Fresh from his eye-catching Renault UK Clio Cup debut in October, Paul Streather has announced plans to contest a full campaign in the BTCC support championship next season with Finesse Motorsport.
At the Brands Hatch season finale, Streather stunned the paddock as he fought for the race win with eventual champion Ashley Sutton in only his second Clio Cup race, overtaking him multiple times before eventually coming home in second place.
That performance capped off a hugely impressive season for the 26 year old, who finished second overall in the Michelin Clio Cup Series. Running as a privateer, Streather secured four wins in his third-generation Clio Cup racer.
Since his October debut, Streather has ordered a brand new fourth-generation Clio ahead of next season, and hopes to get some pre-season testing under his belt so he can be a front-runner from the off next year.
“Hopefully we can be challenging inside the top six when the new season starts. I went into the Brands Hatch event with very little seat time and know there’s more to come from me in one of these cars,” said Streather.
“I have tested a few other cars recently but the Clio Cup car really stands out in terms of engineering, handling and overall performance. Plus I really like the set-up of the championship and the atmosphere in the paddock. The publicity the championship receives is also a big draw.”
For Finesse Motorsport, it marks a first full-time campaign in the championship since 2013, having previously run Jake Giddings for two seasons as well as Aaron Williamson in the first half of 2012, the latter having taken their only previous podium finish.
“We are very much looking forward to working with Paul again in 2016,” added Finesse team principal Neil Giddings.
“Obviously we had a great time in the final rounds of 2015 together but already we are seeing just how much competitive the UK Clio Cup is going to be in 2016. It’s going to be a fantastic technical challenge for any team joining the grid.
“We’ve got a proven past in the UK Clio Cup and our pace with Paul at the Brands Hatch finale was we believe again evidence of how good at engineering a car we are. We are definitely open to running more than one car.”