Race Report Clio Cup Series Round 6 - Navarra - Oct 16-18

Posted on: 20/10/2026

Navarra: A Weekend to Remember for Westbourne Motorsport

The penultimate round of the 2026 Clio Cup Series took us to MSV’s Circuito de Navarra, a home away from home for us Brits. 

With it being our first visit to the Spanish circuit, there was plenty to learn. Despite a team track walk in the dark on Thursday evening, Ben Colburn and Daire Flock would have to wait until Friday morning’s opening free practice session to experience the twisty circuit at speed.

Free Practice

Ben opened the weekend with a P9 finish in FP1, while Daire secured P14. Both were respectable results considering a large proportion of the grid had raced at Navarra in the Clio Cup Spain series the previous weekend, giving them a valuable advantage in circuit knowledge.

FP2, however, was where the team began to show the pace we had seen at Spa last month. Ben topped the timing sheets to finish P1, while Daire continued to work his way up the order, improving to P12.

With the pace building, the team headed into Saturday with plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

Qualifying 1

With sunrise scheduled for 08:23 and qualifying getting underway at 08:30, the team prepared for the first qualifying session of the weekend in almost complete darkness.

Heavy rainfall overnight had left the circuit damp in places. However, with the sun gradually breaking through the clouds and the racing line drying out, the decision was made to head out on slick tyres.

Both drivers improved on Friday’s opening practice results, with Ben qualifying P10 and Daire P13, setting themselves up for the first race of the weekend.

Race 1

Race 1 proved considerably more eventful than qualifying, delivering plenty of on-track battles, a safety car and a dramatic finish.

Both drivers made good starts, with Daire immediately gaining three positions through the opening corners. Ben, meanwhile, lost a few places off the line but spent the first half of the race fighting his way back through the field and defending his P10 position.

Around halfway through the race, Daire overtook Baumann to move into P9. However, he was unable to hold the position, losing it back before dropping another place to his teammate on the start-finish straight and into Turn 1. Approaching Turn 2, Daire was pushed off the circuit by Milan Jr. Although he managed to rejoin, he lost another position to Milan Jr in the process.

Daire then came under pressure from Rangoni’s Ciato, who attempted to make a move. Daire defended well, keeping his rival behind.

The race took a dramatic turn on the following lap. Approaching Turn 5, Gael Castelli and Alex Finklestein became involved in a battle for position, resulting in contact that had significant consequences further down the field.

Castelli hit Finklestein, causing Finklestein to spin and pin junior class leader Damiano Puccetti against the wall. Puccetti was then sent back across the circuit out of control, colliding with fellow Challengers contender Filip Kuncer in the process.

The incident left both Puccetti and Kuncer with damage that prevented them from finishing the race. Thankfully, both drivers were reported to be okay. Castelli and Finklestein were able to rejoin, although Castelli continued with his front bumper scraping along the ground.

The recovery operation for cars #43 and #69 brought out the safety car, bunching up the field and setting up a tense finish. At this point, Ben had worked his way up to P5, while Daire sat in P9.

With just over four minutes remaining, the safety car returned to the pits, leaving the drivers with a green-flag restart and precious little time to make their moves.

Daire spent much of the final lap battling Milan Jr for position. Making his move down the inside, he successfully got past and held on to P8 to the chequered flag.

Further up the field, Ben was preparing to make his mark.

Starting the penultimate lap, Ben and fellow Brit Nicky Taylor ran side by side down the start-finish straight. Ben had the pace to make the move stick, securing P4 before setting his sights on the podium.

On the final lap, Ben and Taylor made their way past Castelli, promoting Ben into the top three.

Ben crossed the finish line in P3, securing the team’s first overall podium of the 2026 season and a fantastic victory in the Challengers class. He joined Rangoni’s Louis Gehin and GPA’s David Pouget on the overall podium, with Pouget taking the top step.

Daire also benefited from the post-race penalties handed to Castelli, being promoted from P8 to P7 overall and fourth in the Juniors class.

Qualifying 2

Qualifying 2 got off to a promising start, with Daire working his way through the midfield while Ben maintained his position towards the front of the field.

However, 15 minutes into the session,  a red flag was brought out following an incident involving GPA cars #43 and #99.

At the time of the red flag, Ben was sitting in provisional pole position.

Unfortunately, the session restart left the drivers with time for just one out-lap and one flying lap, giving them very little opportunity to improve their times.

Ben ultimately lost pole position by two one hundredths of a second, but still secured a front-row start in P2. Daire qualified a respectable P9, putting him in a strong midfield position to battle his fellow junior contenders in Race 2.

Race 2

Both drivers got away well at the start of Race 2, with Daire gaining several positions while Ben successfully held on to P2 through the opening lap.

Around five minutes into the race, Challengers contender Filip Kuncer pushed Ben wide, off the circuit. Ben managed to rejoin, but the incident cost him a position through the following corner.

Meanwhile, Daire found himself locked in an almost race-long battle with Tosic, the pair fighting hard over seventh position.

As the race entered its closing stages, the drama continued. With four minutes remaining, Rangoni’s Ciato went into the gravbel, triggering another safety car and bringing the field back together.

With time running out, the safety car returned to the pits, leaving the drivers with one lap final dash to the chequered flag.

Following a disqualification further up the results, Ben was classified P4 overall and secured another victory in the Challengers class.

Daire crossed the line in P6 overall, earning an excellent third place in the Juniors class.

Four Trophies, One Fantastic Weekend.

Navarra proved to be a hugely rewarding weekend for the team, with four trophies secured across the two races.

From Ben’s first overall podium of the season and double success in the Challengers class to Daire’s strong performances and Junior class podium, there was plenty to smile about.

Our first visit to Circuito de Navarra certainly delivered, and the team leaves Spain in a positive position as we look ahead to the final round of the 2026 Clio Cup Series.

Next stop: Portimão, at the end of November, for the season finale  .