Saturday 29th August
Glew extends Championship lead to 111 points by taking his 8th race win at Silverstone.
Renault Clio Cup rounds 15 & 16 - Silverstone National Circuit
Qualifying
Having topped the time sheets in Fridays test session Glew was confident that he could do the same in qualifying. He did not disappoint taking pole for race one and 2nd on the grid for race two.
Glew’s main Championship rival MacDowall found himself qualifying way down the order in 8th position providing Glew with the perfect opportunity to extend his Championship lead.
Race 1
Saturday’s round 15 saw Glew in familiar territory as Michelin pole-sitter, his seventh of the season, with Newsham alongside him on the front row.
The race got underway at 3.45pm and Glew made a great get away; leading the pack through the first corner.
Newsham managed to hang on to 2nd place as the rest of the field jostled for position.
The opening laps saw some close racing as Smith, Carnaby and Lloyd raced bumper to bumper for 3rd place providing the crowd with some entertainment and allowing Glew and Newsham to pull away a little. The tussle for 3rd also allowed MacDowall to steadily move up the order from 9th on the grid and eventually finish 3rd.
Glew drove a commanding race for 15 laps of the 18 lap race but Newsham had equal pace and was never too far from the leader’s rear bumper. With only two laps to go the win looked to be in the bag for Glew but Newsham had not given up the fight.
Glew left a slight gap at Brooklands allowing Newsham to take the Championship leader by surprise and draw alongside him.
The crowd looked on in amazement as two drivers then went side-by-side exiting the corner, but title-focused Glew chose to yield and avoid any chance of contact. Shocked that Newsham, had passed him Glew did not have time to try and find a way back past and settled for 2nd place allowing Newsham to claim his maiden Clio cup victory.
Following the race Glew was unsurprisingly disheartened having lead comfortably for the majority of the race and promised fans that the race win would be his on Sunday.
With Glew going out to take more victories and further extend his Championship lead, Sunday’s race promised to be action packed.
Sunday 30th August
Race 2
There was no shortage of action in race 2 and unlike Saturday’s bright weather the rain clouds loomed over the 24 strong Renault Clio grid as they lined up for the 16th time this season.
A determined Glew lined up on the front row of the grid hoping to make a good start and take the lead from pole sitter Carnaby.
The lights went out and the front row made an equally good start forcing Glew to tuck in behind Carnaby otherwise he was on the outside line for the first corner and was open to being squeezed wide at the exit.
Glew was tapped from behind as a number of cars tried to occupy the same piece of track and a spin by Pattison caused his car to make contact with both Colburn and Scragg ending their races and forcing the Clerk of the Course to deploy the Safety car at the end of the first lap. Glew’s championship rival MacDowall was also caught up in the incident giving him a damaged radiator and forcing him to retire.
Racing resumed on lap six following a brief rain shower, with the race distance increased to 21 laps. Following the restart Carnaby’s lead was short lived as the relatively inexperienced racer went too cautiously into Becketts allowing Glew to pounce and slip by on the inside with Newsham following suit at Brooklands.
The race was now on and Glew pushed hard to pull away from Newsham and make sure that there would not be a repeat of Saturday’s race. Glew drove faultlessly and pulled away with relative ease as Newsham defended from Carnaby.
The race was pretty uneventful for the Championship leader as he maintained a 3 second gap and dominated the race as the action once again unfolded in the battle for the final podium spot. Smith, Lloyd and Carnaby fought hard in the closing laps with Carnaby managing to grab 3rd place on the final lap.
Glew was elated with his 8th win of the season and said it felt as good as the first win as he had narrowly missed out on the top spot for the last few rounds.
Commenting on his weekend, championship leader Glew said: "I’m delighted with how things have gone and I’m really starting to think about the championship now. In Saturday’s race Dave had been gaining on me for a couple of laps and then through Luffield he’d been able to brake later and get the run on me for the lead. In round 16 Tom was a little hesitant on the restart and I managed to pass him early on and claim the win."
Glew rounds off a fantastic weekend 111-points clear of nearest championship rival Alex MacDowall with just four races left to play out and has his sites firmly set on the 2009 championship trophy.
Philip would like to thank Team Pyro for setting up a winning car and his sponsors WD-40, 3in1, STMC, DAS, MayContain.com and Edge Sporting Events many of whom managed to attend the race weekend and celebrate yet another victory.
The penultimate race weekend of the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup takes place at Rockingham Motor Speedway on 19th/20th September.
Copyright 2009 Philip Glew | Internet Design by Artsgraphica