Westbourne Motorsport will once again partner with multiple Renault UK Clio Cup race-winner James Dorlin as the pairing look to make a full assault on the highly-competitive single-make series crown in 2018.
Dorlin – who impressed widely in his rookie season in the category with hard-fought victories at Thruxton and Silverstone – will once again receive the loyal backing of Vantage Motor Group and Harlequin Teamwear alongside new sponsors in Prototype Creative.
The 18-year old, who also enjoyed title success with the Worthing-based Westbourne outfit in 2016 with the Michelin Clio Cup Series title, will now look to utilise a year’s worth of experience in the fourth-generation Clio Cup car and convert the runner-up spot in last year’s Graduate Cup into a push for the overall honours this season.
Taking pride of place on the British Touring Car Championship support package, the 2018 Renault UK Clio Cup season gets underway on the Indy configuration of the Brands Hatch circuit over the weekend of Saturday 7th/Sunday 8th April 2018, with a capacity crowd expected trackside along with a wider audience through ITV’s live television coverage.
James Dorlin said, ““I’m really confident we will be in the fight for the title – 2017 was a massive learning curve but we still exceeded our expectations with the two wins. Westbourne and myself now want to put everything we learnt together last year to very good use this season. There’s a lot of focus and energy going into making sure everything is as good as it can be. There’s no hiding in the Clio Cup – the cars are very evenly matched and with so many good drivers at the limit with the cars it’s all about finding that extra little bit. There will be a lot riding on the first two races at Brands Hatch – nobody will want to leave there playing catch-up.”
Richard Colburn, Team Principal said, ““James was a great addition to our team in 2017 – his wins at Thruxton and Silverstone were very classy and we are delighted to be working with him again this year. Certainly we will be leaving no stone unturned as the Clio Cup title is one we would dearly love to win as well.”