The team returned to Brands Hatch for the final races of the season in the Dunlop Motorsport News Saloon Car Championship, the DMN races taking their place on the bill as part of the Truck Superprix meeting – guaranteeing a bumper crowd for the season finale.

Qualifying

The Clubman headed out for qualifying under overcast skies, with a damp track and the threat of further rain in the air. The early part of the session was spent trying to find a clear lap as the capacity field filled the Indy circuit, traffic would be a problem throughout the session. As expected the weather deteriorated and the Clubman dived into the pits for a tyre change, the teams quick work enabling all four tyres to be swapped and the Clubman rejoined the session at its midway point.

Throughout the remainder of the session the Clubman posted increasingly competitive laptimes the adverse conditions being handled admirably by the Avon rubber. The chequered flag fell to end the session and the Clubman had posted a time quick enough to line up 13th on the grid – an admirable performance that set the Clubman up nicely for the races ahead.

Race 1

Rolling starts were once again the order of the day, the pack followed the safety car around the Indy circuit for 2 laps as conditions had deteriorated since qualifying and the circuit was now awash. As the lights went out the pack rocketed away throwing up huge plumes of spray as the cars headed through Paddock for the first time. The Clubman immediately passed a Mini and set off in pursuit of the Astra and Golf ahead despatching these before the race was interrupted by the deployment of the safety car to allow a stranded Peugeot 205 to be removed from the gravel at Paddock.

With the hapless Peugeot recovered the safety car peeled off into the pits the pack got underway once more, the Clubman again go a superb run into Paddock and was able to pass a Cosworth – the more powerful car struggling to use its power in the atrocious conditions. The treacherous weather soon claimed another victim with a Cosworth becoming beached in the gravel at Druids, this brought a second period behind the safety car and the pack bunched up once more.

Unleashed for the final time the pack again hurtled into Paddock with each car seeking to gain an advantage, the Clubman successfully holding station as the field made it through the opening lap of the restart unscathed. Revelling in the conditions the Clubman closed on a Cosworth powered Mk1 Escort and began to apply pressure. A momentary hesitation from the Mk1 was all the Clubman needed to dive past and take the place. The conditions still had a part to play in the race as another Peugeot went off at Druids, this incident being covered under waved yellow flags.

As the chequered flag fell the Clubman crossed the line to take a superb 7th place overall and the class win

Race 2

The second day of the meeting dawned under a thick blanket of fog delaying the start of the days racing, the gloom soon lifted to reveal bright sunshine and blue skies – a stark difference from the previous day. The headlining Truck Superprix had also attracted a large crowd for the day with thousands keen to take advantage of the improved weather.

The drastic change in weather from the previous day meant that once again the field would have two laps behind the safety car before the start so that the drivers could assess the track conditions – this being the first time in the weekend they had run in the dry. The safety car lead the pack around and ducked into the pit lane, as the lights went out the pack once again got a clean start and everyone safely made it through the opening lap. The Clubman had held its position at the start and would be looking for another good result although it could expect to come under pressure from some of the bigger engined cars that would be able to make full use of their power on the dry circuit.

Having made a good start the Clubman soon found itself embroiled in a three way fight for position with a SEAT Leon and the Cosworth powered Mk1 Escort. The Leon edged ahead of the Clubman as the group went through Graham Hill Bend but the Clubman tucked in denying the Escort the opportunity to pass. As they exited Clearways and thundered onto the start/finish straight the Escorts Cosworth power enabled it to pass the Clubman and latch onto the tail of the Leon. However, the Clubman was able to carry more speed through Paddock and took the fight back to the Escort on the run up Hailwoods Hill to Druids.

The battle ebbed and flowed as each car sought a decisive move, the two vehicles playing to their strengths on different sections of the circuit the gap between them never more than fractions of a second. The duel raged until the chequered flag fell with the Escorts power seeing it streak across the line just ahead of the charging Clubman. The Clubman recorded another 7th place overall finish and took the final class win of the year and its second of the weekend.

Despite the appalling weather conditions on the Saturday the Clubman performed faultlessly throughout the weekend and recorded another fine pair of class wins setting the fastest lap in class in both races. The results also confirmed the Clubmans position in the final championship standings: 1st in class and 2nd overall a superb result and testimony to the teams hard work throughout the season and underlining both the reliability and outright pace of the car. The team will now begin to look ahead to next season.