Saturday 3rd October
Clio Cup Champion Phil Glew Ends Season With Double Podium
Rounds 19 & 20 Brands Hatch GP Circuit
Qualifying
Glew made the decision to race on the infamous Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, despite being crowned Champion at Rockingham two weeks ago and was keen to maintain his dominance.
Glew went out in qualifying unsure of his true pace due to running on old tyres in Friday’s test session; having used his tyre allocation earlier in the season.
Pace was not a problem for the Champion during qualifying and he went to the top of the times on his first lap on new tyres. Glew was almost knocked off pole position by Gaffney but in the closing laps of the session Glew put in one final flying lap securing pole position for both races.
Race 1
2009 Champion Phil Glew lined up on pole position for the penultimate time this season at the legendary 2.3 mile Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.
The lights went out and Glew made a poor start with wheel spin hampering his getaway and allowing him to be swamped by the top six. Gaffney took the lead from 2nd on the grid with Herron, MacDowall and Newsham following suit pushing Glew down to 5th before Druids. Glew lost one further place as he was pushed wide by Packun and dropped to 6th.
Following a poor start Glew was looking forward to fighting his way through the field, something he has not been faced with all season.
Leader Gaffney ran wide at Hawthorn allowing MacDowall to take the lead and Herron, Newsham, Packun and Glew to pass him. Glew then made a decisive move to pass Packun at Sterling to move himself up the order and regain 4th place.
2nd place driver Herron was awarded a drive through penalty for lining up incorrectly on the grid but prior to taking his punishment he had a spin at Graham Hill bend, narrowly missing a large collision with Glew.
Having closely missed Herron’s spinning car Glew pushed hard, determined to find a way past Newsham who was holding him up and allowing MacDowall to get away. Newsham made his Clio as wise as possible and defended heavily preventing Glew from passing without making contact and allowing 4th place driver Gaffney to gain on the lead trio.
With a clear track in front of him, MacDowall began to edge away while behind Newsham had his mirrors filled with the Clio Cup champion who went on to set the NGK fastest lap. MacDowall wasn’t able to get too far ahead though following the intervention of the Safety Car on lap seven to help with the retrieval of Hazell’s car at Druids.
Lap 10 saw the race resume with an extended distance of 14-laps. MacDowall timed the re-start well to get away cleanly followed by Newsham and Glew.
As the field came round to pass and incident at Druids, Glew saw a gap up the inside of Newsham and took his chance to take 2nd place. As Newsham moved across the track to defend the inside line the pair made a small amount of contact and Glew went through to 2nd place.
The battle was now on to catch MacDowall but with just 3 laps remaining it was going to be a hard task to close down his 3 second lead. Glew pushed hard, setting the fastest lap of the race and closing MacDowall’s lead down to 1.5 seconds. The race leader responded by putting in his 2 fastest laps of the race, keeping Glew at bay. Champion Glew took he chequered flag in 2nd place and secured the NGK fastest lap.
Glew was pleased with his performance following an enjoyable race and now looked ahead to Sunday’s race 2.
Sunday 4th October
Race 2
The Renault Clio field lined up for the final time this season in front of record crowds and every driver was out to make a lasting impression.
Having made a poor start on Saturday Glew was determined to get off the line well and maintain the lead into Paddock Hill bend which he did…. just!
MacDowall was hot off the line and equally determined to make his mark at the end of the season, having seen his Championship hopes dashed by Glew’s domination. MacDowall held the outside line through Paddock and Glew gave him just enough room to stay out of the gravel at the exit of the corner, knowing he had the inside line for the Hairpin at Druids.
With the start out of the way Glew now settled in to a rhythm while Newsham pressured MacDowall for 2rd place. Glew got his head down and pulled out a massive two second lead over 2nd place man MacDowall.
Just as the race looked to be under control the safety car was deployed due to two separate incidents causing the field to bunch up once again and giving MacDowall a chance to pressure Glew for the lead.
Racing resumed on lap four with the race extended to fifteen laps. After bunching up the field, Glew timed his restart to perfection to open up a defendable lead crossing the Brabham Straight with MacDowall in second just ahead of Newsham.
Out in front, Glew continued to push, setting the NGK fastest lap of the race with a time of 1m 40.858s and once again proving that he is a worthy Champion.
In true Clio Cup style a second safety car was deployed due to a midfield incident, providing MacDowall with one last chance to get close to his arch rival. There was no chance for MacDowall to make a move as an experienced Glew made yet another excellent restart, leaving the rest of the field to try and catch up.
With the chequered flag insight Glew had a comfortable lead and crossed the line to take his 11th win of the season and finish on a high with a perfect drive claiming pole position, a win, driver of the day and fastest lap. MacDowall came second with Newsham in third just ahead of Smith and Pattison.
A perfect end to a perfect season.
Commenting on his weekend and the 2009 season Glew said: "Winning the last race has been a great way to end the season which has just been fantastic for both me and the team. I didn't need to race this weekend but I wanted to help Pyro secure the Entrants prize. I'm still in talks with my sponsors but my plan is to move into BTCC next season with testing scheduled over the winter with a number of the current teams."
Phil sends his thanks to sponsors WD-40, 3 in 1 Professional, DAS, STMC, MayConatin.com, Edge Sporting Events and Datapulse for supporting his Championship battle and making it all possible. Phil hopes that everyone has enjoyed the 2009 season and looks forward to discussing plans for the year ahead.
Phil would also like to thank Team Pyro who have now been awarded the Team Entrants Prize and who have provided him with an outstanding car and a great deal of support.
Phil is also extremely grateful to manager Eddie Reynolds who has worked tirelessly to support Phil in his racing and taken lots of pressure away from him at race weekends.
Copyright 2009 Philip Glew | Internet Design by Artsgraphica