Rowbottom suffers severe bruising but isn’t giving up on Clio Cup title hopes
Renault UK Clio Cup driver Dan Rowbottom suffered severe bruising to his ribs in a collision at Rockingham earlier this month – but he’s refusing to give up winning the title.
The 29-year-old won the opening race before suffering a tough second contest, that was made even worse when he ran wide at Deene and, as he rejoined, suffered a hefty hit from Nicolas Hamilton.
Rowbottom eventually finished in 15th place in that race, but was instructed by medical staff to have an X-ray of his ribs.
“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said. “Nothing’s broken, there’s just quite severe bruising – I will be right and ready for the next one. There’s a lot of swelling where the ribcage meets the spine.
“I got out of the car and felt a bit weird – a bit breathless, almost. The car’s not too bad but it’s a bad time for us as we’re really busy.”
It has been a difficult season for Rowbottom as he began the year with the Pyro squad but then returned to running his own car with his family team at Croft after a dispute. He is now 61 points behind championship leader Max Coates.
“The maths says the top eight can still win, but that’s not going to happen,” Rowbottom said. “My plan is we will go to Silverstone and try to do the double. I feel confident – I know the place well and it will be one of my favourite tracks. If there’s a chance to win that championship I will still be trying – I have nothing to lose now.”