The
2014 Courier Connections Renault Clio Cup UK has provided close action once
again this year, with the series continuing its support of the Dunlop MSA
British Touring Car Championship.
Despite
there being a much smaller number of cars on the grid compared to recent years,
the racing has not been compromised, with all the drivers, 14 to date, getting
involved with tight bumper to bumper racing that has made the Clio Cup stand
out as a huge opportunity for young drivers to test their skills, and has also
seen a number of drivers use their experience from the championship to graduate,
mainly into the BTCC, such as Phil Glew, Alex MacDowall, and more recently Dave
Newsham and Jack Goff.
In
the brand new 4th generation Renault Clio, it has been SV Racing’s
Josh Cook that has led the way at the halfway stage as far as the championship
is concerned, with the 23 year old having three wins and seven overall podium
finishes to his name. He leads the championship on 237 points, just 15 ahead of
James Colburn, who has been a regular in the series over recent years and has
used his experience to good effect with two wins and four podiums under his
belt.
There
have been five different winners so far this season, with Cook having the most,
followed by James Colburn, Jordan Stilp and team mate Alex Morgan who each have
two wins, and Mike Bushell who has one win to his name. However, the
championship standings do not follow this same order, with Morgan only being
fifth in the standings despite taking the lead after the opening rounds at
Brands Hatch, and Bushell in third despite only having one win, showing just
how competitive the series is and how one result can massively impact on the overall
standings.
This
year’s championship has also seen a number of talented young drivers enter the
series with the hope of building the right foundations in order to progress
into the likes of BTCC and GT racing. Newly branded SV Racing, formerly
Scuderia Vittoria, have four hot prospects in their cars this year, with all of
them being part of the KX Akademy which was set up by BTCC ace Jason Plato; as
mentioned earlier, there is championship leader Josh Cook, as well as Alex
Morgan, Ant Whorton-Eales and Ash Hand. Other young drivers looking to test their
skills are Westbourne Motorsport’s James Colburn, Team Pyro’s Rob Smith, Jordan
Stilp of 20Ten Racing and the series newcomer Charlie Ladell, who joined the
championship from Oulton Park for WDE Motorsport. All of the drivers are
eligible for the Graduate’s Cup, which they will be going all out for to claim,
as well as the overall championship.
It
is not just the young guns who are looking to prove themselves either this
year, with series regulars Paul Rivett and Lee Pattison battling for the
Master’s Cup, which was won last year by current BTCC driver Simon Belcher.
There are also two new drivers who are looking to win the Master’s Cup, Craig
Milner (20Ten Racing) and Mark Howard (Mark Fish Motorsport). Sadly for the
newcomers, it has been the series regulars that have been dominant in the race
for the Master’s Cup, with Lee Pattison leading the chase just 12 points ahead
of Paul Rivett.
Overall,
the most impressive driver has to be Josh Cook so far, who still leads the
championship despite his worst race weekend at Croft last week (29th
June). However, he will need to keep his foot down and be consistent if he is
going to clinch the title, as he has a number of drivers in hot pursuit who
will be looking to take advantage of any misfortune for the series leader.
Written
by Alan Faulkner
Photo
credit: Alan Faulkner
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