Jake Honour will return to the Michelin Clio Cup Series grid for the final two meetings of the season after being missing from action last time out at Brands Hatch, and the ‘Roadcar’ class front-runner is determined to end the season with class victories.
Honour was forced to miss the Brands meeting after getting caught up in a big opening lap accident during Round Six of the season at Donington Park in June, an incident that caused substantial damage to Honour’s converted Clio 197.
“It was a great shame to miss out on Brands Hatch in July, however it was the sensible decision to make,” Honour told TCF. “The car could have possibly been ready in time, however unfortunately the funds just weren’t there to rebuild the car and race at Brands, so I made the decision very early on to miss the meeting.”
After considering building a new car from scratch, or racing in a different series for the remainder of the season, Honour and the team at Jade Developments made the decision to source a new shell for the Clio.
Backing from Performance French Car Magazine allowed him to buy one, and from there an extensive rebuild process took place with support from Extreme Glean Detailing, SJM Automotive, UK Parts Direct, Milltek, Your Tyres & Auto Car and Paint Perfect.
Honour’s Back On Track With His New Clio – Credit: Jake Honour
“After some grovelling to my fantastic sponsors, the rebuild came together,” he commented. “There’s no doubt that without my sponsors chipping in the extra funding and supplying products, I wouldn’t have raced again this season.”
Honour returns to the grid aiming to add to his two class wins from the opening weekend at Rockingham, with a trip to Snetterton at the end of this month, a meeting televised as part of the Motors TV Live Raceday, and the season finale at Croft in September left to go.
“For the remaining rounds, my aim is simple … to win,” Honour told TCF.
“I think it’s unrealistic, but not impossible to finish the season as champion, however I’m just concentrating on finishing as high up as possible, which will give me a greater chance of securing the funding that I need to compete in the ‘race class’ next year.”
“My ultimate goal is to be on the top step of that podium at Snetterton, as I really want to reward my sponsors for believing in me and thank Sean and Jordan at Jade Developments for the many hours and late nights spent on the car.”
