Simon Belcher has taken the lead in the Renault UK Clio Cup ‘Masters’ category after claiming his first two class wins of the year in the latest rounds of the series at Thruxton.
Marking a major turning point in his second season in the series, the Swindon racer converted his best qualifying performance of the season so far into two excellent race performances.
Banishing memories of a high-speed, car-wrecking accident at the high-speed Hampshire circuit during winter testing in February, Belcher overcame an early issue in race one, when he dropped from eleventh to seventeenth after avoiding a spinning car, to fight back to finish thirteenth overall.
The 39 year old enjoyed a much cleaner opening lap in race two, televised live on ITV4, taking his KÄRCHER and No Fear Energy-backed Clio into the top twelve early on, fighting on track throughout with three-time Clio champion Paul Rivett on his way to another thirteenth place finish.
“It was a massive ask to come to Thruxton and be totally committed after the accident I had during the pre-season, I had to bury some demons,” explained Belcher. “We did that in qualifying though and both races were great, we’ve re-grouped since Donington and the Handy Motorsport and Pyro guys gave me a great car like they always do.”