Renaultsport’s turbo-powered Clio Cup race car made its British track debut at Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norfolk, United Kingdom on April 24, 2013. Renault UK Clio Cup front-runner Josh Files of the Team Pyro drove the Clio Cup to a blazing speed on the 2.97-mile circuit, achieving a lap time of just around two seconds short of the current record. The 1.6-litre Clio Cup race car logged a best lap time of 2 minutes and 07.001 seconds (84.15mph) in dry and bright conditions at the track. It is nearly 2 seconds short of the current lap record set by the third-generation Clio race car of 2 minutes and 08.937 seconds (82.89mph) in August 2011 by Westbourne Motorsport’s James Colburn.
The fourth-generation Clio Cup race car is based on the new Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo EDC roadcar and is powered by a 220hp turbo-boosted engine tuned by Oreca Magny-Cours and sealed at source. The latest Clio Cup race car features a six-speed sequential gearbox, a paddle-shift gear change, and an AP Racing clutch. The Clio Cup now features adjustable dampers from ZF-Sachs with specific aluminium suspension wishbones. The turbo-powered Clio also benefits from the enhanced AP Racing brakes. Multi-titled Team Pyro will be fielding two of the fourth-generation Clio Cup race cars for Files and Irish driver David Dickenson in Eurocup Clio this year.
