Road racing

UK: Claire Tippet VW Cup Thruxton summary

Cheltenham based racing driver, Claire Tippet had a Bank Holiday weekend full of ups and downs in the ninth and tenth rounds of the VW Racing Cup held at Thruxton. Racing her Golf MK1, Claire was set for a superb qualifying display in damp ...

Published: Sep 3, 2004, 2:46 PM

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Cheltenham based racing driver, Claire Tippet had a Bank Holiday weekend full of ups and downs in the ninth and tenth rounds of the VW Racing Cup held at Thruxton. Racing her Golf MK1, Claire was set for a superb qualifying display in damp conditions when a quick spin saw her sit out the rest of the session as the track dried giving her rivals the advantage and dropping her to 20th.

Clocking a top speed of 105mph on the Hampshire circuit, Claire made a strong start in race one, quickly moving up the ranks despite her older car having a deal less 'grunt' than the front runners. However, an incident early in the race saw the safety car deployed and the race eventually stopped. The restart reverted to the original grid line up meaning Claire had all the work to do over again. Whilst in a heated battle Claire lost some momentum and found the pack left her. "I was in a space on my own" says Claire, " and though I pushed to the limit I couldn't reach them. Looking at the track speed traps the other cars had a good 10mph more than my Golf, who's engine is now getting on a bit!" Claire finished race 1 in 21st position.

For the afternoon's second race, Claire once more made a blistering start and went straight into an on track tussle with the VW Caddy. Once passed the Caddy, Claire was pleased to see she was closing in on the diesel Polo when disaster struck. "I was pushing the car to the very limit" Claire reports, "and closing the gap to the Polo when the car stuck in third gear. I was absolutely gutted to have to retire from the race, only my second retirement of the year."

Claire's Golf will be fully repaired and ready for the next and final rounds of the VW Cup to be held at Brands Hatch (Kent) on 2/3 October.

Whilst she may have been disappointed with her most recent outing, Claire's talents have nevertheless been noted and she is excited to announce she has signed with management team, Action Resource Ltd. Action Resource Ltd are one of the leading race driver management teams and represent such drivers as British GT front runner, Nathan Kinch and Le Mans GTS winner Jamie Davies. The Somerset based company also run the innovative Motor-Sport Network online.

Action Resource Ltd MD, Roger Phillips said of Claire "We are pleased to have signed Claire, whom we believe is one of the strongest female prospects in UK racing, with a view to helping her establish her goal of driving top level 'tin tops' "

-rh-

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