Reigning Renault Clio Cup UK champions Team Pyro will run a five car squad in the 2013 season, with the previously announced Josh Files and Simon Belcher joined by newcomers Alex Morgan, James Nutbrown and Ash Hand.
Files will lead the team as he aims for the championship title in his third season in the category, having been a front-runner last season, taking sixth overall in the driver standings with four podiums to his credit.
Also returning to the series is Belcher, the 2012 Masters Cup champion focusing on retaining the crown in his second year of Clio racing, the 39 year old running under the Handy Motorsport banner with assistance from Pyro.
Joining them are single-seater converts Morgan and Nutbrown. Morgan will be racing for the first time since 2008, having competed in Formula Renault BARC, UK, NEC and Eurocup earlier in the decade.
Nutbrown meanwhile joins with some tin-tops experience, having raced in T-Car’s in 2007, before moving into the Autosport Young Guns and subsequent InterSteps Championship in recent seasons.
The least experienced of the Pyro quintet will be teenager Hand, who will be making his car-racing debut after a successful karting career.
“With this line-up, and having seen what they’ve all done in testing so far, I’m really confident we’ll have a strong team this year”, said Team Pyro principal Mark Hunt, “We’ve certainly got three or four lads who will be front-runners and if they all work together well, which we’re expecting, we’ve got a great chance of staying on top.
“I’m really pleased with the guys we’ve got, there’s a good new influx into the team with Alex, James and Ash joining Josh and Simon. We want to try and hold on to our championships, you always want to win – that’s why you put all the effort in. We’ve got a good test plan in place between now and the start of the season, we’re really looking forward to it and it should be a great year.”
