Top-5 overall finish, double class podium for Callie Clifford at Snetterton

Callie Clifford has enjoyed an extremely positive start of her BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship rookie season - and the JamSport scholarship winner continued the trend by achieving her first top-5 finish at Snetterton, where she was a consistent frontrunner and scored two runner-up finishes in the MK6 class.

Callie Clifford continued her excellent start to the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship season by achieving her first top-5 finish. Racing on the challenging Snetterton 300 layout, Clifford was a consistent frontrunner and scored two runner-up finishes in the MK6 class.

After qualifying sixth overall, Callie finished race one in seventh, before a series of excellent overtakes saw the JamSport scholarship winner finish the event with a fifth place result, while narrowly missing out on the fastest lap of the race.

Clifford has enjoyed an extremely positive debut season in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship to date. The JamSport scholarship winner has consistently contended for top-10 positions despite being one of the youngest drivers on the grid. Her racecraft has been excellent and this saw her make up a number of positions in the opening laps at Brands Hatch, with her potential clear to see. Tackling another new circuit in the form of Snetterton, Callie was confident of continuing her strong run of form.

The race weekend got underway on Saturday morning with a free practice session to help the drivers familiarise themselves with the long Snetterton 300 layout. Despite a trip to the pits early in the session, Clifford once again showed fantastic speed and continued to improve throughout the session. Her best time of a 2:21.609 placed her fifth in the overall classification, second in the MK6 class.

Aiming to replicate her strong performance from practice, Callie took to the track for a fifteen-minute qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. The initial runs in the session were disrupted by a red flag and this meant little time was remaining in the closing stages.

However, Clifford found an excellent time on her final lap to qualify in sixth position, second among those driving the MK6 Ford Fiesta. It was another impressive showing by the teenage racer who has been one of the stars of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship to date.

Callie lined up on the third row of the grid for the opening race of the weekend and made a clean start, dropping one overall position at the end of lap one. A red flag was then displayed on lap two which would mean a restart from seventh position, albeit over a shorter race distance.

On the restart, Clifford dropped one further position to eighth, but her pace was still competitive with those inside the top-5. This allowed her to move back to seventh with an overtake on Benjamin Doughty, before setting her fastest lap directly after. As the drivers ahead battled for position, Clifford sensed a chance to move further forward but the shortened race had come to a close. Taking the checkered flag in seventh position overall, Callie secured second place within the MK6 class to add to her podium tally.

The grid for the second race of the weekend was based on the results of race one and this saw Clifford starting from seventh overall, second in the MK6 class. A superb initial launch saw Callie move into sixth, before falling behind a MK7 class rival at the end of the lap. Lap two saw the JamSport scholarship winner overtake Joshua Watts while challenging Alfie Garford for a top-5 position.

Callie was once again battling hard with some of the best young drivers in the country and looking racy in her debut at Snetterton. On lap four, Clifford briefly moved into fifth, before completing the move on Garford a lap later. From there, she was able to pull out a gap to the drivers behind and secured her first ever overall top-5 result in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship. Clifford also secured another runner-up result in the MK6 class, with her fastest lap of the race just three tenths of a second away from the best overall.

Callie’s performances at Snetterton asserted her place as a podium contender in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship. Her racecraft has been a particular highlight, showing maturity beyond her years in close battles towards the front of the field.

A maiden overall podium is within reach and this will be Clifford’s next target as the young racers head to Oulton Park on Saturday 8th June for the final double-header event of the season.