UK ELF Clio Cup 2007 at Snetterton – ROUND 7+8
2006 CLIO CUP WINTER CHAMPION, Niki Lanik, qualified 6th and 9th out of 36 keen racing drivers for Round 7 & 8 of the UK ELF Clio Cup. Driving the Youth 4 Human Rights Race Team’s Clio touring car in Europe’s best and most competitive racing championship ensures that the races are close and entertaining. Both championship rounds were held at Norfolk’s racing circuit, Snetterton, attracting 20,000 live spectators and live TV coverage on Setanta Sports. The top 23 on the grid qualified within 1 second per lap. 20 year old Niki Lanik was only 0.3 seconds off pole position.
“Testing on Friday went extremely well. Colin [Niki’s race engineer] and I decided to change a few of the car’s settings which turned out to be very positive!” said the young racer, “We were 4th fastest at the end of the day!” The Youth 4 Human Rights UK Car Racing Team is engineered by Stancombe Vehicle Engineering.
Saturday’s 20 minute qualifying session saw Niki running in 3rd position for most of the duration until the last 5 minutes. At this point in time three other drivers fitted brand new slick racing tyres, demoting Lanik to 6th on the starting grid for Round 7 – 0.3 seconds off pole position. “I’m pretty happy about it considering I set my fastest lap time without getting in anyone’s slipstream” commented Niki, “Snetterton has a lot of straights and it was very windy too, and slotting in behind people on either of the two long straights can gain you up to half a second a lap!”
Coming off the line with a great start for Round 7, the Ashurst Wood driver slotted into 5th place within the first lap, but then lost the place to the 2003 Clio Champion, Jonathan Fildes coming up to the Esses. Due to some incidents further back in the race the safety car was brought out, giving Lanik a great disadvantage as cars behind him were able to close up the gap. On the re-start, coming up to the Esses, a chicane at the end of a 130mph straight, Niki had to avoid a race incident and dropped to 14th place. Nevertheless, Lanik fought himself back up to finish a credibly 7th, ahead of Clio Cup race winner and 2005 Madza MX-5 champion, Martin Byford. Due to judicial decision by the stewards Niki was later excluded from the race results, due to being involved in a racing incident with another racer.
“It was a shame that I had to avoid the race incident on the re-start as the driver next to me, Robertshaw’s Chris Dymond, finished on the podium. He definitely deserved it though. He’s a good driver.”
Sunday’s starting positions were determined on the 2nd best qualifying time that was set in the qualifying session the day before. Starting in 9th position, Niki made a fantastic start and going into 8th by the first corner, were he saw another car going sideways across the racing track, winner of Round 6, Ben Winrow. By avoiding this, Niki went into 7th position. Coming onto the back straight, the first three had a bit of space, three others and Lanik were extremely close together at 120mph, when suddenly the car in front, Chris Hodgetts the championship leader, was 2ft off the ground with his left wheels, Niki avoided this coming into a very “sideways” situation, skimming the barrier with the rear right and then front right of the car. At this stage all the drivers including Lanik realised that the red flag was out due to a first corner incident. This meant the race was re-grided and was to be re-started. Lanik, realising instantly that he had bent his steering rod, went back in the pit lane were his Colin Stancombe and his engineering team did a fantastic job in replacing the steering rod and track rod end in just 5 minutes – this includes setting the tracking! There’s something your local garage can’t do! While the car was quickly repaired the adrenaline-rushed Niki Lanik was interviewed on LIVE TV, while being strapped in his Clio. Niki was then allowed another warm up lap, and was then re-grided in 9th place for the re-start.
The 20 year-old had a cracking start; half a lap later entering the Esses in 7th place. He then had a little touch from another racer, which sent Lanik spinning through the grass rejoining in 15th place. Lanik then had a clean fight with Speller, Eagling and Smith, getting ahead of them and another to finish in the top 10, setting a lap time only 0.15 seconds slower than the fastest lap.
“This must have been one of the craziest, yet most entertaining and adrenaline-rushing races I’ve had. It was a shame that on both races I was the guy who lost out on staying in touch with the leaders by having to avoid incidents or being pushed wide in corners. But the fun factor was pretty high!” the Miracle Drywash sponsored racer explained at the end of the weekend.
“Once again I’ve learned a great deal this weekend. This was the first time this season I was able to race with the top drivers, race winners, and championship winners, in the Clio Cup and realised that they can be beaten!” Niki said with a big smile on his face, “The team and I are one step further in stitching everything together from what we experienced this weekend. It was pretty emotional!”
The Youth 4 Human Rights UK Car Racing Team is out next at East Grinstead’s nearest race track, Brands Hatch, on the 18/19 August. Supporting the British Touring Car Championship, 25,000+ spectators will be there to watch the live racing. The Y4HR team will have their sponsors and friends come along. This is the perfect opportunity for a local motorsports enthusiast to come along and meet Niki Lanik in person and the rest of the Y4HR race team.
The Double Six Racing Scholarship is also engineered by the same team. Andrew Bentley is the winner for 2007 – Niki’s team mate. By signing up for the scholarship you could win a fully sponsored race season for 2008 in the UK Clio Cup, engineered by Stancombe Vehicle Engineering, worth over £50,000. Find out more on www.racingscholarship.com.
For more information about the Youth 4 Human Rights UK Car Racing Team, log onto www.Y4HR.com or e-mail the team directly on y4hr@vibrant.ms. This race team is run by Vibrant Motorsports Limited - info@vibrant.ms.
