James Colburn has become the latest driver to confirm his entry into the 2014 Renault UK Clio Cup with family outfit Westbourne Motorsport.
The Worthing-based racer has become a Clio Cup stalwart in recent years, with the upcoming campaign set to be his sixth consecutive season in the BTCC-support championship.
The 21 year old finished fourth overall last season in the final year with the third-generation Clio racers, with two race wins and two other podiums to his credit. He returns as part of a planned multi-car entry for Westbourne.
Colburn heads into the new season targeting the championship title, having come closest back in 2011 when he finished tied on points with vice-champion Aron Smith.
“I’m really looking forward to being back in Clios and racing the new car,” said Colburn. “Team Pyro ought to have a slight advantage over the rest of us due to running the car in Europe last year, but it’s obviously a lot hotter there so the characteristics of the car may change in the UK weather.
“We need to learn the car quickly and hopefully we’ll be able to fight for the championship, we don’t know yet who we’ll be up against though. It sounds like quite a few of last season’s top guys might be back and we still don’t know if Josh Files [2013 champion] will return. Either way, it’s going to be a very tough championship to try and win, as it always is.”
Colburn is the latest front-runner from 2013 to announce his return to the series, with Ash Hand, Ant Whorton-Eales and Alex Morgan coming back with SV Racing, while Mike Bushell and Josh Cook are returning with Team Pyro and 20Ten Racing respectively.
