Michelin Clio Cup Series

Herbert Extends Clio Cup Series Lead With Thruxton Double

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Luke Herbert has made it four wins in the opening five rounds of the Michelin Clio Cup Race Series with a pair of hard-earned victories at Thruxton.

While Herbert emerged victorious in both races, he certainly didn’t have it all his own way in qualifying though as series debutant and former BTCC racer Matt Allison topped the timesheets for the opening race.

Westbourne Motorsport’s Herbert got the better launch from the front row at the start of the race though to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish, however he found himself under pressure from Allison for the duration of the ten lap race with the gap remaining under half a second.

Allison Added A Podium Finish To His Pole Position On Debut - Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Allison Added A Podium Finish To His Pole Position On Debut – Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Behind Allison, a fierce battle raged for the final podium position. Andy Jordan briefly snatched third from Brett Lidsey in the first half of the race, but Lidsey fought back to bag his third podium finish of the season so far.

For Jordan, that came after a stunning opening lap in which he had climbed from tenth on the grid to fourth, the position he eventually finished – though only just, Peter Bennett almost piping his Finesse Motorsport team-mate to the flag with just 0.071s separating them.

Championship debutant James Dorlin took an excellent sixth on his Clio Series debut ahead of his Westbourne Motorsport stablemate Sam Randon, while a relatively subdued outing for season opener race-winner Paul Streather left him eighth ahead of Tom Barley and Adam Hatfield.

In Round Five, Herbert once again led the field into Allard for the first time, this time from pole position. Randon jumped Lidsey off the line to slot into second and went on to take the fight to his Westbourne team-mate – but Herbert made no mistakes to win by 0.197 seconds.

Herbert (Left) And Randon Celebrate A Westbourne One-Two - Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Herbert (Left) And Randon Celebrate A Westbourne One-Two – Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Once again, the main action of the race came in the fight for the final podium position. Bennett held the spot over the first half of the race, but after another superb drive through the order Jordan dislodged him on lap seven.

As Jordan went on to secure his second podium finish of the campaign from tenth on the grid, with Bennett under half a second further back in fourth. Lidsey survived a tangle with Allison to finish fifth, the incident having forced Allison to pit into retirement.

Streather climbed up to sixth at the finish, with Dorlin, Hatfield and Barley completing the class finishers.

2015 Michelin Clio Cup Race Series Points Standings (After Rd.5 of 13):

Position

Driver Points Gap
1 Luke Herbert 156

2

Sam Randon 117 -39
3= Brett Lidsey 111

-45

3=

Andy Jordan 111 -45
5 Paul Streather 102

-54

6

Tom Barley 82 -74
7 Pete Bennett 74

-82

8

Adam Hatfield 69 -87
9 Ben Davis 60

-96

10

James Dorlin 34 -122
11 Matt Allison 28

-128

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Simon is an experienced journalist and PR officer, who has worked in the national motorsport paddocks for over a decade, primarily on the BTCC support package.
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