2014 Ginetta Junior champion Jack Mitchell will get behind the wheel of a Renault UK Clio Cup car for the first time this week at Donington Park.
Mitchell will test a turbo-charged fourth generation Clio racer with the 2014 Clio Cup Teams Champions SV Racing on Thursday (20 November), the Cheshire-based outfit having had four drivers finish in the top eight of the championship this year.
For Mitchell meanwhile, six wins in the opening eight races put him on his way towards this year’s Junior title, with a total of eleven podium finishes for the year giving the JHR Developments racer a 54 point championship win.
The Clio test isn’t Mitchell’s first running of the winter, as he got behind the wheel of a Motorbase Performance BTCC Ford Focus at Snetterton late last month as a reward for his successful campaign on the team’s young driver programme.
With that experience under his belt and the Junior title on his CV, the 16 year old is looking forward to the Clio test and admits a move into the series is one of his main options for 2015.
“The main objective is to learn the car, as there is a chance I will be racing in the UK Clio Cup next year,” said Mitchell.
“I have some data to look at, which makes it slightly easier for me heading into the test and I’m sure I can be there or thereabouts at the end of the day.
“Having won at Donington Park twice this year, the circuit is one I really enjoy and know very well and this will allow me to extract the best from the car and myself.
“Obviously the Clio Cup car is going to be quite different from the Ginetta G40 I drove this year, but I had a test in the BTCC Focus last week and I’m looking forward to seeing how they both compare.”