He will compete at Thruxton with the Mike Ritchie Motorsport (MRM) team with which he finished runner-up in last year’s club-level BARC Michelin Clio Cup Series to James Dorlin. The latter has stunned in his first two UK Clio Cup events in 2017.

Astonishingly Lidsey is taking part in Thruxton’s official UK Clio Cup test today before taking his car straight to the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium for this weekend’s opening rounds of the Benelux Clio Cup series.

Lidsey, sponsored by Lift Out Ltd, commented: “I’d like to come in at Thruxton and do a James Dorlin but we will have to wait and see. I just want to enjoy myself instead of aiming for anything special.

“But this is a bit of a dream come true – I’ve watched the UK Clio Cup on ITV4 for many years alongside the British Touring Car Championship and wanted to be a part of those events.

“I’ll only be doing Thruxton and the season finale at Brands Hatch in early October – in between we’ll be doing the Benelux rounds. It’s a scene I know already and they race on the same Michelin tyres – it’ll give me plenty of seat time to prepare for a full-time move into the UK Clio Cup in 2018.”

Will Fewkes, Renault Sport’s UK Motorsport Championship Manager, said: “Brett is a very interesting addition to our entry list for Thruxton – particularly having pushed James Dorlin to the Michelin Clio title in 2016 and then having seen what James has done subsequently in the UK Clio Cup.

“It is also very encouraging to see another seemingly well-sorted one-car team taking advantage of the sensible budgets associated with the UK Clio Cup and joining the grid.”

Thruxton’s two UK Clio Cup races in early June will take place alongside the BTCC’s latest rounds – cue a bumper trackside crowd and live coverage on ITV4. CLICK HERE to buy tickets. Admission for children aged 15 and under is free.