The 2013 Michelin Clio Cup Series ‘Autumn Cup’ event this November will include a first-ever endurance-style Renault Clio race in the UK, with a 45 minute ‘Enduro’ race set to take place at Rockingham.
The Autumn Cup event, which will run alongside the Protyre Formula Renault Championship on 16/17 November, will see the Clio competitors race to the regular 20 minute format on day one, with the ‘enduro’ race following on the Sunday.
Dependant on the success, series organisers confirm longer races could be introduced into the main season in 2014 when the series becomes a fully-fledged championship, and Clio Series teams have welcomed the trial race at Rockingham.
“An enduro race obviously gives drivers more track time, that will help build their confidence and it’s better value for money, so I think it is a very good idea,” said Team Pyro’s Mark Hunt. “It should be attractive to a lot of drivers and I think it’ll bring in people like those who are in the Trackday Trophy at the minute. They’ve been doing longer races already so this should attract them, for me it can only be a positive for the series.”
“We’ve had no experience of running a longer race format but it sounds good,” added SWB Motorsport team principal Simon Baldry. “I think the Autumn Cup as a whole is a brilliant idea, it gives us a chance to try and get people involved in the Series who have maybe sat on the sidelines this year to see what happened. Drivers always want as much track time as they can, I’m sure the format will be popular.”
