Saturday 4th July
Glew extends Championship lead from 34 to 79 points
World Series by Renault Event - Rounds 11 & 12 - Silverstone Grand Prix Circit
The World Series by Renault event marked the inaugural outing for the new look Clio Cup race car which all 24 drivers had to familiarise themselves with. The new look Clio, based on the new Clio Sport 200 features a new bodykit together with a new wishbone design increasing front end grip and responsiveness.
This weekend also saw reigning Clio Cup Champion Ben Winrow make a return to the grid looking to maintain his unbeatable reputation.
Qualifying
With Glew and Winrow going head to head qualifying would be vitally important. Glew proved his class by securing pole position for race 1 with a blistering lap time over 4 tenths of a second quicker than Championship rival MacDowall.
MacDowall managed to put in one good lap securing pole position for race 2 and with Hodgetts occupying 3rd place on the grid it was obvious that it would be another weekend of compelling racing.
Winrow could only manage 4th and 6th in qualifying leaving all the hard work for the race and proving that Glew is a more than worthy Championship leader.
Sunday 5th July
Race 1
The sun shone over the 3.19 mile Silverstone GP circuit as the Clio’s took their starting positions in front of the 90,000 strong crowd. Unusually pole position was placed on the outside of the track as per French regulations; meaning that MacDowall lined up in the usual pole position with the inside line for Copse.
MacDowall took the lead in to the first corner as Glew was forced to take a wider line. Glew managed to retain 2nd place until Stowe where he tried to pass MacDowall for the lead but Hodgetts also made a lunge to pass Glew. Hodgetts could not stop his car and hit MacDowall forcing him to drop a few places which slowed Glew as he had to avoid the incident. As Glew tried to regain his momentum Newsham and Winrow took their chance to make a move and drove past him on either side in to Vale.
Glew was now down to 4th position and was well aware that he had a fight on his hands to get back in to a podium position plus race leader Hodgetts was pulling out a huge lead. Glew calmed himself down after the turmoil of the first few laps and overtook Newsham on the inside of the fast right hander at Stowe. Demonstrating his superior pace Glew quickly caught Winrow and lined himself up for a move at Vale. Winrow defended heavily hitting Glew and trying to drive him on to the grass but Glew held his line and secured 2nd place. Winrow had one chance to try and make a move on Glew and regain 2nd place but the reigning Champion did not have the pace and Glew soon pulled away from him.
The battle was now on to try and chase down Hodgetts who had a 3 second lead over Glew. The gap between the lead duo got smaller each lap until Glew was right on Hodgetts’ rear bumper. Glew was keen to secure his 8th victory of the season and saw his chance as Hodgetts seemed slow down the straights. Glew made a calculated move and passed the leader on the inside of Copse corner, unfortunately he could not make it stick as he ran wide on the exit allowing Hodgetts to regain the lead.
The pair raced nose to tail for the remaining laps and Glew made one last attempt to take the lead, this time around the outside of Copse corner. He looked to have the lead until Hodgetts hit him. The crowd gasped as the Championship leader went off the track and headed towards the barrier.
Glew narrowly managed to avoid the barrier and rejoined the race in 2nd position. With damage to Glew’s car 3rd place driver Tyldsley looked to be a threat but Glew managed to hang on to 2nd place, taking his 10th podium of the season. Glew also took fastest lap providing him with 2 additional Championship points.
The race did not end quite so sweetly for Championship rival MacDowall who hit by reigning Champion Winrow; ending both their races on lap 6.
Race 2
Glew lined up on the inside of the front row for race 2 and managed to stay ahead of MacDowall in the drag race to the first corner. Glew looked to have the lead but Hodgetts made a blazing start from the second row and to everyone’s amazement flew past both Glew and MacDowall.
A frustrated Glew crawled all over the back of Hodgetts’ car as he was being held up, allowing the rest of the pack to stay on terms with the lead pair. As Glew was poised to make a move Hodgetts realised that he was not quick enough to keep Glew behind him and resorted to Touring Car tactics! He brake tested Glew at Club (a corner where you do not brake) forcing Glew to hit the back of his car, propelling Hodgetts further in to the lead and allowing Glew to be swamped by the chasing pack. Amongst the turmoil Herron and Newhsham passed Glew who could not believe how quickly the race was going from bad to worse.
Glew who was now down in 4th place tried to repass Newsham on the following lap but went too deep in to the corner allowing Winrow to force his way past, hitting Glew for the second time this weekend.
An angry Glew quickly managed to re-pass Winrow at Priory squeezing his team mate wide on to the grass. In doing so Tylsley managed to find his way past Glew and as the pair battled for 5th position Colburn also joined the scrap and Glew struggled to keep his position due to the damage on his car.
Colburn finally passed Glew as he was concentrating on trying to pass Tylsley and the Championship leader decided to settle for 6th position, taking vital Championship points in the knowledge that MacDowall was nowhere to be seen. Race 2 reminded Glew just how difficult it is to race in with the pack where the other drivers have nothing to loose and you have everything to loose.
MacDowall finished the race in 18th position having had a far worse race than Glew and although it was a tough weekend, Glew now comes away with his biggest Championship lead this season; a full 79 points ahead of MacDowall.
Championship leader Glew reflected on the weekend: "I was a little disappointed with the start in round 11, especially as I was positioned on the outside line despite getting pole. It was a great race though and for once I was thinking about the championship and where Alex was in the race. Round 12 just didn’t go my way but we still managed to come away with plenty of points so overall I am very pleased with the result"
Phil would like to thank each of his sponsors DAS, WD-40, 3 in 1, STMC, MayContain.com and Edge Sporting Events for their support and their attendance at the race weekend. Phil hopes that everyone enjoyed the day out despite the fact that he did not make it on to the top step of the podium.
Rounds 13 and 14 of the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup with Michelin take place at Norfolk’s Snetterton circuit on 1st/2nd August 2009.
Copyright 2009 Philip Glew | Internet Design by Artsgraphica