PALLETFORCE

Scuderia Vittoria dominated a weekend of AirAsia Renault Clio Cup racing at Croft, with Matt Allison winning both races and Luke Wright claiming a second place, after the duo had blitzed the field in qualifying to take first and second on the grid.

They were the first Clio Cup victories for Scuderia Vittoria, which was only established before the start of this season, and add to the win the team took at April’s opening round of the British GT Championship with its Ferrari 458 at Oulton Park.

Allison romped to a pair of pole positions on a wet circuit, with Wright second on the grid for race one and third for race two. Allison was never headed in either race, which took place in mainly dry conditions. It was his first win following a two year sabbatical and the first in the new shape of Clio after much success in its predecessor.

The Norfolk man opened an extraordinary gap of three seconds on the opening lap of race one, but had to do it all over again after it was halted due to a heavy accident for Wright, who hit the barriers exiting the fast chicane.

Allison was 2.3 seconds in front at the end of the first lap of the restart, and stayed firm throughout the race as he came under pressure from the closing James Colburn. “I had a demon start, and felt confident that I could win if I got to the first corner first,” he said. “I had to sit there and stew for a few minutes at the red flag, but I knew I could get a buffer to the rest of the field early on. James is quick and it’s easier to chase than lead, but I was confident he wouldn’t try anything silly. “I’m really chuffed. We’re just over halfway through my comeback season and this is my first podium and first win, and I’m very happy to triumph for the team but also my sponsors Palletforce Plc, The Alan Boswell Group & Motorcommerce.co.uk.”

Allison managed to get in front at the start of race two and had opened up a four-second gap within the first four laps. Wright dropped to fourth on the opening lap, but squeezed past rivals Colburn and Chris Swanwick with some excellent moves. While Allison drove to a serene second victory, Wright did a superb job to soak up Colburn’s advances for second and Scuderia Vittoria’s first one-two. “That was easier than yesterday,” said Allison. “I’m really stoked for the team to get a one-two. Everything clicked this weekend and I’m really pleased to show we’ve got the pace in all the conditions the weather threw at us this weekend.”

Team director Danny Buxton, the former Clio Cup champion who set Scuderia Vittoria up with fellow ex-racers Piers Masarati and Tom Ferrier, said: “This is an emotional weekend. Once Matt was so far ahead after the first three laps, we knew it was done and dusted because when he gets to the front, he isn’t going to lose.”