ROUNDS 19 & 20 – ELF Renault Clio Cup
Brands Hatch, Kent, Sept 20th/21st 2008

Dave Sets Fastest Lap at Brands Hatch Finale

With only the one remaining Team Gladman car, competing in the season’s final two races at Brands Hatch, the team were hoping for some good fortune as they headed off to the famous Kent circuit.
David was running well during Fridays test day, until he entered Paddock Hill bend, carrying a fraction too much speed and lost the rear grip, sending him into the gravel and losing him valuable track time. However David soon got to grips with the sweeping Brands Hatch Indy layout in session two, setting some good times and ending the day happy with his pace.

Saturday morning’s qualifying started well, however after a few laps, David came in to swap his front tyres and reported a wheel noise to the team, who unable to see anything wrong with the car, sent him out again. As David exited ‘Clearways’ on his first flying lap, suddenly his rear wheel bearing collapsed, causing the wheel to come off, fortunately David was able to control his three-wheeler and drive down the pit lane, much to everyone’s amazement.

Race one on Saturday afternoon saw David in 23rd place on the grid following his non-existent qualifying session. Making a good start off the line David made up several places in the opening laps of the race and was easily catching the cars ahead. As he attempted to gain another position from rival Mark Hazel, he caught Hazel’s rear corner sending him into a spin and taking himself off in the process. Rejoining the track, David ended his race in 23rd place and to add to his despair, was later penalised for his over zealous move.

Sunday heralded a new day and with the sun shining on the magnificent amphitheatre of Brands, and starting from the back of the grid, David was determined to finish the season on a high and try to enjoy the final race.

Another good start saw David gain a couple of places on lap one and as he settled into the race, he started picking off the cars ahead, one-by-one. Lapping faster by every lap, David was flying and thoroughly enjoying himself, finishing 15th having gained ten places during the race and setting the fastest lap time in the process.

A delighted David said afterwards “After the disasters of the last few meetings, I am really pleased to finish on a high, especially for the guys in the team who have worked so hard rebuilding my cars over the last few months. It just proves what we can achieve when it all comes together”.

“Both myself and my dad (Jonathan) would like to thank everyone involved with the team for a very enjoyable and exciting season of racing in the ELF Renault Clio Cup. Especially the Amery Motorsport guys who have worked miracles at times and given us both excellent cars to race with and to our sponsors, Birchall, Interlock Paving and Conder, who have supported us through all the highs and lows at every round during the season”.

You can watch the ELF Renault Clio Cup live on ITV Four and further coverage on Motorsport UK, check programme listings for times.

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