Just eighteen points separate Ash Hand, Ashley Sutton and Ant Whorton-Eales heading into the 2015 Renault UK Clio Cup season finale at Brands Hatch this weekend, setting it up for a nail-biting pair of races around the iconic Grand Prix circuit.
Sutton (Team Pyro) and Whorton-Eales (Maximum Motorsport) closed the gap at Silverstone last weekend with a win and another podium finish apiece, while Hand (Team Pyro) could only fight his way to fourth and sixth place finishes.
Hand remains on top though having taken seven wins this season compared to four apiece for his closest rivals, and he will be hoping to become the fourth consecutive Clio champion to have won the crown in their third season in the series.
Whorton-Eales meanwhile will hope his recent resurgence with new outfit Maximum can lead to him coming out on top, while Sutton is looking to make history and become the first Rookie champion since Jonathan Fildes in 2003.
With only two races to go, here’s what the championship top three have to say ahead of the trip to Brands Hatch GP:
Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Ash Hand:
“We need to take away the positives from Silverstone and press the reset button before Brands Hatch. I love the GP Circuit, it’s where I achieved my first pole position in car racing last year, and we have to come out all guns blazing. There’s no doubt at all that it’s going to be a fierce scrap for the title, which is what everyone wants to see – and ultimately, the best driver will win. I’ve just got to make sure that’s me!”
Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Ashley Sutton:
“It’s going to be close, and I’ve got a feeling it’s going to get rough as well. Those two guys are here and they need the championship more than I do, because at the end of the day I’m the rookie. I’m going to fight for it to the very end though, Brands GP is my favourite circuit on the calendar and we were really strong there last year in the Formula Ford, so I’m confident heading there.”
Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Ant Whorton-Eales:
“We’ve just got to go there full attack. If we go there with the aim of winning the first race, that would put us really into the mix heading into the final race. Obviously I need to be careful, but there’s a point that you’re too careful and you let someone go, or don’t go for a move. A lot always happens at Brands GP and we’ll just keep pushing and see where we come.”
*Keep an eye on The Checkered Flag tomorrow for our full preview of the 2015 Renault UK Clio Cup season finale.
