Michelin Clio Cup Series

Second Time Lucky For Lidsey With Brands Hatch Win

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At the second time of asking, Brett Lidsey took the opening Michelin Clio Cup Series victory of the weekend at Brands Hatch.

A first attempt to run the eighth round of the season was curtailed at mid-distance as torrential rain worsened in Kent, forcing a re-run at the end of the day in slightly better conditions.

The new race saw Lidsey rise from fourth on the grid to victory in his MRM Clio, as the largest Clio Series grid of the season battled it out around the Indy circuit.

It had been dry conditions earlier in the day for qualifying, with championship leader James Dorlin leading the way with a double pole position.

Dorlin’s advantage was short-lived however as a busy opening lap saw the Westbourne Motorsport ace slip to fourth position, before he regained a spot from Tom Barley on the next tour.

The action was briefly halted as the safety car came out to retrieve Damian Hirst’s Road class car from the Paddock Hill gravel trap after the series debutant span off.

At the resumption of action, the race leader Lidsey showed his class as he built a near four second lead within the same number of laps, but maintaining the gap en-route to victory.

Behind, Dorlin’s fightback attempt was stopped by Luke Pinder, with the reigning Road Series champion holding on to second for his fifth podium of the season.

Barley eventually slipped to fifth at the finish behind Sam Randon, while a late move from Tyler Lidsey saw him grab the final spot in the top six from series returnee Dan Kirby.

Ben Palmer secured eighth after passing Ben Colburn on lap six, while Jon Billingsley rounded out the top ten on his championship debut with Vanquish Motorsport.

In the Road class, Nic Harrison led from lights-to-flag for his third consecutive class victory, with Jack Fabby second throughout and Sarah Franklin completing the podium after Hirst’s mistake.

Full race results can be found here.

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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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