Elf Clio Renaultsport UK Cup returned to Donington Park Grand Prix circuit for rounds fifteen and sixteen, the meeting was part of the Renault World Series which attracted crowds of 50,000.

Qualifying at Donington was wet and was the first time of the weekend the drivers experienced the track in these conditions. For Ed Pead and Jonathan Adam, front row starts were a must as neither could allow the other an advantage at this stage. Pead began the session on top and Adam quickly followed by taking the spot on lap five. Pead got his head down and claimed back the position but then Adam, with two laps to go, edged in front of Pead by three tenths of a second. Pead said, “I thought I’d got pole but it looks like there’s hardly any difference between us so the racing will be very close”. Pead’s team-mates, Matt Allison and Fulvio Mussi, claimed third and fourth respectively while Adam’s team-mates were a disappointing ninth, tenth and eleventh.

As the rain had set in for the day there was no doubt about it, a wet race was guaranteed. Pead and Adam both got off the line well and it was Adam who led by the end of the first lap, closely followed by Pead, with Allison and Mussi in hot pursuit. The leading two were in a league of their own and by lap five, were ten seconds ahead of Allison. Adam had the edge on Pead and managed to pull away at a rate of two tenths a lap, then on lap ten Pead ran wide at the chicane allowing Adam to increase his lead and take the win fairly comfortably. Pead commented, “He was slightly quicker than me in the hairpins but I was quicker than him in the first part of the lap, I tried to push the car more where I was quicker but it didn’t pay off and I ran wide and couldn’t close the gap. He drove well and he deserved the win”. Allison ran a good clean race in third spot making it a Boulevard second and third.

Sunday’s race couldn’t have been more different; the rain had gone and the track completely dry. Again Pead and Adam pulled away simultaneously while Mussi got a great start and popped himself between the two heading into the first corner. This left Pead on the outside and subsequently lost out as he dropped down to fourth. He quickly got back past Allison on the exit of the next corner when he ran wide, then on the tail of Mussi, Pead dived down the inside at the chicane. Adam had pulled a slight gap but then Pead had reeled him in and the pair just pulled away from the pack. On lap six, passing a back marker, Pead ran wide coming out of Redgate, and lost touch with Adam again handing him a relatively easy win. Pead said, “He pulled a little gap on me at the beginning, but I wasn’t worried as I knew I’d be good towards the end. Passing the back marker didn’t help at all, she was so slow on the exit it was either hit her or run wide. I didn’t think I’d run off the track but I did and I lost out”.

Adam has now increased his lead in the championship to 31 points with four races to go. Pead said, “I can still win the championship and I won’t stop pushing”. The series now heads to Silverstone on 17th / 18th September.