It was another exciting weekend the fourth and fifth rounds of the 2003 ELF CLIO RENAULTsport UK CUP, which saw Mardi Gras front-runner Ed Pead finishing third and fourth in two hard fought races at the Thruxton circuit.

Pead qualified sixth and had battled up to fourth by the second lap and then caught Mark Davies on the following lap. As Ed moved up to third, he was squeezed onto the grass by Davies in the braking area and they both touched but Davies half spun and Ed shot through to successfully take third. Davies maintained the pressure and retook the position at the fast Goodwood corner. However, on the next lap Davies continued to defend well and Pead took to the outside on entry to the chicane which gained him back the third position and another podium result

Race two saw Ed start again from the third row and by the end of the first lap was fighting hard with the challenging Xcel Motorsport team mates, Oli Wilkinson and Charlie Butler-Henderson. His persistence paid off as he passed Wilkinson through the notoriously fast Church corner and up into fourth. On the ninth lap Butler-Henderson locked up at the chicane forcing Wilkinson off the track and down the order. Ed maintained his fourth place despite a pin working loose on his bonnet and flapping violently for the rest of the race. Davies had worked his way back up through the field and was closing on Pead in the last laps of the race but Pead still finished fourth behind double race winner Danny Buxton, and Irishmen Jonathan Fildes and Eoin Murray.

"It was great to finish third in the first race", said Pead, "Both races were hard fought and I achieved good results. The second race I was made to work even harder as the throttle pedal of the car slipped under the brake pedal. It made the car harder to control under braking but I continued to push hard, and I would also like to thank the team for their hard work this weekend".

Pead and Buxton are tightly matched with only six points separating them as the series heads to Silverstone for rounds six and seven on the 7/8 June.

 

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