Ed Pead topped Friday’s test sessions by only two-thousandths of a second in what promises to be another close weekend of Clio action in the Elf Clio Renaultsport UK Cup.

Qualifying saw pole position swap between Pead and Jonathan Adam for the whole session and ended with Pead claiming the top spot by six hundredths of a second and his first pole position of the year. Pead commented, “It’s great to be on pole, I’ve had great race pace and now I can show I have good single lap speed as well, and it’s imperative to be on the font row for each race”.

Race one started and it was Pead who headed the pack into the first corner with Adam tucked up behind with team mates Nick Adcock and Tom Onslow-Cole in tow. Pead would pull a gap on the second part of the lap and Adam would close back up on the first part. But then on lap five, exiting the hairpin, Adam’s gearbox blew and he was stuck in second gear and had to retire. Pead then got his head down and pulled three seconds clear of the chasing pack to get his third win of the season and back into the lead of the championship. “Adam was pushing me hard but I knew where I was quicker and where he was quicker. It would’ve been a tough race but he’s not as aggressive as me so I was sure I could keep him behind. I’m very happy for Boulevard as they deserve this and I’ll be looking for the same tomorrow.”

It was Adam who would start on pole for race two with Championship contender Pead by his side. Pead got a good start but couldn’t pull in front of Adam before the first corner. As he blended in behind Adam on the exit of the corner, it was Onslow-Cole who tapped the rear bumper of Pead and sent him flying into the infield. Pead kept his foot in and re-joined before the chicane leaving Clios firing off in all directions to avoid him. Among the chaos, Pead and Steven Colbert collided, which damaged both of their steering and Pead could only bring the car home in eighth spot. A furious Pead said “There was no need for Onslow-Cole to take me out like that. When it was Adam on the outside in the first corner of the first race, he let him go through! The fact that Renault are trying to discipline drivers who make rear end contact is a farce, they classed this as a first corner incident and decided no action to be taken. I am so disappointed!”

Adam won the race with Adcock and Onslow-Cole to make it a TCR top three. Pead has now dropped back into second place but with only six points separating him and Adam.

The series now heads East to Snetterton, Norfolk on 6th / 7th August, where Pead won three out of the four races last year, so a couple of strong finishes would be see him back in the lead where he belongs!