KIDDERMINSTER race ace Dan Rowbottom scooped his best result of the season in the Renault UK Clio Cup at Donington Park on Sunday.

After a third and a 10th in the opening races of the season at Brands Hatch, Rowbottom arrived at the Midlands circuit eager for another podium finish and battled to fifth fastest time in the qualifying session on a greasy track surface thanks to relentless light rain.

From the third row of the grid, he made a superb start to dive up the inside of the pack ahead on the run to the first corner.

With two wheels on the grass, he bravely stood his ground to squeeze through to third place at the third corner and then set off in pursuit of the leaders in the 14-lap race. Ahead of him, James Dorlin assumed the lead ahead of James Colburn whose car became ever wider to combat Rowbottom increasingly-determined efforts to find a way past.

As the pair fought for second place, however, the race leader Dorlin escaped, meaning that the fierce fight for second became the centre of attention.

With Rowbottom's Cataclean-sponsored car looming ever-larger in his mirrors, Colburn became increasingly gung-ho in his use of the kerbs and was awarded a five-second penalty for abusing track limits, meaning that Rowbottom would be promoted to second place on corrected times.

However, he couldn’t rely on that as he had Jack McCarthy breathing down his neck, ensuring that he had to defend resolutely to the chequered flag.

“That was a great race to be in,” said Rowbottom afterwards.

“It’s not a win, but the car has felt mega all weekend and if I had been able to get ahead of Dorlin earlier then maybe I could have gone after the leader. I knew about the penalty so I was happy to take second place because the leader was too far away by that stage but I couldn’t relax because I had McCarthy right up behind me. That is our second podium finish in three races and our best of the season, so it is great to have the pace to be a regular front-runner.”

He started the second race from seventh on the grid and much was expected from a trademark start. However, on the final lap to the grid, he experienced a problem with his Team Pyro-run car.

The result puts Cataclean-backed Rowbottom sixth in the Renault UK Clio Cup standings heading for the ultra-fast Thruxton circuit in Hampshire for the next two races on May 19-20, with Sunday’s race action covered live on ITV4.