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| Race Report - Rounds 3 & 4 - Brands Hatch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul quick off the line to win at Brands Hatch
Returning to Brands, one of his favourite tracks, Paul was hoping to avoid a repeat of the hefty impact he suffered on the short circuit last August. Back then a twitchy moment on the exit of Graham Hill Bend saw Paul’s Boulevard Team Racing Clio in need of a considerable amount of care and attention. The tight and twisty nature of the Brands Hatch Indy circuit guarantees some of the closest racing on the calendar, and it came as no surprise that less than a second separated the top 17 drivers in testing. Working very much on setting up the car, Paul clocked the tenth quickest time. With improvements still being made to the car, qualifying saw Paul claim fourth place on the grid for both of the weekends races at an uncharacteristically sunny Brands Hatch. The first race of the weekend saw series newcomer Jonathon Adam take his first Clio victory. Starting from pole position, the young Irish racer never looked back. This was thanks in no small measure to Paul engaging in a near race-long battle for second with Ed Pead. Passing Mark Davies at the start, Paul set up camp on Pead’s rear bumper and the pair produced some supreme racing to keep the crowd entertained over the following 20 laps. The end result was that Paul would claim the spot, passing Pead at Surtees on the penultimate lap, albeit after Pead had retaken the position after the same move on the preceding tour.
Following the race, Paul commented: “There are some very quick new drivers out there this year and it’s going to be very hard to beat any one of them. Everyone is expecting me to win this year but it’s not going to be easy! I knew I had the pace in this race but Ed defended well and I managed to get past him on the last lap” In round four, front row pairing of Ed Pead and Mark Davies were sluggish to get away at the start, and Paul seized the opportunity to pass them both on the outside in the run up to Paddock Hill bend before chopping across their bows to take the lead. Jonathan Adam – another contender for the drivers title - suffered an abrupt end to his excellent weekend form as he took a trip through the gravel at Druids to rejoin well down the field. Paul and Ed Pead were virtually inseparable and this saw them open up a big gap to the 3rd placed Nick Adcock. Paul was now finding that the roles had been well and truly reversed from Saturdays race… this time it was Paul who had to defend the position as Ed applied the pressure. A safety car period between laps 10 and 13 saw the field regroup and when it pulled into the pit lane to restart the race Paul brought the entire pack down to a crawl before nailing the throttle at Clearways. However, Pead remained glued to the rear of Paul’s car but he was not able to find a way past. Behind Paul and Ed, Ian Curley was giving Nick Adcock a real working over in the battle for 3rd and when Curley made contact with the rear end of Adcock’s’ car going into Paddock Hill on lap 16 it was enough to unsettle Nicks’ Clio to send him spiralling off into the gravel trap in a cloud of dust. Out came the yellow flags but the drama was not yet finished. The number 38 car of Steve Wood was sent sideways at the top of Paddock and it resulted in him meeting a violent collision with the tyre wall at the top of the hill. With 2 cars now situated dangerously in the gravel on the outside of Paddock and the tyre wall very badly damaged the race officials ordered the red flags to be waved and the race was declared a result after just 15 of the scheduled 22 laps. Paul’s successful weekend means that he now trails championship leader Ed Pead by just 2 points. There is still some work to be done to get the best out of the car but Paul is confident that more strong results are on the cards. Consistency is very much the key to winning the title this year and it is becoming apparent that there are several drivers who are showing that they can challenge for race wins. More comments from Paul to follow! Rounds 5 & 6 take place at Silverstone circuit over the weekend of 8/9 May. |
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Paul took a victory and a second place at Brands Hatch – the win coming thanks to a blistering start off the line in Round 4 of the ELF/BTE Lawline Renault Clio Cup.
