Adam Gould Enjoyed A Competitive Circuit Racing Debut At Brands - Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography
Rallying graduate Adam Gould felt the highs and low of car racing as he made his track debut during opening rounds of the 2012 AirAsia Renault Clio Cup UK at Brands Hatch.
A superb debut race saw Gould overcome a first lap spin to fight his way back into the top half of the field, the rookie pulling off some great overtaking moves on his way to a twelfth place finish.
The second race, televised live on ITV4, didn't go to plan for the 24 year old though when he got caught up in a huge accident on the Cooper Straight. Minding his own business on the inside of the track, Gould was speared into the barriers when a rival's damaged car veered dramatically to the left.
Gould fortunately walked away from the incident unscathed, but the same couldn't be said for his Stancombe Vehicle Engineering-prepared Clio, the extensive damage caused to it putting a question mark over his participation in the next rounds of the series at Donington Park in two weeks' time.
Adam commented: “It's been a dramatic start to my racing career, and a savage introduction to the Clio Cup. Saturday's race went perfectly and everyone was happy with me finishing in the top half of the field on my first outing. As for Sunday, that seemed more like a Daytona style pile-up. There was dust and cars were flying everywhere. I felt like Cole Trickle, only taller. It sucks because in rallying if I wreck the car it's my fault but in racing you are so often at the mercy of others.
“The car is a mess, although I've done worse. Most of the panels are scrap, and the chassis is bent. I can confirm that because of the incident I may not be able to compete in round two of the Clio Cup, which we are all pretty devastated about. Without a full sponsor in place, budget is very tight, which unfortunately doesn't allow for crashes of this size. The good news is I haven't got the fear, so I'll be back very soon.”
- The Checkered Flag has a full interview with Adam Gould coming up in the run-up to the next rounds of the AirAsia Renault Clio Cup UK at Donington Park on April 14/15, which we hope he'll be able to participate in.
