TOP THREE CLIO CUP CARS ARE IMPOUNDED
Cars were taken away after rockingham rounds for thorough checks
The cars of the top three drivers in the Renault UK Clio Cup championship standings have been impounded by Renault Sport to be stripped down ahead of the next rounds of the series at Silverstone.
The Clios of Max Coates (Team Pyro), Paul Rivett (WDE Motorsport) and James Dorlin (Westbourne Motorsport) were all taken away from Rockingham by series officials after the recent races. They will be thoroughly checked to make sure they are completely legal ahead of the final two weekends of the season.
Motorsport News understands it is the first time for a number of years that the championship has done this.
Points leader Coates and threetime Clio champion Rivett are both supportive of the move.
“It’s good, I have no problem with that,” said Coates. “I think it’s good that the championship takes the eligibility of the cars seriously. I don’t think there’s anything untoward with any of them but then again that’s the right thing to do. It means no-one has any questions about the car.
“I think the parity of the cars is good really, I don’t have any concerns about the cars – mine to everyone else’s or everyone else’s to mine.”
Rivett added: “I’m really pleased Renault have impounded the cars of the top three in the championship for investigating. It’s really good for the championship to do that, it’s something very positive.”
Championship manager Will Fewkes said that the checks are just “general” with scrutineers not looking at any specific area.
“Renault Sport UK has always been committed to technical excellence with the championship,” said Fewkes. “We’ve done that over the years with Formula Renault and every other single-make category we’ve been involved with and continue to do so with the Clio Cup. We are just pushing the boundaries to stand out and it’s written in the regulations that we can do this.”
Coates currently leads the title race by seven points from Rivett, with Dorlin a further 23 back. There is still 112 points available from the final four races, meaning drivers down to eighth-placed Lee Pattison are still in mathematical contention.