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[Renault Clio Cup UK] Rivett Dominates For Second Win Of The Season |
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Monday, 15 May 2006 |
RIVETT DOMINATES FOR SECOND WIN OF THE SEASON
Paul Rivett (Banstead, Surrey) led from the front to comfortably win round four of the ELF Renault Clio Cup Championship at Oulton Park Island on Sunday, 14th May. The Boulevard Team Racing star, a twice former champion, finished 4.551s ahead of Total Control Racing’s Tom Onslow-Cole (New Malden, Surrey) who had a race-long duel with his team-mate Nick Adcock (Bromyard, Hereford) who finished third.
After qualifying on pole position for the second successive race, Rivett shrugged off the mechanical fault that marred round three and pulled away from second placed Adcock. Team Pyro’s Mark Hunt (Broughton Astley, Leics) made the best start, gaining three places on the first lap to run in fourth place. But his charge was halted at the end of lap three when Stephen Colbert (Northampton) passed on the inside and the resulting contact forcing Hunt’s distinctive red car into a spin.
Just behind, JHR Racing Developments’ Steven Hunter (Coal Aston, Dronfield) passed Mardi Gras Motorsport’s Philip House for fifth place and set about closing the gap on Colbert. As the pair went side by side towards the first corner, House was able to close the gap on Colbert and would eventually pass him to finish fifth.
Robertshaw Racing’s Gary Robertshaw (Whitley Bay) scored his best result of the season in eighth, just missing out on seventh place as Michael Doyle (Gartocharn, West Dunbartonshire) passed him in the closing stages.
The battle of the day was for second place as team-mates Onslow-Cole and Adcock went wheel to wheel for the entire 12-lap race distance. The pair swapped positions three times in the space of two laps with Onslow-Cole edging ahead at Lodge Corner at the midway point of the race after setting the Fastest Lap of the day on lap four.
But he was unable to escape the clutches of his team-mate, despite pushing the car to its limits including taking some corners on three wheels. The experienced Adcock made every effort to overtake, while avoiding any contact that would harm his team’s chances. Meanwhile, Rivett opened a gap of more than two seconds by the midway stage.
With two laps to go, House was closing on Hunter for fourth place but was just too far back to attempt an overtaking manoeuvre. Up ahead, Adcock was biding his time for a final push on the last lap and although he momentarily went ahead at the last corner, he ran wide allowing Onslow-Cole back through to take second place.
Rivett was in a class of his own, however, and was delighted to erase the memory of the previous day’s retirement, saying: “Victory is a small consolation for yesterday and it’s two wins apiece now for Tom and I. Hopefully it will continue to be a good battle right through the season because I always enjoy close racing and a fight for the title.”
Onslow-Cole admitted he was relieved to hold off the challenge of his team-mate and retain his commanding Championship lead, saying: “It was the most enjoyable race of the year for me. I thought once I had passed Nick I would be able to pull away but he put up a great fight. But second place is great and I’m pleased to come away from the weekend still in control of the Championship.”
Adcock, who won the Armor All Driver of the Day award for his efforts, echoed his team-mate’s view, adding: “It was fantastic fun out there but it was also clean racing, which I really enjoy. I was able to get past Tom at Island Hairpin but then he had a run on me at Lodge corner so it was to and fro. I decided to leave it until the last lap but locked my brakes and had to settle for third.”
Drivers’ Championship standings after Round Four - provisional
| Pos. | Driver | Nat. | Team | Points | | 1 | Tom Onslow-Cole | GBR | Total Control Racing | 126 | | 2 | Paul Rivett | GBR | Boulevard Team Racing | 88 | | 3 | Nick Adcock | GBR | Total Control Racing | 82 | | 4 | Steven Hunter | GBR | JHR Racing Developments | 72 | | 5 | Stephen Colbert | GBR | Mardi Gras Motorsport | 63 | | 6 | Philip House | GBR | PH Motorsport with JHR | 61 | | 7 | Robert Lawson | GBR | Mardi Gras Motorsport | 60 | | 8 | Michael Doyle | GBR | JHR Racing Developments | 56 | | 9 | Mark Speller | GBR | Total Control Racing | 45 | | 10 | Mel Healey | GBR | Team Pyro | 43 |
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