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Round 3 of the Renault Clio Cup took place on the weekend of 5th
and 6th May at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire, The Spring weather
was once again kind to us with a mix of sunshine and clouds for
the two days of the race meeting.
Once again the format for the Renault
Clio races consisted of two qualification groups, with 21 cars
in each group, and a circuit that could only take 38 starters
there were to be 4 disappointed drivers that did not make the
Sunday Race. Philip House attempted to push past Dan and inevitably
there was a touch, which just caught the wheels together, damaging
the steering rack in Dan’s car.
Hobbled by very stiff steering Dan held on to sixth place right
to the finish line. A magnificent effort under trying conditions,
in one make racing the car and driver need to be in top condition
or places are lost.
The Saturday evening was spent changing the steering rack on Dan’s
car ready for the main race on Sunday, where he would start from
11th on the grid. However the drama of car problems were not over,
during the Sunday morning preparations the car failed to start,
a new engine management system was needed.
Dan was selected to run in the second qualifying group and set
a time that gave him fifth place on the grid. The race started
well with Dan holding 5th place on the run down to the first corner,
as usual everyone tries to win the race here. Dan made an excellent
start and the field rushed down to the first corner; mid field
all kinds of excitement took place with a spinning car causing
another to hit the barriers very hard.
The good news being that no drivers were hurt, a testament to
the strength of the basic car. We then had 3 laps under the safety
car whilst the damage to the tyre wall was repaired and the damaged
cars recovered.
Sadly the steering problem was not completely cured and Dan dropped
back to 14th place, however by adapting his driving style he set
a best time in the race just a 4 tenths of a second off the pace
of the leaders. Gradually Dan reeled in Andrew Herron and Nikki
Lanik and by the last lap he had retaken 11th place, however an
incident on this lap caused a red flag and with the count back
system Dan was classified 14th. Not the reward that the effort
deserved.
Three rounds completed and Dan has scored points in each one,
we await the latest official table, but confidently expect to
be lying 12th overall in the drivers championship, handily placed
just outside the top ten. The next round takes place at Croft
in Northumberland on June 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Giving us time to
sort the steering problems on the car.
Trevor Steggles Marketing Services
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