Kyle Hornby displayed more of his potential in the Renault UK Clio Cup at the weekend, the championship ‘newbie’ finding more pace, running 10th in free practice for rounds 9 and 10 of the 2017 series at Croft.
Qualifying turned wet, very wet. Hornby, still with limited experience at the wheel of his Team Pyro with 20Ten Clio in the rain, claimed 14th and 13th positions on the grid for the double-header at the North Yorkshire venue.
Conditions were the same, if not worse, for race one, with visibility poor in the spray.
Stockport youngster Hornby ran as high as 10th overall, and despite one or two off track moments, still brought his Clio Renault Sport 220 Trophy back across the line in 12th overall.
Race two started in the dry and Hornby set off by claiming two places, to 11th, on the opening lap, and held on there for the next five laps, ahead of Lucas Orrock.
Whilst holding off Orrock, Hornby ran on to the dirty part of the track which, combined with a mid race shower, led to a spin for the former Poynton High School student, leaving him down in 16th place and well behind the pack.
Hornby claimed one more place by the finish, passing the flag in 16th overall.
“I’m happy with the weekend overall,” he said. “We made big improvements throughout the weekend, being in the top ten with our pace.
“Unfortunately the results didn’t reflect the improvements we made, but I’m happy with our steps forward.”
The next round of the Clio Cup takes place on July 29/30 on the Snetterton 300 circuit in Norfolk.