Harrison is a former karting ace (among his successes is a British Super One Mini Max title) and he also won the MINI Challenge Cooper class in 2015 before narrowly missing out on the senior JCW crown at his first attempt.
Now, though, comes his move into the UK Clio Cup – the premier ‘single make’ race category in Britain and recognised as the ultimate proving ground for drivers looking to make it to the star-studded British Touring Car Championship.
Indeed life for Harrison will be somewhat different in 2017 as all 18 of the UK Clio Cup’s races take place at the BTCC’s high-profile fixtures – that means massive trackside crowds (average 38,000+ in 2016) as well as the bonus of live free-to-air TV coverage on ITV4.
Harrison, aged 20, commented: “The dream has always been the BTCC and I have looked seriously at the UK Clio Cup before – thanks to my main sponsor Warburton Building Services increasing their support I’m now on the grid and excited about joining JamSport who won the title last year. Things are certainly going to increase on the publicity front…
“I’ve watched lots of the UK Clio Cup action on TV and the racing is really close and also a big challenge which is what I like. The biggest challenge could be Thruxton – it’s the fastest track in the country and I’ve not raced there before.”
JamSport Team Principal Jamie Going said: “We’re really pleased to have Nathan as part of our driver line-up for 2017 – as reigning champions we’ve clearly got some honour to defend after our success and he’s an exciting talent who’s put his faith in us as he looks to a career in touring cars. I’m sure we can hit the ground running together and quickly be in the hunt for strong results.”
Renault Sport’s UK Motorsport Championship Manager Will Fewkes added: “We very much welcome Nathan to the UK Clio Cup and it’ll be interesting to see how JamSport evolve as a team now they have that first title under their belt. Certainly our 2017 grid is shaping up once more to be the most exciting out there for teams, drivers and sponsors looking to progress in the future into touring cars.”
Images of Nathan Harrison with JamSport UK Clio Cup car and JamSport Team Principal Jamie Going courtesy of Tom Ross/Animantium Productions.