Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire, the fastest track on the Renault UK Clio Cup calendar, welcomes the one-make category this coming weekend, for the sixth event of the season – an event in which Brett Lidsey aims to continue his fantastic 2019 championship charge.
Just over a week since he achieved a superb double podium at Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norfolk to get the second part of the campaign off to a great start, the 27-year-old MRM driver is targeting more of the same in rounds 11 and 12.
The coming weekend’s action will mark only the second time Northfleet-based Lidsey will have raced at the 2.35-mile track in his 2.0-litre Clio Cup car but he is undaunted by the challenge and looking forward to getting his teeth into a circuit famed as one which rewards commitment and bravery.
In a break from the norm for the Clios, the championship’s annual visit to Thruxton comes in the height of summer this year – as opposed to its usual date in the spring – and so tyre management and wear is likely to play an even bigger role than it normally does.
With a notoriously abrasive surface and huge loads placed on tyres, especially through the mega-fast sequence of flat-out corners Goodwood, Village and Church, drivers need to bear those stresses in mind when approaching preparations for the race weekend.
“Thruxton is a fantastic track, so fast, and I absolutely love it there”, said Lidsey, “It’s an amazing challenge, very rewarding when you put a good lap together, and is obviously somewhere you really need to have a lot of confidence to push the car and the tyres. I’m looking forward to being back there and I know Mike [Ritchie – MRM team principal] and the guys will give me a great car.
“I’ve got less experience at Thruxton than some of the others, so the test sessions on Friday will be very important, but I’m sure we can be competitive and in the fight for the podium. It was great to be back with two podiums at Snetterton, that’s the goal every weekend and it won’t be any different on Saturday and Sunday.”
Going into the Thruxton rounds, Lidsey is third in the championship standings and only 23 points behind team-mate Jack Young who, in turn, is just six further points adrift of current leader Max Coates. So far this season, the fierce rivalry between Young and Coates has produced very robust action – and a few penalties as a result – so Lidsey is determined to be in a position to capitalise. 
From the first 10 races of the season, Liftout, GHR Scaffolding Ltd, GPL Projects Ltd, Certus Security, Dornack, Taylor Made Decals, MS Motorsport and MSY Grab Hire & Mini Digger Hire-backed Lidsey has seven podiums under his belt – four runner-up finishes and three other top three results.
“If you’d have said to me before the first round I’d be third in the championship at this point of the season, and only a few points behind Jack [Young] and Max [Coates], I’d have taken that”, added Lidsey, “Things are starting to boil over a bit between those two, there’s a huge rivalry, but I’m just focused on keeping doing what we have been all year and picking up those podiums and points.”
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