Round 15
James Colburn took his first AirAsia Renault Clio Cup victory in Round Fifteen of the 2011 championship at Brands Hatch, with the Westbourne Motorsport driver also securing the championship lead with just one race remaining.
A great start from second on the grid saw Colburn move alongside polesitter and title rival Paul Rivett, with the 18 year old making a superb move around the outside off Paddock Hill to take the lead.
As Colburn led Rivett into Druids for the first time, behind there was plenty of action. Jack Goff saw his 2011 title hopes ended after contact with Luke Wright, both driver’s ending up in the gravel, allowing Jake Packun and Aron Smith, championship leader heading into the race, up to third and fourth respectively.
After a short safety car period to remove the cars from the gravel trap, Colburn produced a great restart to pull a small gap from Rivett instantly, while behind, a bold move from Smith saw him dive past Packun for third.
After a poor showing in qualifying, the final title contender James Dixon’s day was just getting worse, dropping to eleventh on the opening lap and then struggling to find a way past David Dickenson until lap five.
At the front, the top four were close together, but the positions remained the same till the end. Colburn took the win, with Rivett second. Smith finished in a much needed podium position to stay well in the fight, while Packun took a strong fourth.
Finishing fifth after a superb drive from eleventh on the grid was Scuderia Vittoria’s Ant Whorton-Eales, setting the races fastest lap in the process. Team Pyro’s Josh Files took sixth, ahead of team-mate Adam Bonham and JHR Developments Rob Boston.
Finishing a seasons-best ninth after a great drive through from thirteenth on the grid was Nicolas Hamilton, just ahead of Total Control Racing team-mate Dixon. Their other team-mate Mark Proctor also had cause for joy, taking the Masters Cup honours in fourteenth overall.
Racewinner Colburn said: “That felt mega, finally a first win in the Clio Cup. It’s been a long time coming. We got off the line well against Paul, and when the safety car came out I had to really think about where I could back them up. I managed to pull out a bit, Paul would pull me back, and then I’d get a bit further away from Paul.
“It’s so hard to pull out a quick lap round here in this heat, but we coped better than most and we managed to maintain it. Now we go into tomorrow full of confidence. It’ll be a lot harder as we start from sixth, which isn’t where we want to be, but we’ll see what we can do.”
Round 16
Paul Rivett has secured his third AirAsia Renault Clio Cup UK crown with victory in the final round of the 2011 championship at Brands Hatch, the Stancombe Vehicle Engineering driver ending up securing the title by six points.
Stancombe Vehicle Engineering driver Rivett started from pole and a great getaway was vital as he maintained the lead in Paddock Hill for the first time, with Jake Packun taking second ahead of Rivett’s title rivals James Colburn and Aron Smith.
Team Pyro’s Smith quickly got into third though, passing Westbourne Motorsport’s Colburn at Hawthorns. To win the title, Smith knew he would have to pass Rivett at the front, so set about trying to pass Get On Track Development’s Packun in second.
His progress was halted slightly when the safety car appeared for two laps, caused by newcomer Chris Smith going off track on the GP loop. At the restart, Rivett couldn’t quite break away instantly, with Packun putting him under slight pressure. It wasn’t to last though, with Rivett soon building a gap as Packun began defending from a determined Smith.
As Rivett broke clear, Smith’s chances of taking the title faded as Packun held him off. This meant all eyes were on Rivett and with no problems to his car, the Lumison BlueSquare Data backed driver was able to cross the line and become the first driver since the 1970’s to take three Clio Cup titles.
Packun held on to take second, his third podium of the season, while a disappointed Smith had to settle for third. Colburn, who headed into the race leading the championship after taking his maiden series win in the weekend’s earlier race, could only take fourth, with Josh Files and James Dixon completing the top six.
Ant Whorton-Eales continued his impressive start to his Clio career with seventh, ahead of Rob Boston and David Dickenson. Nicolas Hamilton completed his strongest weekend of the season so far with tenth, ahead of Adam Bonham and Andy Gorton. Newcomer Ash Miller took thirteenth, with Masters Cup class front two Darren Wilson and Simon Belcher completed the finishers. Wilson secured the 2011 Masters Cup title in the process.
Both Scuderia Vittoria’s Luke Wright and Team Pyro’s Jack Goff were unable to start the race, with their cars still damaged after contact in the weekend’s earlier race.
Written by Simon Paice - www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk
