James Dixon Remains At The Heart Of The Four-Way Clio Cup Title Fight - Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography
AirAsia Renault Clio Cup UK frontrunner James Dixon took his seventh podium of the season during the latest rounds at Rockingham to put the Total Control Racing driver in with a real fighting chance of taking the 2011 championship in a fortnights time.
21 year old Dixon headed into the weekend fifteen points adrift at the top of the standings and needed a strong weekend to close the gap to the top. A competitive qualifying session helped his chances, his two best laps putting him fourth and third on the grid for the two races.
A strong start at the beginning of Round Thirteen put the Stockbury-based driver fourth through Turn One, though he was bundled back to sixth at the Deene Hairpin. Not taking too many risks, the ABP Heating, Weidmuller and The Art of Decorating-supported racer held the place until the end to get some valuable points on the board.
Live on ITV4, Dixon started Round Fourteen well and held third at the start, before grabbing second at Deene on the opening lap. Pulling clear from the chasing pack, Dixon briefly tried to close down the race leader, but settled for the runner up spot and his seventh podium of the season.
Dixon, who now heads to Brands Hatch and the final rounds within four points of the championship lead, commented: “We're going to Brands in the fight for the championship which has been the plan since the start of the season, we're there and we'll give it everything we've got. I'm disappointed we couldn't win this weekend to be honest, I don't like finishing second, but we've done what we needed to do by taking away some good points.
“The biggest thing was to make sure we finished both races strongly and we did that. Everything is unbelievably tight in the championship now, it's all to play for so I'm really looking forward to going back to Brands Hatch and doing the best we possibly can. I want that title, for me and the team.”
