KIDDERMINSTER'S Daniel Rowbottom put in a good showing in the first round of the Renault Clio Cup championship last weekend.

Friday practice saw Rowbottom and Cataclean Racing top the time sheets in FP1 on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, fastest of the Team Pyro cars, with a fastest time that remained unbeaten all weekend. In FP2 he managed third in the slightly warmer conditions.

Qualifying took place on the Saturday morning, with Rowbottom disappointed to only manage ninth place on the grid for race one and eighth on the grid for race two.

Race one kicked off with usual Clio Cup drama as the race was red flagged on lap three due to the dangerous position of an overturned car.

The race was restarted with Rowbottom in eighth position on the grid with current track positions maintained.

By the end of lap two he was fifth after battling hard with his team-mate Jack McCarthy. He was unrelenting in his efforts to control the car and maintain race and track position.

By the end of lap 16 he had gained another place and moved to fourth after passing Sam Osbourne.

On the final lap he managed to get alongside Max Coates through Paddock Hill bend. The two held this formation up the hill towards Druids where Rowbottom bravely held position on the inside beyond the breaking point to make the move stick out of Druids, down into Graham Hill bend through to the chequered flag to take a stunning podium place with third.

Race two on Sunday was very different as the weather turned for the worst with a wet track and with Daniel starting in eighth place it would be very tricky to battle through.

On the opening lap he received a nudge but held on to his position and by lap lap three he was up to fifth.

However, it was becoming very competitive behind and he was soon passed by Paul Rivett and after battling with Michael Epps and others he dropped down the order to finish 10th in the final classification.

He lies fifth in the championship table after rounds one and two with 26 points. He is 22 points behind the championship leader Paul Rivett on 48.

Rowbottom said: "I was kicking myself a bit at the end of FP1 because I genuinely hadn’t wanted to be that fast – I thought I’d shown my hand too soon and was just going to give a target for everyone to aim for. I’m surprised nobody – myself included – managed to better it in FP2.”

"For race one, getting decent points on the board on this first weekend is important so I’m satisfied with that result.”

“Race two was disappointing as I didn’t expect to drop down the order. I couldn’t get the car to work for me at the time and in those conditions, so I opted to collect as many points as possible. I am looking forward to testing at Thruxton later this week and getting back to the top of the timesheets.”