Boulevard Team Racing is to contest its sixth season in the ELF Renault Clio Cup Championship after signing Martin Johnson (Alford, Lincs) and two-time champion Paul Rivett (Banstead, Surrey). The team, managed by Cliff Johnson and which owns five cars, is still seeking a third driver.
Confirmation of Boulevard’s presence raises the number of cars expected to be on the grid at the series opener at Brands Hatch on April 8th/9th to 17, with potential for further late additions. The Lincolnshire-based team, which has a free registration by virtue of winning the 2005 ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup, joins Total Control Racing, Mardi Gras Motorsport, Team Pyro and Jamie Hunter Racing as multi-car Entrants.
Boulevard Team Manager Cliff Johnson said: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to enter Martin and Paul in the Clio Cup because it’s a fantastic series and the whole team enjoys the competition. We had some great battles in the races last season and hopefully it will be just as close this year.
“It turns out that rumours of our demise were greatly exaggerated. We always said we wanted to compete in Clio Cup because it is the most exciting one-make saloon series anywhere. It was just a case of finding the right drivers and now we have Martin and Paul, we are fully committed to fighting for the title.”
Surrey-based Rivett is sure to be a contender in a championship where he has four drivers’ titles to his name. In addition to victories with Team Firstair in the Clio Winter Cup in 2001 and Clio Cup in 2002, he added a brace of titles with Boulevard in the form of the Clio Winter Cup in 2003 and Clio Cup in 2004.
Martin Johnson, who founded the team in 2001 after one year in the series driving for Tim Sugden Motorsport, has a best result of 10th overall in 2003. He was also part of a strong four-driver line-up that gave Boulevard its first Entrants Championship victory in 2004.
Cliff Johnson added: “We have drivers who are capable of picking up race wins but we want to challenge for the Entrants title as well so would like to find another driver. Anyone who thinks they can run at the front and has a full budget of £50,000 would be a welcome addition to the team.”
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