Race Reports

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Thruxton

Thruxton

13th /14th October 2007

For the final meeting of the 2007 Elf Renault Clio Cup it was back to Thruxton, the fastest circuit in the UK.

With the entry falling below the maximum grid allocation for the circuit this meeting would be a double points round with one race on the Saturday and one on the Sunday.

Barry Benham went in to qualifying looking to end the season on a high and since his switch to Robertshaw Racing has had some great results in the passed. The session started well for Barry who was running in tandum with Team-Mate Michael Doyle and setting consistant lap times that were very competitive. As the session progressed Barry was hovering just insidethe top ten when disaster struck. Team-Mate Derek Pierce had run over the kerb at the chicane and broke his sump coating the track with oil. Unsighted Ed Pead who was the first on the scene ploughed straight on into the barrier then Rob gaffney managed to spin but Barry had no chance with slick tyres and a oil slick it was straight into the barrier and then into Peads car. As Barry was getting out he quickly had to get back in again as Alex MacDowell was heading straight for the back of his car. A total of 8 cars were damaged and there were some shaken drivers but thankfully no one was hurt. After the session Barry said "I had no chance to avoid the accident there where virtually no flags. As I came out of the corner it was like black ice and that was it. I have a sore neck but other than that I am ok."

With only a few hours the team had a mammoth task to get the car repaired which they did but as the car rolled out the driveshaft snapped so Barry was unable to take the start.

The second race with the car fully repaired Barry was able to line up on the grid in front of a 20,000 strong crowd. As the race got underway Barry made a good start and slotted in to 13th by the end of the first lap. As the race progressed Barry had gone up to 10th and was having a good race and closing on Phil House. As the flag fell Barry ended up in a solid 8th place. After the race Barry said " Considering the car was so beaten up from the accident the race went as well as it could. Thank you to the boys and for getting the car repaired."

Donington Park (International)

Donington Park (International)

9th /9th September 2007

The latest Round of the Elf Renault Clio Cup saw a return to Donington Park and what would be the biggest event of the year, The World Series By Renault.

After a disastrous meeting at Brands Hatch, Barry Benham arrived at Donington with that behind him and looking forward to racing in front of over 100,000 fans flocked to the track over the weekend. Qualifying was problem free. Running in-group 2 and being the only Robertshaw Racing car in that group it was a case of fend for yourself and set fast consistent laps. That’s what benham did and qualified a tremendous 3rd on the grid.

The race started very late and it was getting dark. The track was dry and the race would be over 10 laps or 20 minutes which ever comes first. As the lights went out Barry got a good start and held his position as the field filed round Redgate and down through Hollywood and the Craner Curves. As the field went on to Grand Prix Loop Barry was still 3rd and had the No77 Clio of Andrew Jordan right behind him and challenging for the place. Lap2 saw the red flags fly after Ant Scragg was tipped in to a roll at the Melbourne Hairpin and Dan Eagling had gone off at the Old hairpin Both Drivers were fine. Also in trouble was Carl Bradley in his car with off side damage plus Suspension damage as well, however Carl would qualify for the main race.

After a short delay the race was restarted for 7 laps. Again Barry got a good start and was side by side with Andrew Jordan as they went down the Craner Curves on lap1. Andrew slipped passed and demoted Benham to 4th. As the race progressed Barry had repassed Andrew and was now fending off Jim Edwards jnr. On the far side of the circuit Edwards Passed Barry and had closed on TCR’s Ben Winrow who was second. Contact was made between the two and this promoted Barry back to 3rd. With one lap to go Barry had his sights on Edwards and in a stunning move round the outside of Craner he passed the JHR driver in a stunning 2nd and that where he stayed as flag fell.

