Multiple Renault UK Clio Cup race winner Brett Lidsey is making the move to full-time competition in Europe this year after confirming a deal with top BMW team Sorg Rennsport to contest the 2020 Nurburgring Endurance Series.

Marking his debut in rear-wheel drive racing, Northfleet 28-year-old Lidsey will take on an entirely new challenge this year in the nine round championship which races exclusively at the fearsome and demanding 24-kilometre Nurburgring-Nordschleife in Germany.

Featuring eye-watering grids of around 170 cars across a number of different classes, which include entries ranging from production touring cars through to full blown thoroughbred GT3 racers, the series – formerly known as VLN – is one of the biggest tests in the world for drivers of all abilities.

Lidsey, who is originally from Dartford, will share driving duties in Sorg Rennsport’s Gerri Limonade liveried BMW M240i with young Russian racer Ivan Berets, who competed in the Italian Formula 4 Championship in 2019, and a yet-to-be-revealed third team-mate. 

Having already enjoyed a very successful test of the BMW M240i at the Autodromo do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal, last week, Kent sportsman Lidsey is now relishing the prospect of the official pre-season test which will take place at Nurburgring-Nordschleife on Saturday, 14th March.

The championship will commence one week later, on Saturday, 21st March, and will reach its conclusion in late October. All races are contested over a duration of four hours, with the exception of the event on 29th August which will be six hours. 

“I’m really looking forward to this new challenge and working with the guys at Sorg Rennsport for the first time, the team is very professional and the atmosphere is very good – the entire team is dedicated to winning, just as I am”, said Lidsey, who retains backing from Liftout and Dornack.

“Rear-wheel drive isn’t exactly new to me as I have been driving RWD cars at the Nurburgring for over four years, but not in race conditions so there will be a lot to learn. I haven’t raced in a series where different classes of car are involved since the first couple of years of my career, so getting used to the faster cars coming past will take time. I’m confident we’ll have a great season.”

Lidsey, of course, heads to Europe this year off the back of a sensational final season in the Renault UK Clio Cup where he ended the 2019 campaign fourth in the driver standings with two victories and eight other podiums. Additionally, he scorched to three pole positions in qualifying.

Beginning his car racing career almost a decade ago, he became the T3 Class Champion of the Canons Motor Spares Tin Top Saloons in 2012 before graduating into the Michelin Clio Cup Race Series. Becoming a contender for the title, in 2016 he was Vice-Champion with three wins and 10 other podiums and he then stepped up into the blue riband Renault UK Clio Cup.

Lidsey also became a double race winner in Clio Cup Benelux, taking two victories at Spa in Belgium in 2017, and he also raced in the International Clio Cup Finals in both 2018 and 2019 where he made a serious impression.

“This is a great step for my career at this point, we had a fantastic season in the Clio Cup last year with a couple of wins and some really strong performances and I’m aiming to use that as a real springboard for my first year in endurance racing”, said Lidsey.

“The team has been very welcoming and dedicated to making sure I’m comfortable in the car and learning as much as I can. The test in Portimao was fantastic, now it’s a case of getting more and more up to speed and working on the strategy element of endurance racing which is an exciting new challenge for me.”

Speaking on behalf of Sorg Rennsport, team principal Daniel Sorg added: “We are happy to have Brett in our driver line-up for the 2020 season in the BMW M240i Racing Cup. He showed some really good performances during our test sessions in Portimao, and we are looking forward to a successful season together.”

2020 Nurburgring Endurance Series Calendar
21st March – Race 1: 66. ADAC Westfalenfahrt
4th April – Race 2: 45. DMV 4-Stunden-Rennen
18th April – Race 3: 62. ADAC ACAS Cup
27th June – Race 4: 51. Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy
11th July – Race 5: 60. ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen
1st August – Race 6: 43. RCM DMV Grenzlandrennen
29th August – Race 7: ROWE 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen
26th September – Race 8: 52. ADAC Barbarossapreis
24th October – Race 9: 45.DMV Munsterlandpokal 

Images courtesy of PSP Images