Up for the Cup! Over 50 Renault Clio racers in UK and on track

Six months after the hugely successful launch of New Clio Cup, the pure racer that will hit the UK’s race tracks in 2007, teams and drivers planning to compete in the 2007 ELF Renault Clio Cup collected their cars from Southampton Docks on 17th/18th/19th January.

A total of 52 cars in assorted white, red, blue, silver and black colours were made available for collection, with many teams opting to begin pre-season testing immediately.

Every New Clio Cup owner was personally invited to collect their car, with staggered collection times during the three days to make the process run smoothly. Prior to collection, each car was inspected by Renault Sport UK’s technical team of John Millett, Denise Trigg and Allen Collen. Important elements such as engine and gearbox were sealed, ensuring a level playing field when racing commences.

The first cars were collected by JHR Developments, Team Eurotech, Z Speed Racing and Team Pyro at 14:00 on Wednesday, 17th January. Among those entrusted with powering up the 2.0-litre 205bhp Clios, transferring them from the holding bay in the Docks’ cruise liner baggage hall to the team transporter was Andrew Jordan, son of BTCC driver Mike, whose saloon-car racing career begins this spring.

Many of the teams have already begun testing the cars ahead of the first official test day supported by Renault Sport UK at Silverstone on Monday 26th February. A second official test day is scheduled for Monday 12th March. The 2007 ELF Renault Clio Cup begins with the curtain-raiser at Brands Hatch on 31st March/1st April.

The ordering process for New Clio Cup began with the launch at Donington Park in July 2006 when 32 deposits were received. By the time firm orders were confirmed in November, this number had grown to more than 60 with a final tally of 52 as some teams and drivers pooled resources for their championship campaign. Included in the number of cars sold are a handful intended for trackday use.

At Autosport International, a total of 15 entries were received for the series within days of the registration period opening. Many more are expected, raising the possibility of qualification races being necessary if the number of entries exceeds that allowed by a circuit’s track licence. In such cases, which will be determined on a round-by-round basis, three Clio Cup races will feature at BTCC meetings with only the Sunday race counting as a Championship round.