With just over a week to go until the eagerly awaited Renault Festival at Thruxton, excitement is building ahead of the last-ever Renault 5 race which is set to be the highlight of a tremendous weekend of action at the Hampshire venue on 29th/30th May.

The Renault ELF 5 Celebration Race, organised to mark the 30th anniversary of Renault UK’s involvement in British motorsport, will make history with Renault 5 TS and GT Turbo cars from the 1970s and 1980s competing together one final time.

Numerous past champions and Renault 5 race-winners have confirmed their participation in the historic race which will feature a grid of at least 25 cars with 1987 Renault 5 GT Turbo Champion Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams and 1990 Renault 5 GT Turbo Champion Jim Edwards Jnr expected to be among the true front-runners in the celebration meeting.

The winner of the first ever Renault 5 TL race – which took place at Brands Hatch, Kent, on 31st March 1974 – Maggie Loynd (nee Anderson) was located after many weeks of appeals and will now pull on her racing overalls for one final race.

Another intriguing twist to the Renault ELF 5 Celebration race involves multiple champion Neil McGrath and novice driver James Sobey – while the latter will make his competitive saloon car debut at the event in a Renault 5 TS, McGrath will bring the curtain down on a wonderful career with Renault as he makes his last ever competitive appearance.

Tim Jackson, who has headed Renault UK Motorsport since the mid-1980s, said: “To have such a great grid of Renault 5s at Thruxton will be amazing and something very special for those who used to compete in the various Renault 5 championships, for seasoned spectators and for those who were never lucky enough to see these tremendous cars in action.

“The 30th anniversary of that first-ever Renault 5 TL race in the UK is a highly important occasion for Renault and we hope to make this special event a huge success with the help of those who made the Renault 5 championships so popular in the 1970s and 1980s.”

One of those who helped create the special atmosphere in Renault 5 racing is Martin Sadler, Fleet Manager at W Waters and Sons Renault in Hemel Hempstead. Having driven almost every type of Renault racing car during his lengthy association with manufacturer both on and off track, Sadler was delighted to confirm his entry into the celebration race after recovering a Renault 5 GT Turbo from a dilapidated garage – where it had been untouched for 16 years!

But the Renault ELF 5 Celebration Race is only part of the story as the Renault Festival will not only serve up some of the finest modern-day action courtesy of the Formula Renault UK Championship and ELF/BTE Lawline Renault Clio Cup, it will also incorporate the hugely popular International Truck Challenge and support races from Pick-Up Trucks and Ginettas.

RENAULT ELF 5 CELEBRATION RACE – ENTRY LIST

No.      Driver / Lives / Car / Year

6          Brian Turvey / Harlow, Essex / Renault 5 TS / 1979       

7          Bob Pope / Darlington, Yorkshire / Renault 5 GT Turbo / 19908          Martin Howell / London / Renault 5 TS / 1986

9          James Sobey / Gawcott, Buckinghamshire / Renault 5 TS / 1983

10        Johnny Mac / Leyton, London Renault 5 GT Turbo

11        Martin Sadler / Calvert, Buckinghamshire / Renault 5 GT Turbo / 1986

19        Stuart Fisher / Wrexham / Renault 5 GT Turbo / 1989

22        Richard Lawson / Dundee, Scotland / Renault 5 GT Turbo / 1989

41        Philip Keen / Reading, Berkshire / Renault 5 TS

68        Brian Goodwin / Chelmsford, Essex / Renault 5 TS / 1981

69        Stephen Smith / Maldon, Essex / Renault 5 TS / 1981

74        Maggie Anderson / Dervaig, Isle of Mull / Renault 5 TS

75        Neil McGrath / Warrington, Cheshire / Renault 5 GT Turbo

77        Bob Smith / Leiston, Suffolk / Renault 5 GT Turbo / 1987

79        Jim Edwards Snr / Reading, Berkshire / Renault 5 GT Turbo80        Dave Cox / Higham, Kent / Renault 5 GT Turbo / 198784        Steve Meloy / Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire / Renault 5 TS87        Barrie Williams / Brackley, Northamptonshire / Renault 5 GT Turbo / 198888        Peter Quinn / Ringwood, Hampshire / Renault 5 GT Turbo89        Tony Rivers / Farnham, Surrey / Renault 5 GT Turbo / 198490        Jim Edwards Jnr / Maidenhead, Berkshire / Renault 5 GT Turbo91        Carl Kilbey / Buckhurst Hill, Essex / Renault 5 TS / 197995        Toby Cousins / Kings Lynn, Norfolk / Renault 5 GT Turbo / 198999        David Finlay / Norwich, Norfolk / Renault 5 TS / 1984       

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