Renault UK Clio Cup front-runner Jordan Stilp has expressed his frustration after being dealt with a host of penalties following a chaotic opening race at Snetterton today (2nd August).
During the race, Stilp found himself caught up in an incident with Alex Morgan and Paul Rivett that led to damage for Morgan and a retirement for Rivett, as well as a coming together with Mike Bushell and a robust battle for the lead with Josh Cook.
Post-race, for his altercation with Morgan, Stilp was awarded an eight second penalty for the race, dropping him from fourth to ninth in the classified results, a three place grid drop for Round 12, three penalty points on his license and a penalty of three championship points.
Stilp feels the penalties were unwarranted and out of character, and is disappointed that the punishment has impacted on his chances of a strong result in the weekend’s second race as he aims to maintain his championship challenge.
“It’s frustrating that people in the paddock are looking at me as a dirty driver,” Stilp told TCF. “As I told the stewards, I’ve never ever been that kind of driver and I’ve always been the driver getting pushed out or fired off.
“I’ve not had problems like this before, and I’m not the kind of driver to go out and maliciously fire someone off as at the end of the day you’re only cheating yourself. I never went for any moves today that weren’t really there, I wanted to gain places and I wasn’t going to sit behind them all day.
“What happened has happened and if people are going to view it in a different way to me, there’s nothing we can do about it. We’re just going to have to not really dwell on it and get on with tomorrow’s race and try to get back up to the front.”
*All penalties for Stilp remain provisional pending an appeal from the team*
