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I N T E R V I E W W I T H F 1 W O R L D
C H A M P I O N D A M O N H I L L
R O A D
T R A C K
R A C E
A N N U A L 2 0 1 6
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WHAT WE LEARNED
Most people would have put
money on the pro driver winning.
After all, Clucas does this full
time. As an instructor and having
competed since an early age, he
was always at a natural advan-
tage. The point of this test was
not to trip up Clucas or Billings-
ley, but to really shed light on the
difference between a pro and a
clubman driver.
How many times have you
heard someone in the pub or at
work say: “If Lewis Hamilton
had tried a bit harder he could
have overtaken him”? Watching
someone drive from afar provides
only half the story. Of course,
some of you might say: “I’ve read
this article and I think I could
give Clucas a run for his money”.
Another pro driver might have
been quicker or slower, and the
same can be said of our club-
man competitor, but we would
say with confidence that Clucas’
consistency and speed would be
extremely difficult to beat.
Over an average of 10 laps,
he only had a fall in time of
0.99 seconds, but Billingsley ’s
fastest and slowest laps were
6.53 seconds apart. Both drivers
were experimenting with differ-
ent lines throughout, but Clu-
cas’ approach ultimately result-
ed in better speed in and out of
the corners. He might well have
fancied his chances beforehand,
but when MSD first told Clucas
the result he couldn’t hide his
relief: “Phew,” he said, “I’ve
just about saved my reputa-
tion!”. That he certainly did and
we’re sure he will now be even
more popular among his fellow
racing drivers.
All things considered, Ben
Clucas and Jon Billingsley can
hold their heads high having
given it everything on track. We
commend them for their efforts
and for putting themselves for-
ward to be part of this exciting
test. We would also like to say
a huge “thank you” to Zenos for
providing the car, Racelogic for
the data logger, and Grove &
Dean Motorsport Insurance for
helping us make this happen.
All videos from the day are availa-
ble online at
MotorsportDays.com.
F E A T U R E : P R O V S C L U B M A N