The Feature race was held in front of 80,000 People and with the sun shining and 38 Clio’s on the grid this was going to be the best race of the weekend. The start was chaos. The first attempt the lights refused to work. The second Alex Macdowell who was put at the back decided to take his original grid place and that confused drivers behind him so he was sent to the back again. The third attempt saw a Union jack used to start the race and as the flag went up some left the line whilst the others waited for the flag to go down. As the field charged down to the first corner Barry was already in trouble. The delays had meant his clutch was damaged and he could not use it to change down and that was costing him time. He dropped from 3rd to 7th by the end of the 1st lap. Lap 2 saw Benham Pass Phil House in to 6th but again the clutch was not taking its toll and Benham soon lost the place again. As the race progressed Barry was sitting nicely in 7th not closing on house and not receiving any challenge from Team-mate Chris Dymond who was running 8th. The race that was now a 10-lap race was entering its final stages and there was no change for Benham who would finish a disappointing 7th after such a great qualification race. After the race Barry said, “ The race was such a shame. I lost the clutch as soon as the race started. The weekend has been promising and to race in front of over 120,000 People over 2 days I would say this event here at Donington is a fantastic way of getting the fans in and enjoy a great weekends racing.” The final meeting is at Thruxton in 5 weeks time.
Brands Hatch (Indy)

Brands Hatch (Indy)

18th /19th August 2007

After such a stunning drive at Snetterton Barry Benham arrived at Brands Hatch hoping to repeat his recent run of form. Qualifying was a good and Barry and team mate Micheal Doyle were working together to ensure both cars were in the top 5. Barry ended the session for his qualifying heat in 5th. About an hour later that was all to change. Barry and 5 other cars were disqualified from the session and given 6 penalty points plus a ten second penalty for the race. The was due to a plastic part missing from the radiator. Barry was not happy but it was beyond his control.

With Barry starting at the back all he had to do was go for it. As the field left the line Barry, Andrew Jordan and Alex Macdowell were still sitting there waiting for the 10 seconds to pass. It did and the chase was on. By lap 4 Barry has passed a few cars and was going well. He had to be in the top 16 to make the final. With 2 laps to go disaster. Coming out of Graham Hill bend he hit a dislodged man hole cover and damaged the sump and this forced Benham into the pits and out of the race.

With Barry not qualifying he was second reserve for the main race.

Sunday came and with the weather playing havoc no one could have predicted what was going to happen. With Barry, Team mate Alan Taylor and Martin Johnston all sat in the pit lane hoping there would be a race stoppage. With the warm up lap underway there was drama. Jonathan Shepherd's Car had suddenly swapped ends and whacked the barrier and putting him out of the race. This allowed Martin Johnston in. As the race got underway Barry's Team-Mate Micheal Doyle got tapped into a spin and ended up in the gravel at paddock. Further around the lap there was more carnage and the race was stopped. This allowed Barry and Alan into the race. The problem was the race was abandoned and the drivers were sent back to the paddock. After a stern word from the clerk of the course the cars reappeared at the end of the day.

With Barry Starting last but one he had to go for it to relinquish what so far had been a bad weekend. As the lights went out Barry made a great start and by lap 4 was in 20th place. during the race barry was going well until he arrived at Surtees where his track-rod end broke and with no steering Barry went off on to the grass without hitting anything but it was game over. After the weekend Barry said " this has been a weekend to forget I think and I just want to focus on the World Series event in 3 weeks."
Snetterton

Snetterton

28th /29th July 2007

For the Snetterton rounds of the Elf Renault Clio Cup there was a change to the usual 3-race format. Due to some competitors withdrawing from the series the entry was down to 37 cars. As the circuit can hold 38 there was no need to hold 2 heats and then a points scoring race. For this meeting, the World Series and the Final Round at Thruxton it will be 2 points scoring rounds with potentially double points on offer.

After an eventful first outing for his new team Robertshaw Racing, Barry Benham arrived at Snetterton confident of 2 solid results. Qualifying was incredibly close with the top 30 cars covered by less than 2 seconds. Barry had a good session with no problems and used other drivers to gain a tow down the 1 km revett straight which would mean a greater chance of gaining a top ten position on the grid. The session ended with Benham 13th on the grid for the race just half a second off the fastest time.

The first race was held late on Saturday evening and with a 36-car grid Barry would be in the thick of the action. As the lights went out Barry got great start and instantly moved up to 12th place by the end of the first lap. . After a safety car period to remove damaged cars the race was back on. By half distance Barry was up to 8th and going very well closing on the battling Niki Lanik and Chris Rice scrapping for 6th place. On lap 12 Benham had moved up to 6th after Lanik and Rice made contact at the first corner with the latter slamming backwards in to the abandoned car of Andrew Bentley. Due to the nature of the accident there was no alternative to stop the race and call a result after 12 laps with Barry ending up a great 6th and with the second fastest time in the race.

