Former single-seater champion Luke Kidsley (Northampton) will make his Renault UK Clio Cup debut in the championship’s rounds at his home circuit of Rockingham this weekend (Sat 5/Sun 6 Sept) as he takes over the JamSport Racing team’s car raced until recently by Dan Holland.

 Kidsley, who won the top Formula Jedi 1000cc class in 2005, is actually Northampton-based JamSport’s driver coach so apart from facing the rest of the Clio Cup grid at Rockingham will also be up against 17-year-old Tom Grundy whose performance he normally oversees at race events!

 The 31-year-old, son of Eighties British hillclimb ace Phil Kidsley, provides tuition for racing drivers in international GT and sportscar competition as well, particularly in the Middle East. He commented: “If I didn’t think I was quick enough to be somewhere near the pace at Rockingham then I wouldn’t go anywhere near it.

“I’ve driven all sorts of fantastic cars in recent years and feel more confident in my abilities now than ever before. Even though front-wheel-drive is not my forte I’m still going to Rockingham in the hope I can latch on to the back of the top three or four who are fighting it out for the title.

“Tom is coming on great guns too in his first Clio Cup season so I could even find myself dicing with him!”

Kidsley will not be the first Clio Cup team driver coach to race in the championship this year – Jon Maybin appeared for Team Cooksport at both Thruxton and Oulton Park and achieved a highly impressive pair of sixth-place results.