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UK Race Cars Break Cover Ahead of January Delivery |
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Thursday, 21 December 2006 |
 Renault race cars destined for Britain’s biggest saloon car championship have broken cover for the first time as the UK’s batch of New Clio Cup cars rolled out of the Renault Sport factory in Dieppe ahead of delivery in the new year.
A total of 52 orders have been placed for New Clio Cup, the pure racer that will be introduced to contest the 2007 ELF Renault Clio Cup. The uptake for the 2.0-litre 205bhp car has reached record levels and the series is set to become the most successful in Renault UK’s 30+ year motorsport history.
Good news is that further orders can still be placed for the latest
evolution of Renault’s renowned saloon-car racer, with delivery in time
to join the first grid of 2007. With a four-week production time, an
order placed on Renault Sport UK’s stand at the Autosport International
Show in January could still be delivered in time for the first official
test in February.
Championship registration will also open at
Autosport International, Thursday-Sunday, 11th 14th January, with teams
and drivers having until Friday, 23rd February to sign-up ahead of the
first official test day at Silverstone on Monday, 26th February.
Renault
Sport UK is expecting its biggest field for decades and has had to make
provision to accommodate all the cars likely to enter. “We could easily
see as many as 40 plus competitors in the field, so we have had to make
special arrangements to make sure everyone who registers can race”,
commented Renault UK Motorsport Director Tim Jackson.
In the
event of more registrations received than can start a race according to
the circuit’s track licence, the new format for both qualifying and
races makes sure everyone entered can race. The field will be divided
into two groups of approximately equal size. The first group will
qualify for 15 minutes, directly followed by the second group for 15
minutes. The starting grid for the first qualification race will be
based upon the times recorded by the first group’s qualifying session.
The starting grid for the second qualification race will be based upon
the times recorded by the second group’s qualifying session. On
Saturday afternoon there will be two qualifying races – one for each
group.
The starting grid for Sunday’s championship round will
be based upon the results of the two qualification races. The group
containing the driver setting the fastest individual lap time will line
up on the pole position side of the grid with the race winner in pole
position and the second-placed driver directly behind and so on. The
other group will line up on the opposite side of the grid with the race
winner in the second grid place and the second placed driver directly
behind and so on. When the qualification races procedure is applied
there will be only one championship round during the race meeting but
prize money will be adjusted accordingly.
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