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Byford Nets Donington Win At World Series Event |
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Monday, 11 September 2006 |
Z Speed Racing’s Martin Byford (Colchester) won his third race in succession in round 15 of the ELF Renault Clio Cup at Donington Park. He won the race, watched by a crowd of more than 33,000 at the World Series by Renault meeting, by 4.358s from Championship leader Tom Onslow-Cole (New Malden, Surrey), who recorded his 12th podium finish of the year. JHR Racing Developments’ Michael Doyle (Gartocharn, West Dunbartonshire) was third for the second consecutive race.
With Robertshaw Racing’s Alan Taylor (Whitley Bay) unable to take the start after gearbox problems in qualifying, Byford led the 17-car field away from the line although he had to fight hard to fend off fellow front-row starter Onslow-Cole. The Total Control Racing ace was then passed by Mardi Gras Motorsport’s Robert Lawson (Richmond, N Yorks) and would drop to fifth before fighting back to second by the end of lap one.
Further down the field, TCR’s Mark Speller (Hertford) made a poor start from fifth and would drop to 15th by the end of the lap. He was caught up in the battle between Nick Adcock (Bromyard, Hereford) and Lawson and, subsequently, Adcock and Boulevard Team Racing’s Paul Rivett (Banstead, Surrey), which left Adcock out of the race and Lawson relegated to 16th.
As Lawson and Rivett spun at the Melbourne Hairpin, Doyle took full advantage to climb from 12th on the grid to fourth by the end of lap one and he soon passed Stephen Colbert (Northampton) for third place. On lap four, when Onslow-Cole lost momentum coming out of the Old Hairpin, the young Scot swooped to take second place. Although Onslow-Cole regained the position two laps later, Doyle completed a superb drive in third place earning him the Armor All Driver of the Day award for the first time this season.
At the front, Byford immediately opened a gap over the rest of the field and led by 2.288s after lap one. While those behind continued to scrap for places, the 34-year-old set about extending his lead, which reached more than four seconds by the midway point of the 12-lap race. Meanwhile, Rivett was beginning his comeback drive from 12th place by forcing his way past TCR pair Ray MacDowall (Carlisle) at Redgate and James Williams (Norwich) at the Melbourne Hairpin to lie sixth after four laps.
His next target was local driver Mark Hunt (Broughton Astley, Leics) in his Team Pyro car. Hunt was the fourth car in the chain behind Onslow-Cole, Doyle and Colbert. On lap four, Colbert briefly held third place when he followed Doyle past Onslow-Cole, but the Championship leader regained the spot at Redgate corner having lost out at Goddard’s.
Further down the field, Boulevard’s Martin Johnson (Alford, Lincs) was holding off JHR Racing’s Philip House (Harrogate) for eighth place, while Drive 4 Life with SVE’s Niki Lanik (Ashurst Wood, W Sussex) joined the fight when he passed House on lap six. House would later retire after running wide at Melbourne Hairpin and hitting the perimeter wall.
On lap 10, Rivett, who had been closing at the rate of half a second per lap, passed Hunt for fifth place and was immediately on the rear bumper of Colbert. The Ulsterman, like Hunt before him, made a slight error at the Old Hairpin allowing the double former Champion up to fourth and he also set the Fastest Lap of the race at the 2.50-mile circuit of 1min 47.206s (83.95mph) to claim two bonus points.
Byford started the last lap 4.046s ahead of Onslow-Cole and, as he had for the previous 11 laps, looked completely untroubled as he navigated his way to his third win in succession. With Rivett too far back to challenge Doyle for the final podium spot, the only changes for position came in midfield where Johnson passed Williams and Lawson passed Boulevard’s series debutant Richie Faulkner (Stepaside, Co Dublin).
Commenting on his victory, Byford said: “It was a strange race really because after the first corner, where
there were a couple of guys challenging me, I was out front with a
fairly comfortable gap to second place. In races like this it’s
important to try to forget how big the lead is and concentrate on each
lap and building the advantage. It’s great to get another win and I’ll
be looking for a repeat in tomorrow’s race.”
Onslow-Cole added: “I got a bit bogged down at the start that allowed
Martin to get away from me and he drove a great race. It was a good
battle with Michael, which I eventually came out on top. Then it was a
case of protecting the points for second place, which really helps me
for my Championship position.”
A delighted Doyle commented: “I didn’t qualify well but on the first
lap I could see a bit of jostling ahead of me and took a chance to go
round the outside at Redgate corner. Sometimes it works and sometimes
it doesn’t but luckily enough for me it paid off this time. I was able
to get past Tom briefly but I knew he was quick and when he came back
at me it was better to settle for the points for third place and
another podium.”
Drivers’ Championship standings after Round 15 - provisional
| Pos. |
Driver |
Nationality |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
Tom Onslow-Cole |
GBR |
Total Control Racing |
399 |
| 2 |
Paul Rivett |
GBR |
Boulevard Team Racing |
334 |
| 3 |
Stephen Colbert |
GBR |
Mardi Gras Motorsport |
289 |
| 4 |
Nick Adcock |
GBR |
Total Control Racing |
235 |
| 5 |
Michael Doyle |
GBR |
JHR Racing Developments |
228 |
| 6 |
Steven Hunter |
GBR |
JHR Racing Developments |
213 |
| 7 |
Robert Lawson |
GBR |
Mardi Gras Motorsport |
201 |
| 8 |
Mark Speller |
GBR |
Total Control Racing |
199 |
| 9 |
Philip House |
GBR |
PH Motorsport with JHR |
186 |
| 10 |
James Williams |
GBR |
Total Control Racing |
177 |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 29 December 2006 )
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