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First-Ever Pole Position For Lawson At Thruxton |
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Sunday, 06 May 2007 |
Robert Lawson (Richmond, N Yorks) clinched his first-ever pole position after winning his Qualification Race for round three of the ELF Renault Clio Cup at Thruxton on Saturday, 5th May. Z Speed Racing’s Martin Byford (Colchester) set the fastest lap of Qualification Race 2 with a time of 1min 24.189s to earn the pole position side of the grid for Group 2. Momo UK’s round two winner Stefan Hodgetts (Redditch) starts second after winning Qualification Race 1.
Hodgetts led his Qualification Race from start to finish after making a clean start from pole position. Total Control Racing’s Jonathan Fildes (Co Meath) briefly took second place but would later run very wide at the 120mph Church corner and drop down the order to 11th. Mardi Gras Motorsport’s Ed Pead (Northampton) re-took second place ahead of Kangaroo International/SMC Renault/JHR’s Jim Edwards Jnr.
Edwards Jnr passed Pead on lap five and the round one winner and
championship leader lost a further place to Team Eurotech-John Guest
Speedfit’s Andrew Jordan (Sutton Coldfield) on the penultimate lap.
Further down the field, TCR’s Alex MacDowall (Carlisle) made up three
places during the race to finish ninth, while Mardi Gras’ Árón Smith
(Rathfarnham) recovered from a poor start to finish seventh.
Amery Motorsport’s Jonathan Shepherd (Sandbach) retired on lap five and
along with Booker Motorsport’s Dean Hobson (Barnsley), making his Clio
Cup debut, will not start Sunday’s championship round. Hobson will be a
reserve for the race.
In Qualification Race 2, Byford passed Lawson before the Complex but
the pole-sitter carried more speed on the exit and was able to regain
the lead at Church. TCR’s Ben Winrow (Earls Barton) moved up to third
ahead of Full Speed Racing’s Mark Speller (Hertford), as PH
Motorsport’s Philip House (Harrogate) finished fifth after starting
seventh.
Speller’s team-mate Chris Panayiotou (Cheshunt) gained five places in
the opening two laps and went on to finish 12th. A good tussle behind
him saw EPS UK with IDL Racing Services’ Robert Gaffney (Waltham Abbey)
lead home Cleland Motorsport’s Finlay Crocker (Bathgate) and Team
Pyro’s Mel Healey (Cheam). TCR’s James Williams (Norwich), who had been
in that group, suffered a puncture after running over the kerb and
failed to finish. Robertshaw Racing’s Alan Taylor (Whitley Bay) also
finished outside of the top 19 to qualify after running wide at Village
and damaging his front bumper.
Commenting on his first pole position, Lawson said: “I’ve been on pole
for qualifying races but this means more to me. Martin got the better
start and I had to tuck in behind but I didn’t want to let him keep the
lead for long! Once I was in front I was quite comfortable and if I had
been under pressure I feel I could have gone quicker.”
Round three of the ELF Renault Clio Cup is due to start at 14.25 on Sunday, 6th May. The race is scheduled for 12 laps.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 06 May 2007 )
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