrum over the weekend of rounds 13 & 14.

Qualifying could not have gone better, with Paul taking a pair of pole positions for the weekend's two races. Championship rival Ed Pead set the second quickest time for both races, whilst Jonathan Adam found himself on the third and second row for races one and two respectively.

Unfortunately for Paul, he did not get the chance to capitalise on the first of his two pole positions. An intermittent problem with the engine struck on the green flag lap as he headed for the grid.

"The marshals were telling me to pull off the track, but I kept trying to get the car started", said Paul shortly afterwards. "I eventually parked it at the side of the track. The funny thing is, after the race, I said 'I bet it starts now', which it did. So I drive it back to the paddock."

The upside to the race was that Paul's Boulevard Team Racing teammate, Jim Edwards Jr went on to take his first victory since returning to the series. Jonathan Adam finished second with Pead down in 8th.

The second race of the weekend was more of a positive affair. With the team having located and fixed the mischievous problem overnight, with the help of a range of replacement parts, there was no problem as Paul took up pole position this time.

Paul led in to the first corner, with fast-starting Ian Curley in second, followed by Pead and Adam. There was little time for the race to get going before the safety car came out after just two laps when Tom Onslow-Cole stopped out on track. Three laps later, the race restarted and Paul once again held on to the lead.

Behind, Ian Curley stayed close to Paul before making a mistake and going off at Taylors, hitting Paul in the process. The clash let Pead through to take the lead and Paul in third with bodywork damage to his Clio. The safety car came out again to allow the recovery of Curley's car, closing the pack back up and allowing Paul to get on to the tail of Jonathan Adam in second. Speaking of the incident, Curley later said: "It was a schoolboy error, I'm gutted."

Racing got underway again with just a handful of laps remaining, and it did not take Paul long to pass Adam to move back up to second. He then set about attacking Pead. The first attempt at the Taylors hairpin was unsuccessful, but the move worked a treat on the following lap, as Paul darted down the inside to leave Pead in his tracks and head to the line for a sweet victory that looked unlikely two thirds of the way through the race!

"It's all turned ok in the end", said Paul. "The first race was a bit of a downer, but it's good to come back and get the win. We have to be a bit careful with the drop-scores now, and we'll have to see how it goes for the championship over the next few races. It is going to be very tight. I think it's going to go right the way to the last race."

Rounds 15 & 16 of the championship take place at Brands Hatch, Kent over the weekend of 20/21 August.

NEXT RACES Clio Cup 2008 Rnds 11 & 12 Silverstone 7/8 Jun

2008 Championship Points Standings

1 Ben Winrow 279 2 Paul Rivett 237 3 Phil Glew 184 4 Carl Bradley 151 5 Aron Smith 135 6 Niki Lanik 119 7 Mike Robinson 114 8 Alex MacDowell 105 9 Robert Gaffney 104 10 Gavin Pyper 96 After Croft