CLIO CUP TO RETURN TO KNOCK HILL NEXT YEAR
The Renault UK Clio Cup has confirmed that it will return to Knockhill next year after a threeseason absence.
Motorsport News reported earlier this year that some teams were in favour of a first visit to the Scottish track since 2015 when the 2019 British Touring Car calendar was unveiled with a second Thruxton visit in place of Rockingham.
“I think it’s something positive for the championship and there’s a very strong market for Renault in Scotland,” said championship manager Will Fewkes about the Knockhill return.
The series continues to visit nine of the 10 BTCC meetings and it also features the extra Thruxton date in August with the series opting to skip the traditional May meeting. This means there’s a near two-month gap after Donington Park before the third weekend of the season at Croft.
“I think it eases the financial strain at the start of the season when you’ve got the championship registration and the first couple of races,” explained Fewkes. “It’s also a full weekend and not split [the early May meeting doesn’t feature a Friday test, with this taking place a week before the event].”
Three-time Clio Cup champion Paul Rivett said it was the right decision to go to Knockhill and not to Thruxton twice but admits he would’ve liked to have Rockingham remain on the calendar.
“I was disappointed to see Thruxton was on the calendar twice because we don’t go to the same circuit twice,” he said. “Knockhill is one of my favourites to drive but it is very difficult to overtake there.”