Inventor of the road car single-make series, Renault’s long pedigree in this form of racing goes back to the mid-60’s. 2001 saw the birth of the Renault Clio RS, a car with prestigious ancestors such as R8 and R12 Gordini, R5 Alpine and GT Turbo, Clio 16S and Mégane Coupé.

Clio Cup is a racing thoroughbred based on Clio Renault Sport 2.0 16V. And like the FR 2000, it’s a best seller. Offering drivers the chance to take to the track for €26,000 before tax, Clio Cup is a mini-touring car with an engine producing 190bhp, a sequential gearbox and a top speed of 240kph.

Over 600 cars have been produced as we go into the 2004 season, with 13 national championships currently organized (Germany, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Spain, France, Britain, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Turkey and Mexico).

43 competitors have already signed up for the French championship, forcing Renault Sport to draw up a waiting list! To find out why, look no further than the Cup’s superb quality/price ratio and legendary atmosphere !

A battle is guaranteed in every race, with a dozen drivers all with a chance of being first over the line. Having competed in the Belgian championship last year, Ludovic Simon has come back into the fold. Joining him will be Nicolas Dupuy, Lionel Mazars, Nicolas Pierre and Pascal Destembert, who last year fought it out on the European stage. So get ready for a fight !

Among the outsiders include Michel Marvie, Jérôme Schneider and Hugues Tarbouriech. And it’ll be a pleasure to see some “oldies but goodies” such as Eric Archambaud, Bernard Castagné and Jean-Claude Lompech put in the occasional appearance among the rest of the pack.

Lastly come the Juniors, the young hopefuls all aged under 22 as of 31/12/04, who will be out to rival their elders. To the winner of this sub-category will go on to earn a place in Formula Renault 2000 next year. It’s going to be a duel between Johan-Boris Scheier and Sébastien Dhouailly, but Vincent Cassaignau, Marco Guzzo and Paul Lamic will also have the prize in their sights.