Brett Lidsey completed his first full season in the Renault UK Clio Cup Championship and it was an enjoyable first season.

Brett has been speaking to Kent Sports News about his debut season and his aspirations for racing in 2019.

Giving his thoughts on what was a challenging first season, he said: “I found my first full season in the Clio Cup very demanding, if anyone thinks you can just go have a bit of fun they are wrong!

“Being on the TOCA package is a serious deal and you have to perform, when not testing I was in the gym preparing for the next round it really does take over, that being said I enjoyed every moment when things went my way.

“The door to door racing is like no other, you don’t get any closer then UK Clios, unfortunately there were no podiums but we came close which for the first year is an achievement in itself.”

At the end of the season Brett headed off to Europe with two other drivers from the gird to compete in the Clio racing, and he enjoyed the experience.

He added: “This was a special offer presented to me by Will Fewkes and I jumped at the opportunity. To get to race against the top Clio Cup guys around the world was mega and allowed me to prove I deserved to be there.”

Unfortunately for Brett his season didn’t get off to the best of starts at his home round at Brands Hatch, when his Clio ended up on its roof.

“It was a tough blow but it gave me the determination to fight back which the results proved, unfortunately Brands Hatch wasn’t good to me this year as I was involved in another collision in race 1 at the last round on the GP circuit. I’m hoping that it was just a first year initiation or something.”

Brett now feels like he has had a solid grounding on which to build on from the 2018 season and move forward in 2019.

He said: “I did the full season bar one round as I got married, but doing all the other rounds plus Paul Ricard was more than enough to learn how to race with these kind of drivers, the racing is tough, fierce and you have to be on your game every time.

“I believe it has made me a better more confident driver and that’s all that I ask from the effort I put in. I don’t have a karting background nor did I start at a young age so I’m on the back foot when sitting on the same tarmac so when I beat the drivers that have 15-20 years’ experience it means a lot.”

We asked Brett whether there were any highlights from the 2018 season from the racing or any moments that stood out for him.

He added: “I have three highlights from the 2018 season the first was qualifying P6 in tricky conditions at Donnington Park which was the round after brands so to bounce back on a high was just what we needed, we then went on to finish P5 in the race. So that one really sticks in the mind.

“The second highlight was at Silverstone where we took the fastest lap in both races, both were as intense as they get and we battled from lights to flag and it really showed how well we had come on throughout the season, it showed we deserved to be on the grid! Hence getting the invite to France.

“The third highlight was at Paul Ricard, we got to race with Central Europe to learn the track much to Central Europe’s disgust because we beat some of their best drivers. At this point we were noticed by most of the French and whispers were running all around the paddock, then come qualification for the Clio cup final, and I qualified P5.

“I will always remember the faces of the French when we UK boys put all three cars in the top five on their home circuit. Unfortunately I got beaten up in the race and had a coming together with another driver resulting in a DNF but it didn’t matter because we showed that Renault UK wasn’t wrong in inviting me to the final and that’s all I wanted to prove.”

Finally, we asked Brett what his plans were for the 2019 season and whether he wants to be back on the Clio Cup grid.

He said: “As everyone probably knows now 2019 will be the last year so my plan is to be one of the those drivers to race in the last ever UK Clio Cup Championship series, and yes with MRM, the team is one of the best in the paddock and I wouldn’t be where I am without them.

“We are in talks with current and potential sponsors at the moment but to be in with a real shot we need to find that extra bit of support, fingers crossed come April we will be sitting on the grid to give Clio Cup the send-off it deserves.”

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