ROUNDS
15 & 16 – ELF Renault Clio Cup
Silverstone, Northants August 29th/30th 2009
SUPERB MAIDEN WIN FOR AMERY MOTORSPORT AT SILVERSTONE
Silverstone, the ‘Home of British Motorsport’ hosted
rounds 15 and 16 of ELF Renault Clio Cup and this time it was the
shorter ‘National’ circuit providing the challenge,
as the drivers had already raced on the GP layout earlier this
season. With the Amery trio of drivers; Dave Newsham, Darren Wilson
and Rob Gaffney, eager to build on the pace from their previous
visit, the team were optimistic of their chances for the weekend.
Friday’s testing went well with Newsham topping the time
sheets for most of the session and after studying the data, a few
further tweeks were made in readiness for Saturday’s qualifying
session.
After a few fast laps on used rubber, the drivers quickly pitted
during the early part of the qualifying session for new rubber
on the front. A very impressive performance from Newsham saw him
end up on the front row in 2nd place for race one, with his next
fastest lap giving him 5th place on the grid for race two.
A nightmare qualifying session saw Gaffney ending a disappointing
18th due to a throttle problem with 15th on the grid for race two,
meanwhile Wilson although qualifying at the back of the pack, had
closed the gap on his rivals, thanks to driver coach Danny Buxton
providing him with some crucial track knowledge.
With championship leader Phil Glew on pole for Saturday’s
race one, Newsham needed to try to keep with him in the early part
of the race in the hope they both could pull a gap and the plan
worked perfectly for Dave. Managing to keep with Glew, Newsham
waited until 4 laps from the end before making his move going into ‘Brooklands’ and
taking the lead, which he held to the flag for his and the team’s
first victory!
With Gaffney finishing a fine 11th from 18th on the grid and Wilson
finishing in 14th everyone was happy, but happiest of all was a
jubilant Dave Newsham and equally thrilled team principal, Martin
Amery.
Said Martin after Saturday’s maiden race win, “Since
we started competing in the Clio Cup in 2007 the whole team has
been on a steep learning curve and everyone has risen to the challenge,
I cannot thank them enough. We knew with all the progress we’ve
been making that our first win was round the corner and recruiting
Danny Buxton as our driver coach was the final piece of the jigsaw,
his track knowledge and experience has really helped the drivers
find those extra few tenths that make all the difference”.
Saturday night was party night for the Amery crew and a few too
many celebratory drinks (driver excluded) saw a bleary eyed crew
descend on the awning in the early hours of Sunday morning. However
after a few black coffees and bacon butties, the whole team were
fired-up preparing the cars for race two by the time the drivers
arrived in the paddock for pre-race briefings and team talks.
Sunday’s race was almost as good as Saturday’s spectacle,
with Newsham this time finishing on the second step of the podium,
moving him up from 7th in the championship standings to 4th and
with four races left and a great deal of confidence, Dave has his
eyes firmly on a top three finish in the championship. Gaffney
fought his way from 15th on the grid to take an impressive 7th
at the flag and with Wilson’s 13th place finish, his best
yet, the entire weekend was a great success and everyone left the
circuit buzzing - bring on Rockingham 19th/20th September!
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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