Salisbury’s Ollie Pidgley will join top British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) team Ciceley Motorsport for its maiden assault on the Renault UK Clio Cup in 2016.
Pidgley showed a great deal of potential throughout a five-year karting career and during sporadic outings in the Michelin Clio Cup Series and the MSA Formula single-seater championship, which, like the UK Clio Cup, is played out in front of huge trackside audiences and the millions who tune in to ITV4’s comprehensive live television coverage of the BTCC and its supporting categories.
However, just weeks after announcing his intentions to enter the UK Clio Cup, Pidgley has bagged a seat with the latest addition to the grid, Ciceley Motorsport, which will continue with its highly successful BTCC programme next year.
Pidgley, a protégé of former Clio Cup Champion and team owner Danny Buxton, had the honour of shaking down Ciceley’s first Clio Cup racecar at Leicestershire’s Donington Park circuit on Thursday (17 December).
The teenager put in a strong performance but, while delighted to be taking the next step towards touring car stardom, he is well aware that the spotlight will be on him and his team when the season commences on the world-famous Brands Hatch Indy circuit on 2-3 April.
“There will be an expectation because it’s Ciceley, but that will come from outside – I don’t see it as a pressure, but I know I need to deliver,” said Pidgley. “They will want top results. Above all it’s just very exciting to be a part of Ciceley’s first season in the UK Clio Cup and they are making sure it is linked very strongly with their BTCC operation at race events.
“I already feel well-prepared and driving the new Ciceley car at Donington re-confirmed just how fantastic these cars are when you start to push them. They are also pretty much bulletproof in terms of reliability. The UK Clio Cup has been my goal for a couple of years now because it is the biggest one-make racing championship in terms of professionalism and following in Britain and it is also the number one stepping stone to where I want to be, which is touring cars.”
Ciceley Motorsport Team Principal, Russell Morgan, said: “We’re very happy to welcome Ollie (Pidgley) to the Ciceley fold as part of our exciting UK Clio Cup programme and have been highly impressed with what we’ve seen of him so far. He has a mature head on his young shoulders and is clearly both talented and determined – all traits that have convinced us he is our kind of driver.”
Renaultsport’s UK Motorsport Championship Manager, Will Fewkes, added: “Ollie (Pidgley) is an exciting addition to the UK Clio Cup grid for 2016 and with Ciceley I am sure he is in for an impressive debut season in the championship. It’s great, too, to see Ciceley ensuring its UK Clio Cup squad is very much part of its touring car operation at BTCC events – its approach to the job is sure to rub off positively on Ollie and those associated with him, as well as the UK Clio Cup grid as a whole.”