James Dorlin was certainly the man to beat in the Renault UK Clio Cup. With four wins in a row heading to Oulton Park, the weekend could have seen records tied and the title lead extended further.
Topping both practice sessions, the Westbourne Motorsport driver also managed to qualify on pole position for both of the races over the Saturday and Sunday. A true statement of intent from a driver with six wins in a row on the mind.
In the first race on Saturday, James took a customary victory ahead of title rivals Paul Rivett and Max Coates. Despite pressure from Rivett in the early stages, the BRDC Rising Star opened up a gap of around five seconds by the time he reached the flag highlighting the dominance of the young driver so far this year.
Sadly for James, it wasn’t to be six wins on the bounce as an inspired Max Coates from second on the grid got past the pole-sitter before the first corner and held the lead for the remainder of the race. Pressure from Rivett was too great for Dorlin through the race as he slipped to third in a move through Deer Leap.
With another strong weekend in the bag and a six point gap in the drivers standings to Coates in second, Dorlin can now look forward to one of his favourite circuits Croft next time out.
“It’s been another great weekend for me.” Beamed a happy Dorlin,
“With two podiums including a race victory that extends our lead in the championship. It’s clear we’re right in the thick of the championship fight in 2018, so consistently scoring these results is important.
“We’re on a really good run of form at the moment and I don’t see that changing next time out at Croft, which is definitely among my favourite circuits and one that’s held plenty of success for us in the past.”
