WorldMags.net
since the budget required to
compete in the Clio Cup UK is at
the top end of the five-figure
bracket, you have to recognise that
most competitors have backing.
So if they can make the next step,
one-make series are useful ways
to hone the necessary skill set.
But does the ladder stretch
a rung lower? Not really. And that’s
something the BARC wants to
address with its Junior Saloon Car
Championship. And while it’s
joining a market that’s not exactly
saturated, there is work to do to
set it apart from the rest.
Since Lawrence Tomlinson took
over Ginetta, the Yorkshire marque’s
Junior series for 14-17-year-olds has
blossomed. It has a fine graduate
record and is flourishing at the
moment, but numbers haven’t
always been stellar and, since it’s
Single-seater racing
is the conventional
way to start a career
EBREY/LAT
for the BTCC. It’s always been
something that has the capacity
to develop good tin-top drivers,
because the slick-shod Clio (of
varying models) is a good frontwheel-drive platform and the racing
in the Clio Cup matches the
paint-swapping, hectic style the
BTCC is famed for. Skills learned
here are arguably more relevant
to touring cars than any other.
Renault Clios aren’t the only way
to gain appropriate front-wheeldrive experience. The bumper grids
of the Volkswagen Racing Cup have
been the training ground for several
BTCC drivers over the years, while
the Mini Challenge hopes its new
F56 car will bring it closer to the
BTCC in terms of performance and
make it more relevant as a result.
Success in feeder categories isn’t
a guarantee of progression. But,
difficult for drivers under the age of
16 to get car-racing experience in
this country, it has often been the
route aspiring single-seater drivers
take just to get used to something
bigger than a kart and gain
experience on