Cullum almost comes a cropper in Clio Cup at Croft (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Cullum almost comes a cropper in Clio Cup at Croft

COLN St Aldwyns driver Rob Cullum has had better outings than the one he experienced in round ten of Renault Clio Cup Championship at Croft in Yorkshire on July 13.

He had been looking forward to racing on this 2.13-mile circuit, which is considered one of the more technical and challenging venues in the UK.

A bonus for this year's meeting was a weekend of warm and sunny weather, which was enjoyed by the 20,000-strong crowd.

Testing on Friday went well and Rob finished the day with the ninth best lap time.

He started Saturday's qualifying session in positive mood, expecting to be in the top ten.

But, possibly due to using a different tyre strategy, he found himself down in 13th place at the end of the session.

Nonetheless, Rob made a good start in the race proper and, as the pack hurtled down towards the first corner, he was fortunate to avoid a spinning Nick Adcock.

As Nick spun, he was hit by Charlie Butler-Henderson, whose car was launched several feet into the air, allowing Rob to pass underneath.

It was only after the race that the team pointed out the dent in the rear bodywork of Rob's car, which had been inflicted by the airborne Clio. It had been a pretty close shave!

Following his near-miss, Rob made good progress and moved into ninth place as he crossed the line at the end of lap one.

By the end of lap five, he had fought his way up to sixth and them found himself behind Ed Pead, the early season championship leader.

As they crossed the finish line at the end of lap six, they were side by side, but Rob had his nose in front and was shown in fifth place.

As it was, Ed had the inside line and, at the next right-hand corner, regained his position.

Rob continued to push hard to regain fifth place but, as they approached the Jim Clark Esses on the seventh lap, he took too much kerb through being unsighted by Ed's car.

It destabilised his Renault and the back end stepped out before pitching Rob into a spin on the fastest part of the circuit.

The result saw a trip into a cornfield, much to amusement of the crowd. After a short delay, Rob got the car restarted and returned to the pits for a safety check before continuing for a finish in 14th place.

Rob will be back in action at Donington Park on July 26-27 for rounds 11 and 12.