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| Race Report - Rounds 17 & 18 - Snetterton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Win puts Paul in control in championship chase
However, in the first of the weekend's two races, Paul started from second on the grid, with championship rival Jonathan Adam on pole position. It was Paul that made the better start, but he was not quite as quick away from the line as SpeedEquipe driver Ian Curley, who propelled his distinctive green Clio from fourth on the grid in to the race lead. After two laps, Curley had a lead of just over one second, but Paul proceeded to close in on the SpeedEquipe driver, all the time with Jonathan Adam hot on his heels. On the fourth lap of the race, Paul was close on the tail of Curley at the Sear Corner, before taking a tight line through the Bombhole that saw him emerge in the lead. From a championship point of view, the move worked extremely well for Paul, as he Adam was unable to follow him through. With Paul looking good at the front, Adam set about trying to find a way past Curley, but the TCR driver was just starting to drop off the pace when the red flags were brought out after Tom Onslow-Cole barrel-rolled his Clio at high-speed. With nine of the 14 laps completed, Paul led the field down the pitlane and in to Parc Ferme and a declared race result. A first win at Snetterton for Paul, and valuable points gained over championship rivals Adam (third) and Ed Pead (fifth). Paul said: ". I've won at every circuit in the country that I have raced at now, which is a good record to have. That could be a critical result for the championship. I'm delighted to get the win." For the second race of the weekend, Paul started from third on the grid, with Adam and SpeedEquipe's Richard Williams sharing the front row. True to their form in recent races, both SpeedEquipe cars made very strong starts, with Curley initially taking the lead, but Williams soon took over at the front. Paul sat fourth behind Adam over the opening stages of the race, with Pead just behind in fifth. On the third lap, Paul stole the final podium position away from Adam with a move executed to perfection at the Esses. While Adam stayed with Paul over the following laps, the gap steadily increased as Paul sat held the position comfortably. However as Paul closed on Curley on second, he could not help but take Adam along with him, with the newcomer to the series this year using Paul's slipstream to his advantage. Lap nine saw Paul challenge Curley, and indeed pass him, but it was Adam who was able to slingshot past both drivers and move up in to second, leaving Paul still in third. However, just as he had done earlier in the race, Paul passed Adam again on the following lap to make second spot his own. By this time, Williams had a 3-second lead at the front, leaving Paul to focus on keeping Adam behind him. "My goal was not to go out and win the race", said Paul. "My goal was to beat Jonathan and Ed. That was the goal for the whole weekend." And that is exactly what he did, finishing second behind Williams, with Adam in third, Curley fourth and Pead down in fifth. "The results this weekend have been as good as we could have hoped for", commented Paul. Coming in to the weekend, I had never won here at Snetterton and I've always tended to have bad luck, so to have the win on Saturday was great, and the second place on Sunday was just as good as a win because we beat Jonathan again." Now holding a 16-point lead in the championship, with just two races remaining, Paul is in a strong position, but he knows that winning will not be easy: "I won't be taking any risks at Donington. Donington is a track I've always done well on, so we'll just have to see how it goes." The final two rounds of the championship take place at Donington Park over the weekend of 25/26 September. |
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Despite leading the championship standings after Brands Hatch, Paul came to Snetterton for rounds 17 & 18 of the Elf/BTE Lawline Clio Cup with a sense of reluctance, knowing that it has been one of the tracks where he has enjoyed less success over the course of his career.
