FIRST PODIUMS FOR COATES & PROCTOR
Mike Bushell (Tunbridge Wells) and Ant Whorton-Eales (Lichfield) shared the victories in Oulton Park’s Renault UK Clio Cup rounds as Max Coates (Scorton) and Senna Proctor (Driffield) became the latest exciting new names in the championship to scale the podium for the first time. Bushell leaves the Cheshire circuit as the new points leader as the title race next heads to Coates’s and Proctor’s home event at Croft in North Yorkshire in a fortnight (Sat 18/Sun 19 June).
Team Pyro’s Bushell, the 2014 Champion, came out on top of a hard-fought tussle with JamSport’s Whorton-Eales to win the first of Oulton’s two races, held on the Saturday. The pair swapped the lead four times in three laps before Bushell took command for his first win of 2016. He also set the race’s fastest lap time for two bonus points.
In Sunday’s race it was these two again, with Whorton-Eales this time prevailing for his fourth win in six races. Ultimately Bushell and Whorton-Eales have moved up to first and second in the championship past previous leader, WDE Motorsport’s Paul Rivett (Epsom Downs) who could only manage seventh and 12th-place results at Oulton.
Coates and Proctor really starred at Oulton with their third-place results. A fifth-place finish for Coates in Sunday’s race in addition to third on Saturday has promoted him to fifth in the points table. Proctor had taken a fourth in Saturday’s race before his breakthrough podium finish on Sunday. The 17-year-old was on the pace all weekend, qualifying second fastest alongside more experienced team-mate Bushell on the front row of the grid for both races.
Each also took a maximum score in the Graduates Cup for younger, first-year drivers – a category that Coates now leads handsomely.
Bushell commented: “It’s been a near-perfect weekend with two pole positions, a race win, a fastest lap and a second place. When I won the title in 2014 I didn’t lead the championship until the final rounds so to be in front with a bit of a gap to Ant at this stage is very encouraging.”
Whorton-Eales said: “We’ve shown again in race trim we have the pace to win – and I think we’ve been a bit unfortunate not to come away with two wins at Oulton. Four wins from six races is still very impressive and hopefully we can keep the momentum going at Croft before the mid-season break.”
Coates and Proctor were naturally elated with their results. Coates enthused: “It’s moved me up to fifth in the standings overall and the timing couldn’t be more perfect – just before my home rounds at Croft. It’s a circuit love and know very well so hopefully we can be even stronger there.”
And added Proctor: “I feel something has really clicked for me this weekend and the podium, particularly in a championship at this level, is something I could really get used to. I’m definitely going for more at Croft.”
Other stand-out performances at Oulton included those of WDE’s Charlie Ladell (Bury St Edmunds) who took fifth and fourth-place results as well as the fastest lap in Sunday’s race. Team Ecomotive with Finesse’s Daniel Rowbottom returned to form as well with a strong qualifying performance and then eighth and sixth places.
Elsewhere Bushell’s and Proctor’s combined scores have enabled Pyro to stretch its lead over WDE and Jamsport (now up to third) in the UK Clio Cup’s Entrants Trophy.
