ROUNDS 17 & 18 – ELF Renault Clio Cup
Silverstone, Northants, Aug 30th/31st 2008

Disaster strikes again at Silverstone

After the nightmare of the previous event at Oulton Park, Team Gladman were looking forward to Silverstone and hoping for some good results. With only two events and four races left, Jonathan Shepherd decided he would sacrifice the rest of his season for his son David, by donating his Clio Cup race car to replace Dave’s written-off Clio from the Oulton race.

Said a philosophical Jonathan; “We had to quickly decide our options following Dave’s big crash at Oulton Park and the logical thing to do with only two events left, was for me to let David have my car, as he is the one collecting the points and I suppose it’s a ‘Dad thing’ at the end of the day. Although it’s been a very steep learning curve, I’ve really enjoyed racing in the Clio Cup and being part of the high-profile BTCC package has been a real buzz”.

So with only one Team Gladman car competing, all the focus was on the number 17 car of ‘Dreaded Dave’ as the team arrived at the famous Northamptonshire circuit. With his father’s car now re-branded in the Birchall colours and livery, the practice sessions on the Friday leading into the race weekend were to be the first opportunity for Dave to try his new machine.

What happened next, is the stuff of nightmares. Dave lost control through the first corner ‘Copse’ on his first flying lap of the first session, launching his new car into the barriers and completely wrecking the front end. Thankfully Dave was unhurt, but with the opportunity for any further practice gone and with the possibility of having no car for Saturday mornings qualifying session, it seemed that his season was well and truly over.

After the recovery truck had dropped off the wreckage at the Amery Motorsport awning, the team quickly got their heads together and never shy of a challenge decided to go for it and duly ordered a new shell, which luckily was just around the corner, as thankfully Renault store their parts at Silverstone. So with their first bit of good fortune in the bag, they set-about the task of building a new car. Starting at 12 noon on Friday, they worked into the night and beyond and by mid-morning on Saturday a shiny new, if not fully liveried Clio sat proudly in assembly area, ready for qualifying, much to the amazement of everyone in the paddock.

With no track time under his belt Dave qualified in 24th place, only eight tenths of a second behind pole position, which shows just how close and competitive the Clio Cup series can be.
Race one on Saturday afternoon saw Dave’s bad luck continue, as Smith in car 15 piled into his rear corner on lap one, spinning him round and damaging the suspension in the process. Dave limped back to the pits wondering when his luck was going to change.

For race two on Sunday, Dave was in 23rd place on the grid and with the rain set in, it was going to be a very wet, soggy race on Silverstone’s short National circuit. Dave made a good start and decided to stay on the inside line for the first few corners to keep out of trouble. With no visibility at the rear of the pack Dave managed to stay on the tarmac and was slowly gaining places as cars ahead were falling off on every lap. As the rain continued, standing water became a problem and eventually this caught Dave out, as he locked up going into the complex, sending him into the gravel and ending what has been a very miserable weekend for both him and the team.

With only two races left at Brands Hatch on the 20th and 21st September, Dave and the Amery Motorsport team are determined not to let their heads drop and are already planning tactics to try and finish the season on a high.

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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