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Paul Rivett (Banstead) marked
his return to the ELF Renault Clio Cup with the best time during official
pre-season testing at Silverstone National circuit on Thursday, 20th
March. The twice former champion, also a double Clio Winter Cup champion, set a
best of 1min 06.007s (89.39mph) at the 1.64-mile circuit on a day when
changeable weather conditions challenged this season’s Clio Cup
racers.
The day was shared with the
Formula Renault BARC Championship, four sessions allowed drivers the chance to
make final preparations for the first two rounds at Brands Hatch Indy next
weekend. It was Rivett in his JHR Developments car who made the best of the
early conditions, with Team Pyro’s Ben Winrow (Earls Barton) just 0.136s behind.
Mardi Gras Motorsport’s Gavin Pyper (Fleckney) was third
fastest.
In session two, Rivett’s
team-mate Richard Cannon (Chesterfield) moved to the top of the timesheets with
a lap of 1min 06.079s (89.29mph) with Pyper and Y4HR Miracle Drywash with SVE’s
Niki Lanik (Ashurst Wood) in second and third
respectively.
Steady rain prior to and during
session three saw the lap times plunge, Winrow providing evidence that his
switch to Team Pyro for the 2008 season is working well with the fastest time of
1min 10.683s (83.47mph) more than half a second quicker than EPS UK with
Solutions Racing’s Robert Gaffney (Waltham Abbey) in second place. JD Pierce
with Robertshaw Racing’s Derek Pierce (West Kilbride) was third quickest, a mere
0.002s ahead of Coastal Racing’s Carl Bradley (Morecambe).
The final session of the day
saw Mardi Gras Motorsport lead the way with Irish teenager Árón Smith
(Rathfarnham) fastest with a mark of 1min 08.598s (86.01mph) and his compatriot
David Dickensen (Keatingstown) in third place. Derek Pierce recorded his fourth
top-six classification of the day with the second fastest
time.
Thursday, 20th March
also saw three more drivers register for the 2008 ELF Renault Clio Cup with
Rivett being joined at JHR Developments by Mark Hazell. Meanwhile, Full Speed
Racing has signed Philip Glew to partner Chris Panayiotou (Cheshunt). Total
Control Racing ran a fourth, unregistered, car during the test with experienced
Clio Cup racer Nick Adcock (Bromyard) at the wheel.
Commenting on the forthcoming
season, Paul Rivett said: “I know the pressure will be on me as a former
champion and nothing less than the title will satisfy me, but I thrive on that
sort of pressure. I’ve had my registration ready for a while now and after
having had to wait until near the end of the last season to start racing, it’s
brilliant to be able to get on the grid right at the start of the
year.”
Rounds one and two take place
at Brands Hatch Indy circuit on 29th/30th March. One
qualifying session will set the grid for both races with each driver’s fastest
time determining the grid positions for round one and their second-fastest time
setting the grid for round two.
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