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17 Nov 2008 - Girlracer support enlisted
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Phil achieves first Clio Cup win 03 Nov 2008 - Chat with DSR Office
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Phil House gains two podium finishes in Clio Winter Series
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04 Apr 2007 Brands Hatch - Round 1
 | Brands Hatch - Round One - Free Practice
The start of the first weekend of the Clio Cup championship started with torrential rain for the first practice of the day. This was Andrew Bentley's first time in the car in the rain. Taking it easy at first to get used to how far the car could be pushed, Bentley put in some very consistent laps, finishing the first session in 20th out of the 38 drivers that took to the track.
The second practice session started off with drizzling rain, which turned into torrential rain again. It was important to get the time in at the beginning which meant Bentley was at a disadvantage due to his lack of time in the car. After building up his lap times he ended the session in 26th place out of 40 drivers.
Qualifying
The qualifying and first race was split into two groups, with Bentley competing in Group B. The weather was a complete change to the Friday practice sessions with the sun beating down on the track. Bentley put in 16 laps during the 15 minute qualifying session ending in 12th place, just over 1 second behind the pole position of Jordan.
Qualifying Race
Starting the race in 12th position on the outside of the grid is a daunting prospect for any driver, with Paddock Hill bend being the first corner in Bentley's life as a Clio Cup race driver. As the lights went green Bentley made a great start moving up to 11th before the first corner. Bentley kept his nerve and drove around the outside of the traffic jam on the inside of Paddock Hill bend, however this move meant that he could not get over to the inside of the track and had to drive around the outside of everyone at the next corner, Druids. By the time the Clio Cup train had reached Graham Hill bend Bentley had made his way up to 9th were he reamined until the last couple of laps. Entering Clearways on the penultimate lap, Andrew was tapped on the inside by MacDowall, which sent Bentley sideways. As with all front wheel drive racers, Bentley kept his foot in and managed to control the slide. In the process Bentley lost momentum and lost two places ending the race in 11th place. At the end of the race Bentley was frustrated at losing the two places as it would have meant starting the final race 4 places in front of the 22nd place he was going to start. But at least we had made it to the Final race on Sunday.
Brands Hatch - Final Race - Round One
Bentley started the championship round in 22nd place after finishing 11th in the second group of qualifying. Outside of the grid seems to suit Bentley as he got a fantastic start and made up 3 places on lap one again. By lap 4 a further place was gained taking Bentley up to 18th position. As always with Clio Cup racing the action was frantic. Bentley was hit on the inside door by Law twice (a accident that led them both to take a visit to the Clerk of the Course). Both times Bentley saved the sideways slide and position on the track. On lap 7 Bentley ran wide on the exit of Clearways and took a trip through the gravel trap losing momentum and places on the track. Crossing the line Bentley had dropped to 25th position, but by lap 13 had regained a place and on lap 14 passed another of the drivers to take 23rd place. On lap 21 team mates Crocker and Cleland took each other off at Paddock Hill bend promoting Bentley to 21st.
An action packed start to the season. Welcome to Clio Cup racing |
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