Westbourne Motorsport underlined their title credentials on a silverware-laden second Michelin Clio Cup Series meeting of the campaign at Rockingham Motor Speedway last weekend [14-15 April].
Series rookie Ronan Pearson led the Worthing-based outfits charge in qualifying again, securing a double pole position in only his second meeting behind the wheel of the 2.0 litre, third generation Clio Cup machine.
Though defending champion Ben Palmer’s experience won through during the opening race, the Hillnic Homes-backed racer still held his nerve to take a maiden podium finish in the category, well ahead of his development curve.
With team-mate Ben Colburn alongside on the final step of the rostrum, the team scored their first podiums of the season in the Race Series and cemented their title credentials at the front of the field.
Colburn then put in a superb defensive display in the final race to fend off Simon Freeman and go one better with the runner-up spot to Palmer, with Pearson unlucky not to claim a second trip to the rostrum, a mere half a second behind the duel.
Sean Thomas put mechanical maladies at Silverstone last month firmly behind him with a brace of podium finishes to ignite his Road Series charge, pushing class champion Nic Harrison to the limit as he repeated his podium brace from his debut on the Northamptonshire venue from 2017.
Sarah Franklin returned to the championship after a weekend away with a solid points finish before technical issues prevented her from improving further in the finale, whilst Finlay Robinson, Tony Verhulst and Darren Geeraerts also continued to develop their abilities in their respective classes, picking up consistent points in the process.
The championship heads next to Brands Hatch in May.