Renault Sport Clio Elf International Cup 2001
Spa 10/06/2001

The “Coupe” Spirit
"Old Acquaintances"
The provisional entry list for the Clio Elf International Cup reveals the intended participation of a number of old hands in the Renault Sport championships, hailing especially from France, Italy and Belgium. To begin with there is a strong French contingent derived from the Coupe de France Renault Mégane: Arnaud Duprey, Nicolas Dupuy, Bruno Cosin, Ludovic Simon and Stéphane Eychenne were tough pace-setters in this sport! And Gilles Vannelet, who won this Coupe Mégane last year, is entering with high ambitions - especially as his Clio will bear the N° 1.

The Italian representatives will also be present in force in the line-up: for instance Nino and Maurizio Campani, Alessandro Balzan and Vito Postiglione (also to be met in the Clio Trophy paddock), as well as Michael Rangoni, younger brother of reigning Clio Trophy champion, Luca. In 2000 Postiglione took the Italian Renault Mégane Sport Cup title at the end of the very last round of the season, at Misano.

A handful of Belgians will also be joining in the fun, including Pierre-Yves Corthals who last year carried off the Belgian Renault Mégane Cup Elf 2000 - and did so without half-measures, winning the first six rounds on the calendar!

A mouth-watering European programme
Now that the Mégane is no longer with us, we must count on the drivers for the continuation of the famous "Coupe" spirit inaugurated by Renault Sport some thirty years back. And we can rely on them implicitly, especially as the programme before them for this first season of Clio Cup is a very attractive one.

Thus the kick-off on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit is a kingly present offered to competitors. No finer baptism of fire could be imagined for this new sport, over what is justly considered to be the world's top circuit.
Further prestigious meetings are lined up for later, on F1 circuits including Monza (Italy), Magny-Cours (France) and Germany's Nürburgring as well as on renowned tracks like Misano (Italy), Jarama (Spain) and Assen (the Netherlands); and the last round but one is scheduled for Nogaro in the South-West of France, to be watched by an extremely overheated crowd. That will leave the grand final, October 28, on a track which has not yet been determined.

Of these 9 events, 5 will be organised conjointly with the Renault Sport Clio Trophy - see below*. And on some of the courses the Clio Cup drivers will meet up with their chums from the different Formula Renault national championships: France, Italy and China - at Monza, June 24.

Top class competitors, a cute little bomber, prestigious circuits, and a very European programme: the first Renault Sport Clio Elf International Cup looks promising indeed.

A new formula...

After a first trial last year at national level in Switzerland, Portugal and Great Britain, Renault Sport are this year launching a new formula comprising several national championships (in Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain) and, above all, a new European competition in which Italy and France will be front-runners.

The Clio Cup replaces the Coupe Mégane which made a great contribution over many years to animating the circuits of many countries. Inaugurated at Spa-Francorchamps this June 10, in tandem with the 3rd round of Clio Trophy, this new discipline is planned for a minimum period of three years, to develop as the base product itself may develop. For Renault, the link between the motor industry and motor sport must be kept in the public eye.

A Renault Sport design, the Clio Cup is entirely assembled in Dieppe's Alpine factory, based on the Clio RS equipped with the 2 litre 16 valve engine. This powerhouse, also installed in the Formula Renault 2000, builds up to around 185 h.p. and, in combination with a sequential gear-box, makes the Clio a better performer than the Mégane.

With this new formula we are back to the Formula Renault philosophy: giving competitors a single product, the same for all, which is reliable, high-performing and attractive.
The best and most recent proof of the potential of the car is the result of a Clio 2.0l last week end at the Nürburgring 24 Hours race. This car finished 16th of the general classification and 2nd of its class. It raced 4000 km without any problem…

The “Coupe” Spirit

Pascal Destembert was long one of the prime movers of the Coupe in France; henceforth he is running his own team. Based at Uzès, “Speed Car” has two cars entered in Clio Trophy and two in Clio Cup, for Jean-Michel Pierre and his son Nicolas. “I think the Clio Cup is going to be like the Mégane, and that the “Coupe” spirit, dear to Renault Sport, will live on in the new formula. It’s true that many old Mégane hands are involved, including Jean-Michel - a real gentleman driver. For Nicolas it is only the beginning, but we shall be keeping a close eye on his progress.”

The Event’s Local Boys

This June 10 at Spa will find Pierre-Yves Corthals racing at home. Last year he won the Belgian Coupe Mégane, bagging full house six times (that means 6 fastest laps, 6 wins and 6 poles) and withdrew from the championship two rounds before the end to hand over the wheel of his car to a young prospective karting graduate, Karen Burton.
Pierre-Yves is looking forward to the first round of Clio Cup serenely: “We picked up the car early enough for me to get a lot of training in and go through all the adjustments. And it’s true that I know the Spa track like the back of my hand, rain or shine."
“It’s an easy car to drive, so I think the races will be very tight, both up front and midfield. That spells a lot of rough stuff!"
“I set up a team under my own name, in collaboration with Motorsport International, and Sébastien Ugeux is driving alongside me. Another Belgian will be joining in too - Michel Heydens, who is also lining up in Clio Trophy.”