CALAMITY AT CROFT FOR AMERY DUO

Croft in North Yorkshire played host to rounds nine and ten of the ELF Renault Clio Cup series and turned out to be a nightmare for the Amery Motorsport father and son racing duo – Jon and David Shepherd.

With Touring Car driver Michael Doyle, racing from the Amery awning for the second time at Croft, Amery Motorsport were given a prime paddock space, close to the pits and throughout the weekend, the Amery awning attracted a great deal of interest from the spectators. With three Clios and the Honda BTCC car on display, there was a real buzz within the team as they set-up in preparation for Fridays test sessions.

The test session went well for both drivers, with Jonathan gaining pace steadily throughout and David being instantly on the pace and running in the top six on worn rubber. So with confidence high, running-up to Saturdays qualifying session, the Amery Motorsport crew set about final preparations for what was going to be a warm sunny and more importantly, dry tyre session.

What a difference a day makes! as David Shepherd struggled throughout qualifying with armfuls of understeer, which he and the team could only put down to the warm temperatures, not evident on Friday, giving the car too much grip on the rear. Jonathan Shepherd in the second Clio suffered the same fate, qualifying in 26th for both races and David 19th and 23rd respectively.

Team Manager Dom Field said afterwards, “David was flying yesterday and today the Clio looks like a completely different car, we will need to make some set-up changes for the races and hope that helps”.

Meanwhile Doyle’s BTCC Honda was going well, having had a new engine since blowing the last one at Thruxton and a respectable 16th grid position was secured on Saturday afternoon by the ex-Clio ace.

Late Saturday afternoon saw all 28 Clio’s assemble for race one and with Croft famous for its first lap mayhem, both Amery Motorsport drivers were hoping that fortune would swing their way and help them gain a few places early in the race.

As the lights went out both drivers made good starts, gaining a couple of places each on the opening lap. Unfortunately for Jonathan, he spun dramatically on debris from another car as he exited the chicane onto the straight heading down to ‘Tower’, completing a double 360 degree spin, much to the appreciation of the spectators and marshals watching, leaving him trailing at the back for the rest of the race.

David meanwhile worked his way up to 15th place and was closing on the group ahead, until entering the high speed ‘Sunny’ corners, his accelerator stuck, forcing him to throw the car onto the infield grass to avoid a major accident. With his foot flat to the floor he managed to hold the car and rejoin still in 15th place, but now had a group of Clio’s climbing all over his back bumper and the added concern of the sticking throttle for his next corner.

Fortunately the throttle was ok, however his new problem was car number 1, driven by the experienced and fast Stephen Hunter, who had already tapped David twice into ‘Sunny’, nearly sending him off again. As both drivers piled into the complex, David ran slightly wide leaving a gap for Hunter, but as the chicane narrowed both cars touched, forcing David off into the barriers, ending his race and breaking the suspension on both front corners along with a considerable amount of bodywork.

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