Wright Totally Dominant At Silverstone
Scuderia Vittoria driver Luke Wright has endured mixed fortunes during the 2011 season, but in front of 120000 spectators at the Silverstone round of the World Series by Renault, it all came good for the young driver with a commanding performance.
While not a Championship round, and despite a low turnout from British racers, Wright took both pole positions and both race wins for himself, and for Britain in races also contested by the Clio Cup Netherlands grid.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. ”We were very quick in testing on Friday and from that point I knew that we could go quicker throughout the weekend. To get two wins at the World Series by Renault event is just incredible and I’m feeling very confident looking ahead to Rockingham.”
Wright also collected a handy £500 per win at the event, after setting the fastest two laps during Saturday mornings qualifying session. He was also the quickest overall during Fridays collective test session, thus stamping his authority on every session during the high profile weekend.
Running alongside him for Britain was debutante Simon Belcher with his Handy Motorsport with Karcher team, and Pirtek Racing’s Jeff Smith running in his old Clio Cup car managed by the boys at Team Pyro.
Smith took a 4th and a 3rd overall position across the two races, also collecting some prize money for the Masters Cup category.
“It was fantastic to see a driver from the AirAsia Renault Clio Cup UK perform so well against a field of talented Dutch competitors,” said SRO UK General Manager, Lisa Crampton. “We owe thanks to ELF, Michelin and Protyre for supporting us in the Renault Clio Cup Channel Challenge at what has been a fantastic event showcasing Renault racing talent in a fabulous weekend of activities.”
We still have four more weeks to wait before the UK Clio Cup gets back on track, as they skip Knockhill and head to Rockingham in Northamptonshire.
Photo: Richard Devine
Richard Devine