For race 2 the grid was formed by the second fastest qualifying time. Again Barry was on the 7th row in 13th. As the lights went out there was chaos which result in a shunt between Brown, Speller, Taylor, Shepherd and Healey all involved. Thankfully this was behind Barry but it did bring out the red flags to enable to the marshals to clear up all the debris. After a short delay the race was restarted. Again Barry got off the line well and made it through the first 2 corners with no dramas. As the field blasted down the revett straight the field were strewn across the track up to 4 and five and 5 abreast. Going into the esses Barry received a tap from behind tipping the no 26 Clio in to a spin. Thankfully Benham was not collected and rejoined in 27th and last place. By lap 6 Benham had recovered to 22nd place and with a safety car intervention too this was help the Cheltenham driver continue his epic recovery. As the race progress Barry was in to the top 20 and going like a train and had caught the battling Jamie Cleland and David Shepherd and after the 2 touched Benham saw his chance at Coram and barged his way through and instantly pulled away and was closing on the battle between Speller, Williams and Smith. As Smith and Williams touched again Barry saw his chance at the Bomb Hole and nipped through in to 14th place. In the closing stages Barry had passed Smith and into a 13th and that’s where he would finally finish as the flag fell.

Next round in on Aug 18th/19th at Brands Hatch
Donington Park (national)

Donington Park (national)

14th /14th July 2007

Round 6 of the Elf Renault Clio Cup saw the huge field head south to the challenging Donington Park Circuit in Leicestershire. Once again there was an enormous entry and the field was split into 2 groups with the top 18 from each heat making it into the main race on the Sunday.

For Barry Benham the weekend saw him switch from Team TWC to Robertshaw Racing, joining Alan Taylor, Michael Doyle and Chris Dymond to make the 4-car line up one of the strongest in the Clio Cup field. Qualifying saw Barry running well inside the top ten running as high as 2nd just behind team-mate Michael Doyle in the opening minutes of the session. During the course of qualifying the times were extremely close with the whole group separated by just under 3 seconds. As the flag fell Barry ended up a respectable 9th for the first of the qualification races.

The race started well for Barry who made a solid start as the field rounded Reigate and headed down through Hollywood and the Craner Curves. As usual there was the usual pushing and shoving but this wasn’t affecting Barry who was going well and making his way in to the top 6. By the end of the first lap Benham was 6th and hunting down Carl Bradley who had started a seasons best 2nd on the grid. By Lap 4 Barry was passed Bradley and for the remaining lap was closing on Dan Eagling who was having a lonely race in 4th. As the Flag fell Barry finished the race 5th getting within 2 seconds of Dan Eagling. Speaking after the race Barry said “I am pleased with that way the race went I reckon if there were a couple more laps I would have got 4th. I am now 9th on the for tomorrow and with rain forecast its going to be fun.”

As predicted the rain came with the race delayed tyre choice was going to be a lottery with everyone apart from David Shepherd going for full wets. After a 4-hour delay the 36-car field made there on to the grid. With lots of surface and mud on the track it was going to be very slippery for the drivers. As the race got underway Barry made an excellent start and by the end of the second lap he was 6th. On lap 5 this became 5th after teammate Michael Doyle had a big spin going down the Craner Curves and dropping down to 20th. As the race progressed Barry was battling with Edwards Jnr and Byford who passed Benham dropping the Cheltenham driver to 8th place. This then became 9th as Jordan went passed too. At the half way mark Barry was battling with MacDowell and Team mate Dymond and as they came in to the chicane there was contact between MacDowell and Dymond damaging the no 49’s steering and eventually going off at Redgate. With the race coming to an end Barry had slipped to 15th after damaging his car in an incident on the far side of the track and was starting to struggle.
As the flag fell Barry came home a disappointed 15th. After the race Barry Said “I got a great start and was running as high as 6th but contact with another car and that damaged my steering and I slipped down the field.”