Mike Bushell had an excellent weekend in the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup with a win and a third place.

It was the first every victory in the series for the Tunbridge Wells based racer and one that he has waited long enough for that more will surely following in the coming weeks, as he led from lights to flag.

Beginning the encounter from second on the grid, the Team Pyro driver managed to get ahead of new team-mate Lee Pattison (Scholes) around the outside at the first corner, Allard, and controlled the action thereafter before cruising to a near three second winning margin.

Pattison, who was initially elbowed down to fourth place through the opening sequence of turns, battled his way back into second mid-race and also posted the fastest lap but ultimately lost out to SV Racing with KX driver Josh Cook who produced a superb showing from seventh on the grid.

Cook’s second place, his third podium in as many races, enabled the Graduate Cup class leader to also open up a significant 20-point advantage at the top of the overall championship after erstwhile points leader was knocked into retirement at the end of lap six. Bushell also moves ahead of Morgan in the title race, climbing into second place four points clear.

Speaking after the race a delighted Bushell said: “I was a little bit nervous before we got to the line, but I calmed myself and into the first corner I was ahead so I just tried to get my head down and get going. It was really difficult to break the tow to begin with, I was unsure about the grip levels, but after the Safety Car I got just enough break through the chicane to get a gap and edge away. It’s absolutely fantastic to win.”

Bushell managed to open a lead of more than a second over the first couple of laps, importantly moving out of the reach of the ‘tow’ which is so vital at Thruxton for pursuing cars. By the start of lap six, though, Pattison had closed to within just 0.4 seconds of his team-mate.

Following the brief Safety Car period, to enable Morgan’s stricken Clio to be moved from the tyre barriers, Bushell managed to break away again at the re-start as Pattison came under attack for second from Cook. Through the flat-out section between Village and Church, Cook moved ahead of Pattison and maintained the runner-up spot to the finish.

Race two of the weekend managed to see Bushell take another good result crossing the line in third place to ensure he made it a weekend of podium finishes at Thruxton.

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