Amery rise to the challenge at Silverstone

Amery Motorsport were looking forward to Silverstone, following the previous disaster at Oulton Park and with many of the team having taken a well earned holiday during the five week gap, the whole of the squad was ready for action.

With only two events and four races left, Amery Motorsport driver, Jonathan Shepherd decided he would sacrifice the rest of his season for his son David, by donating his Clio Cup race car to replace Dave’s written-off Clio from the Oulton race.

So with only one car competing, all the focus was on the number 17 car of ‘Dreaded Dave’ as the team arrived at the famous Northamptonshire circuit. To prepare the car for David Shepherd, his father’s Clio needed to be re-branded in the Birchall colours and livery and the drivers personal settings and adjustments dialled in. The practice sessions on the Friday leading into the race weekend were to be the first opportunity for Dave to try his new machine, but the team were confident having re-shelled a few Clio’s to date, that the car would be ok.

However the team could not believe what happened next. Dave lost control through the first corner ‘Copse’ on his first flying lap of the first session on the Friday, launching his new car into the barriers and completely wrecking the front end. Thankfully Dave was unhurt, but with the opportunity for any further practice gone and with the possibility of having no car for Saturday mornings qualifying session, it seemed that his season was well and truly over.

After the recovery truck had dropped off the wreckage at the Amery Motorsport awning, Steve and Martin Amery along with team manager Dom Field, quickly got their heads together and never shy of a challenge decided to go for it and duly ordered a new shell, which luckily was just around the corner, as thankfully Renault store their parts at Silverstone. So with their first bit of good fortune in the bag, they set-about the task of building a new car.

Starting at 12 noon on Friday, they worked into the night and beyond, which involved stripping all usable parts from the damaged car, fitting and welding in place the roll cage, adding wiring loom, brake system and pipework, all panels and glass, fitting suspension, engine, gearbox drive assemblies, safety belts, extinguishers, electronics, dash board and cooling system.

Then the car needed carefully aligning and setting-up along with as much of the livery being replaced as possible along with all the mandatory championship decals. All this was completed in just 14 hours of intense activity and by mid-morning on Saturday a shiny new, if not fully liveried Clio sat proudly in the assembly area, ready for qualifying, much to the amazement of everyone in the paddock, not least a very happy driver!

With no track time under his belt, qualifying was always going to be difficult and Dave qualified in 24th place, only eight tenths of a second behind pole position, which shows just how close and competitive the Clio Cup series can be.

Race one on Saturday afternoon saw Dave’s bad luck continue, as Smith in car 15 piled into his rear corner on lap one, spinning him round and damaging the suspension in the process. Dave limped back to the pits wondering when his luck was going to change. A new rear axle and front steering arm were fitted and the car re-aligned, cleaned and checked ready for action on Sunday.

For race two on Sunday, Dave was in 23rd place on the grid and with the rain set in, it was going to be a very wet, soggy race on Silverstone’s short National circuit, so the Amery Motorsport crew quickly added the wet settings to the car and the rest was up to the driver. Dave made a good start and decided to stay on the inside line for the first few corners to keep out of trouble. With no visibility at the rear of the pack Dave managed to stay on the tarmac and was slowly gaining places as cars ahead were falling off on every lap. As the rain continued, standing water became a problem and eventually this caught Dave out, as he locked up going into the complex, sending him into the gravel and ending what has been a very miserable weekend for both him and the team.

With only two races left at Brands Hatch on the 20th and 21st September, the team are determined not to let their heads drop and are already planning tactics to try and finish the season on a high.

You can watch the ELF Renault Clio Cup live on ITV Four and further coverage on Motorsport UK, check programme listings for times.

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