Following an action-packed 2015 season for the revitalised Renault UK Clio Cup, we’ve crunched the numbers to bring you all the key statistics from a campaign which saw Ashley Sutton emerge as the first rookie champion since 2003.
The numbers show that the season was dominated by four drivers, Sutton, Ash Hand, Ant Whorton-Eales and Paul Rivett, who shared all the race wins and pole positions between themselves and led the way in the majority of the statistical lists.
While Hand secured the most race victories, and matched Sutton for top six finishes, the champion just edged him for podium finishes and was the undoubted qualifying king of the season, the Team Pyro ace securing the best average of the season.
Whorton-Eales showed his battling spirit by gaining more places from his grid positions than anyone else over the year, a feat made the more impressive by the fact he started from pole six times, while Rivett’s strong qualifying record helped him to consistent front-running results.
The top four’s dominance over proceedings is shown by the fact that only one other driver led a lap or posted a fastest lap this year, Paul Streather and Luke Kidsley respectively during the season finale, while no-one other than them qualified on the front row all campaign.
Charlie Ladell was best of the rest in terms of consistent top ten results, while Jordan Stilp and Jack Mitchell were the next best qualifiers before their early departures from the series, with George Jackson showcasing his overtaking prowess alongside Whorton-Eales and Ladell.
Here’s a full rundown of all the key numbers from the 2015 Renault UK Clio Cup season:
Race Wins
7 – Ash Hand
6 – Ashley Sutton
4 – Ant Whorton-Eales
1 – Paul Rivett
Podium Finishes
14 – Sutton
13 – Hand
12 – Whorton-Eales
8 – Rivett
2 – Jordan Stilp, Dan Holland
1 – Jack Mitchell, Jon Maybin, Paul Streather
Top Six Finishes
16 – Sutton, Hand
15 – Whorton-Eales
13 – Rivett
9 – Charlie Ladell
7 – Stilp
6 – Mitchell
4 – Brett Smith
3 – Rory Collingbourne, Maybin
2 – Holland, George Jackson, Lee Pattison, Josh Price
1 – Rory Green, Tom Grundy, Luke Kidsley, Alex Sedgwick, Ben Davis, Tom Witts, Ben Palmer, Paul Streather
Top Ten Finishes
17 – Sutton, Hand
16 – Whorton-Eales
14 – Rivett, Ladell
13 – Collingbourne
11 – Mitchell, Jackson
9 – Stilp
8 – Holland
6 – Smith, Grundy
5 – Maybin
4 – Mark Howard, Price
3 – Green, Peter Felix
2 – Pattison, Kidsley, Sedgwick, Davis, Michele Puccetti, Tom Butler, Ben Palmer
1 – Ben Seyfried, Paul Knapp, James Colburn, Witts, Streather
0 – Graham Field, Freddie Hunt, Paul Donkin, Sam Watkins
Pole Positions
8 – Hand
6 – Whorton-Eales
3 – Sutton
1 – Rivett
Top Three Qualifying Results
16 – Sutton
12 – Hand
10 – Whorton-Eales, Rivett
3 – Mitchell
2 – Holland
1 – Grundy
Top Six Qualifying Results
18 – Sutton, Hand
15 – Rivett
14 – Whorton-Eales
6 – Mitchell, Stilp
5 – Smith, Grundy
4 – Ladell, Holland
2 – Colburn, Pattison, Kidsley, Streather
1 – Seyfried, Collingbourne, Jackson, Price, Sedgwick
Qualifying Average
2.17 – Sutton
2.83 – Hand
4.61 – Rivett
4.72 – Whorton-Eales
5.70 – Stilp
6.00 – Mitchell
7.88 – Holland
8.94 – Ladell
9.28 – Grundy
11.22 – Collingbourne
12.17 – Jackson
Races Led
8 – Sutton, Whorton-Eales
7 – Hand
1 – Rivett, Streather
Laps Led
102 – Sutton
86 – Hand
70 – Whorton-Eales
12 – Rivett
4 – Streather
Miles Led
195.930 – Sutton
153.657 – Hand
132.048 – Whorton-Eales
26.712 – Rivett
9.733 – Streather
Fastest Laps
6 – Hand
4 – Whorton-Eales, Sutton
3 – Rivett
1 – Kidsley
Places Gained From Grid Position
45 – Whorton-Eales
44 – Jackson
41 – Ladell
40 – Howard
37 – Collingbourne
34 – Green
29 – Holland
24 – Palmer (In Two Races)
23 – Butler
Biggest Points Haul From A Race Weekend
68 out of 68 – Hand (Thruxton)
66 – Hand (Knockhill), Sutton (Brands Hatch GP)
64 – Whorton-Eales (Donington Park)
62 – Sutton (Croft)
60 – Sutton (Silverstone)
59 – Hand (Oulton Park)
57 – Hand (Croft), Whorton-Eales (Rockingham & Silverstone)
56 – Sutton (Thruxton), Whorton-Eales (Oulton Park)
55 – Sutton (Knockhill), Hand (Rockingham)
54 – Hand (Donington Park), Rivett (Oulton Park & Silverstone)
*Points indicated for Donington Park do not include the rescheduled race from Brands Hatch Indy.
**The next best outside of the top four drivers was 47 for Stilp (Oulton Park) & Mitchell (Donington Park)
Graduate Cup Wins
15 – Sutton
1 – Mitchell, Ladell, Jackson
Graduate Cup Podiums
17 – Sutton
9 – Ladell
8 – Mitchell
5 – Collingbourne
4 – Smith
3 – Price
2 – Jackson, Davis
1 – Grundy, Green, Sedgwick, Palmer
Masters Cup Wins
5 – Howard
3 – Felix
2 – Seyfried, Knapp, Pattison, Puccetti
1 – Field
Masters Cup Podiums
14 – Howard
9 – Field
4 – Felix, Seyfried
3 – Knapp
2 – Pattison, Puccetti