Less than a year after its first race, the Renault UK Clio Cup Junior series has been cancelled following dwindling grid numbers.
Only six cars were confirmed for the opening round of the 2018 championship and since then, drivers have either made the step up into the senior Renault UK Clio Cup grid or moved to other categories.
The last registered driver to the series was Nick Reeve. The former Clio Cup Junior race winner makes the move to the senior Clio Cup this weekend at Snetterton where he bumps up an already healthy grid size up to twenty-three.
Last year the series didn’t get off to a good start when the inaugural race was postponed from June to September and grid sizes never went over nine cars.
In a statement, Matthew Bendall head of press for Renault UK and Ireland said,
“It is with regret that Renault UK had decided to cancel its Clio Cup Junior motor racing category with immediate effect.
“Clio Cup Junior raised the bar in junior saloon car competition in terms of driver safety, reliability, technical proficiency and performance and we’re naturally disappointed that they championship came to an end for reasons outside of our control.
“We are proud of the exciting talent that Clio Junior has helped UK motorsport to discover and sincerely thank all teams, drivers and partners who supported the championship.”
Championship manager Will Fewkes told Autosport earlier in the year that he believed the Motor Sports Association was to blame and referenced “numerous changes to junior formula requirements at short notice” for the reasons why the series was going to struggle.
