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| Race Report - Rounds 3 & 4 - Oulton Park | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrical woes prevent Paul from scoring perfect weekend The second meeting of the 2006 Elf Renault Clio Cup season at Oulton Park promised much for Paul, and only a frustrating electrical problem could prevent a superb pair of results. Paul dominated qualifying on Saturday, taking pole position for both of the weekend's races. His best lap of 1:35.707 was just under half a second quicker than nearest rival, Tom Onslow-Cole. Unfortunately, race one was over for Paul before it even started. His Clio misfired on the green flag lap, forcing Paul to pit as the rest of the pack took the start of the race. A faulty wiring loom was to blame, depriving Paul of a likely race win. Even more likely as the pack completed just a handful of racing laps following two separate incidents that brought the safety car out on track. Paul said, "It's not the first time we've had this happen. It's just so frustrating because we were looking so strong. We were very quick in testing and there's a good chance we'd have had a very good result. It really doesn't help us in the championship, but we'll have to sort the car out and try again tomorrow." The Boulevard Team Racing crew worked to replace the faulty parts on Paul's Clio overnight, and both car and driver were on top form for Sunday's race. Unlike the previous day, the rain held off and Paul was able to take his place on the grid. A strong start put Paul in the lead through the first corner, before he fended off a challenge from Onslow-Cole. Quickly into a rhythm, Paul was then able to focus on completing the 11 laps that made up round four of the championship. It proved a relatively straightforward lights-to-flag victory, which went some way to easing the pain of Saturday's problems. However, it also pointed to what could have been if the Clio had made it to the startline the previous day. Following the race, Paul said, "That was more like it. It doesn't make up for yesterday, but it's a win apiece for Tom and I now, so it's going to be pretty even all year." "I kept pushing all the way through the race. I wanted to get fastest lap. We didn't quite get it, the two guys were towing off each other, which is worth quite a bit. It's a shame, I knew they would be doing that, but I wanted the extra points for fastest lap. But we just missed out by a tenth." "I got the break on the first lap and after that I was just watching the pair of them have a tussle behind me. All the time they were doing that, I was able to pull further and further away." Leaving Oulton Park, Onslow-Cole continues to lead the championship, but with sixteen races and three dropped-scores still to come into play, there is still much to race for. "It will probably go down to the wire, as usual", said Paul. "It's more fun that way anyway!" Next up for the Clio racers are rounds 5 & 6 at Thruxton, over the weekend of 3-4 June. |
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