ROUNDS 19 & 20 – ELF Renault Clio Cup - Brands Hatch, Kent, Sept 20th/21st 2008

Podium & Fastest Lap at Brands Hatch Finale For Amery Motorsport

Amery Motorsport were celebrating after a superb third place finish with new hot-shot driver Dave Newsham in race one and a fastest lap with David Shepherd in race two, at the season’s final event, held at the famous Kent race circuit.

Racing for the very first time with Amery Motorsport, Dave Newsham made an immediate impact on the ELF Renault Clio Cup when he finished on the podium in his first-ever race in the leading saloon-car championship. The Inverness-based racing driver, who usually competes in the Legends series, finished third in his Amery prepared Clio, which created quite a stir in the paddock.

Dave Newsham’s weekend got off to an impressive start when he headed the time sheets in his very first test, much to the delight of the team. David Shepherd was also running well during Thursdays test day, until he entered Paddock Hill bend, carrying a fraction too much speed and lost the rear grip, sending him into the gravel and losing him valuable track time.

Qualifying saw 41-year-old Dave Newsham, currently second in the UK Legends standings, qualify third on the grid for round 19. The grid slot is even more impressive considering just half a second covered the 18 cars from second to 19th positions, Dave missing a place on the front row by a mere 0.008s. The grid slot for round 20 on Sunday was determined by the driver’s second fastest lap, which saw Dave qualify in 11th place.

David Shepherd’s qualifying started well, however after a few laps, he came in to swap his front tyres and reported a wheel noise to the team, who unable to see anything wrong with the car, sent him out again. As David exited ‘Clearways’ on his first flying lap, suddenly his rear wheel bearing collapsed, causing the wheel to come off, fortunately David was able to control his three-wheeler and drive down the pit lane, much to everyone’s amazement.

At the start of race one on Saturday afternoon, Dave Newsham came under immediate pressure from Rob Boston in fourth place, but kept his cool despite being behind the wheel of a Clio Cup race car for only his second time. As 2004 Scottish Legends Rookie champion, Dave has experience of leading and used his race craft to come home 0.372s ahead of Boston and claim a memorable podium.

Commenting after the race Dave said: “I was a bit surprised to qualify where I did and to go on and finish on the podium is superb given how little time I’ve had in the car.”

David Shepherd lined-up in 23rd place on the grid following his non-existent qualifying session. Making a good start off the line David made up several places in the opening laps of the race and was easily catching the cars ahead. As he attempted to gain another position from rival Mark Hazel, he caught Hazel’s rear corner sending him into a spin and taking himself off in the process. Rejoining the track, David ended his race in 23rd place and to add to his despair, was later penalised for his over zealous move.

Unfortunately for Dave Newsham, his second race on Sunday ended at only the third corner as another competitor clipped a kerb and ran into the side of Dave’s car. Unable to correct the extreme slide, Dave swerved back across the track before hitting the crash barrier and retiring instantly.

However, Sunday heralded a new day and a new opportunity for David Shepherd and with the sun shining on the magnificent amphitheatre of Brands, and starting from the back of the grid, David was determined to finish the season on a high and try to enjoy the final race. Another good start saw David gain a couple of places on lap one and as he settled into the race, he started picking off the cars ahead, one-by-one. Lapping faster by every lap, David was flying and thoroughly enjoying himself, finishing 15th having gained ten places during the race and setting the fastest lap time in the process.

After Sunday’s race a delighted Martin Amery said, “I am delighted for the whole team, we have worked so hard this season and not always had the breaks. Signing Dave Newsham for the last event gave us all a boost and to see both Dave’s have a great weekend was the icing on the cake. We cannot wait for next season, where I am convinced that Amery Motorsport will be the team to beat. We have proved this weekend that we have the cars and drivers to do it”.

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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