Following an action-packed 2016 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 Ant Whorton-Eales emerge as the twentieth different champion in series history.
With seven different race-winners, no less than 22 separate top ten finishers and six teams fighting it out at the head of the field, it proved to be another hugely competitive campaign in the tin-top season, and here’s a full rundown of all the key statistics:
Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Race Wins
9 – Ant Whorton-Eales
3 – Mike Bushell
2 – Paul Rivett
1 – Max Coates, Lee Pattison, Paul Streather, Josh Price
Podium Finishes
12 – Bushell
10 – Whorton-Eales
9 – Rivett
7 – Coates
6 – Price
4 – Pattison
2 – Charlie Ladell, Senna Proctor
1 – Streather, Luke Kidsley
Top Six Finishes
16 – Bushell
14 – Whorton-Eales, Coates
12 – Rivett
10 – Pattison
9 – Price
8 – Streather, Ladell
7 – Proctor
2 – David Dickenson, Anton Spires, James Colburn
1 – Kidsley, George Jackson, Daniel Rowbottom, Chris Smiley
Top Ten Finishes
18 – Coates
17 – Whorton-Eales
16 – Bushell
14 – Rivett
13 – Pattison, Proctor
12 – Streather, Price
11 – Ladell
8 – Dickenson
7 – Rowbottom
6 – Jackson, Kidsley
5 – Rory Collingbourne, Spires, Smiley
4 – Colburn
2 – Dan Zelos, Ollie Pidgley, Shayne Deegan
1 – Paul Plant, Jake Giddings
Only once in championship history has more than seven different drivers taken race wins in the same Clio Cup season, with eight driver tasting success back in 2013, while Whorton-Eales’ tally of nine wins was three shy of the all-time record set by Dave Newsham in 2010.
Three of those drivers were first time visitors to the top step of the podium in Coates, Price and Streather, the latter impressively doing so in only his third ever race in the series, while the first two were joined by Ladell, Proctor and Kidsley in making their podium bows this year.
Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Pole Positions
12 – Bushell
2 – Coates
1 – Whorton-Eales, Rivett, Pattison, Rowbottom
Top Three Qualifying Results
14 – Bushell
10 – Rivett
6 – Whorton-Eales, Price
5 – Pattison
4 – Coates
2 – Proctor, Dickenson, Kidsley
1 – Streather, Zelos, Rowbottom
Top Six Qualifying Results
16 – Bushell, Rivett
13 – Whorton-Eales
11 – Price
10 – Coates
7 – Pattison, Proctor
6 – Dickenson
4 – Streather, Ladell
3 – Zelos
2 – Pidgley, Kidsley, Rowbottom, Smiley
1 – Jackson, Plant, Spires
Qualifying Average
2.17 – Bushell
4.11 – Rivett
4.63 – Whorton-Eales
6.61 – Coates
7.11 – Pattison
7.33 – Price
7.94 – Dickenson
8.83 – Proctor
9.60 – Rowbottom
10.72 – Streather, Kidsley
10.94 – Ladell
Bushell really was the king of qualifying this season, with his twelve pole positions coming from a possible fourteen during a stunning run of dominance from Thruxton to Silverstone – though that still wasn’t enough to beat Jonny Adam’s record of fifteen in a season from back in 2005.
The six different pole-sitters this season came from six different teams meanwhile – Pyro, JamSport, Ciceley, Cooksport, WDE and DRM – with two of those represented by first time pole position holders in the championship, Coates and Rowbottom.
Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Races Led
10 – Whorton-Eales
6 – Bushell
5 – Rivett
3 – Price
1 – Coates, Streather, Pattison, Kidsley
Laps Led
91 – Whorton-Eales
51 – Bushell
30 – Rivett
23 – Streather
19 – Pattison
12 – Price
7 – Coates
5 – Kidsley
Miles Led
179.67 – Whorton-Eales
117.35 – Bushell
64.89 – Rivett
28.27 – Price
27.78 – Streather
22.95 – Pattison
14.88 – Coates
14.85 – Kidsley
An impressive success-rate would see Whorton-Eales win nine of the ten races he led during the season, with the only one he missed out on being the Oulton Park opener to Bushell, who himself could only win 50% of the races he led.
While Whorton-Eales is clear at the top of the laps led and miles led standings, it was much closer between himself and Bushell for the majority of the season, before Whorton-Eales pulled clear with two dominant wins at Silverstone.
His JamSport team-mate Kidsley ends the year with the unwanted honour of being the only driver to have led a race but not take a victory, with it being Whorton-Eales who would deprive him of a maiden success at Snetterton,
Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Fastest Laps
4 – Whorton-Eales
3 – Bushell, Rivett
2 – Coates, Streather
1 – Ladell, Pattison, Kidsley, Pidgley
Places Gained From Grid Position
74 – Whorton-Eales
64 – Ladell
50 – Streather, Jackson
45 – Collingbourne
43 – Coates
42 – Pattison
34 – Graham Field
32 – Proctor
28 – Pidgley, Price
27 – Plant
26 – Rivett
24 – Smiley
22 – Spires, Deegan
Remarkably, 43% of the positions Whorton-Eales gained came on the opening weekend alone, while he moved forwards in fourteen races, compared to three for Bushell, which further highlights the latter’s qualifying superiority.
Only Ladell matched Whorton-Eales for most races moved forwards in, while aside from the champion’s meteoric drives at Brands Hatch Indy, there were five other instances of drivers gaining ten or more places in a race.
Collingbourne and Jackson moved forwards ten places apiece at Donington Park and Snetterton, whilst Streather impressively did so in both races at Silverstone, and Pattison climbed onto the podium from fourteenth at Brands Hatch GP.
Biggest Points Haul From A Race Weekend
66 – Whorton-Eales (Thruxton)
64 – Whorton-Eales (Donington Park), Whorton-Eales (Silverstone)
62 – Bushell (Oulton Park)
60 – Pattison (Brands Hatch Indy), Whorton-Eales (Oulton Park), Coates (Croft), Price (Brands Hatch GP)
59 – Bushell (Rockingham)
57 – Rivett (Donington Park)
56 – Rivett (Rockingham), Whorton-Eales (Rockingham), Bushell (Silverstone)
55 – Bushell (Thruxton)
54 – Streather (Brands Hatch Indy), Bushell (Snetterton)
53 – Rivett (Brands Hatch Indy), Price (Thruxton), Bushell (Croft)
Only the race two fastest lap would deprive Whorton-Eales of a perfect points haul from the Thruxton weekend – the same venue for the last perfect score by Ash Hand last season – with the JamSport man impressively posting the three most dominant weekends this year.
Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Graduate Cup Wins
11 – Coates
6 – Price
1 – Proctor
Graduate Cup Podiums
18 – Coates
14 – Proctor
13 – Price
4 – Pidgley
2 – Jake Giddings, Sam Watkins
1 – Shayne Deegan
Masters Cup Wins
17 – Pattison
1 – Craig Milner
Masters Cup Podiums
18 – Pattison
11 – Field
3 – Milner
1 – Peter Felix, Darren Johnson
Coates and Pattison both secured 100% podium records on the way to their respective class titles, with the latter only missing out on taking each Masters win on offer after suffering early contact in the second Donington Park race.
Pattison was the only driver in the Masters class to complete more than twelve races this season though, with the lack of entrants for the class meaning the podium spots were only filled 63% of the time across the season.
*If you missed it last month, our season review for the 2016 Renault UK Clio Cup can be read here, while our champion interview with Ant Whorton-Eales is here.*
