CLIO TROPHY BY TOKSPORT WRT IS GO FOR 2021 ERC
- Arrive-and-drive series for Renault Clio Rally5 offers accessible international experience
- Format designed to control costs and deliver a level playing field for competitors
- Identical Michelin-equipped cars prepared by Toksport WRT’s expert technicians under one roof
- Round-by-round prize fund and Renault Clio Rally4 ERC prize drive up for grabs
- Applications open on February 1 with 10 spaces available on first come, first served basis
- No maximum age limit encourages mass-participation in ERC support category
Accessible arrive-and-drive rallying is coming to the FIA European Rally Championship in 2021 with confirmation of the exciting Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT**.
Using the Renault Clio Rally5 on Michelin tyres as standard, the Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT takes place over five ERC events and offers a number of prizes and incentives to competitors.
A joint initiative from Renault Sport Racing, FIA European and world title-winning team Toksport WRT and ERC promoter Eurosport Events, the Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT uses a format unique to the ERC.
How it works?
- Toksport WRT brings its fleet of identical competition-ready Renault Clio Rally5 cars to all five rounds
- Each Renault Clio Rally5 is housed within a dedicated service park structure where they are prepared and maintained by an expert team of technicians from Toksport WRT
- Fuel and 12 Michelin tyres are allocated to each Renault Clio Rally5 per event
- Drivers apply to take part upon the opening of registrations and successful applicants must then register for the FIA ERC3 category to be eligible
- Ten places are up for grabs with each driver charged €85,000 for the five-event season. Full details are available by emailing cliotrophy@toksport.com
- There is no maximum age limit to encourage a wide spectrum of participants
What’s on offer?
- Round-by-round prize money to the top four classified finishers (€4000, €2000, €1000, €500)
- Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT title winner gets a three-event FIA European Rally Championship prize drive in 2022 in a Renault Clio Rally4
- Points are awarded to the top 10 finishers with double points on offer at the final round to all drivers who have entered and started the first four events of the season
- On-event hospitality for competing drivers
- 100 kilometres of gravel and asphalt testing ahead of the first event on each surface
- OMP overall for each driver and co-driver
- Media coverage and media training
Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT 2021 calendar**
Round 1: 55th Azores Rallye (Gravel)
Round 2: 77th Rally Poland (Gravel)
Round 3: Rally di Roma Capitale (Italy, asphalt)
Round 4: 50th Barum Czech Rally Zlín (Asphalt)
Round 5: Rally Hungary (Asphalt)
Benoît Nogier, Renault Sport Racing Customer Racing Director, said: “We are delighted to launch a new trophy in cooperation with Toksport WRT, an accomplished and experienced team in the rallying world. Toksport WRT were the first to run Clio Rally5 in the FIA ERC and the idea of a mixed-surface, single-operator trophy at the European level, complementary to the national Clio Trophies, quickly made its way to offer a fair and affordable springboard for drivers wishing to discover the championship. The 2022 ERC prize drive with Clio Rally4 is also testimony to our commitment to promote new talents in all our Trophies. We are convinced that many competitors will be attracted by the great package the FIA ERC through Eurosport Events, Toksport WRT and Renault Sport Racing put together in 2021.”
Serkan Duru, Director, Toksport WRT, said: “We continue our cooperation with Renault Sport, which we started in 2020, with the Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT that we will organise in 2021. We hope that Renault Clios of equal specification that are proven to be robust, will give drivers a high level of competition and driving pleasure. The Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT drivers will both have the opportunity to compete in the FIA European Rally Championship and be a part of this great competition.”
Jean-Baptiste Ley, ERC Co-ordinator, Eurosport Events, said: “Adding this cost-effective, entry-level category to the ERC structure will provide another helping hand for drivers aiming to make the step up from national competition to the international stage. And with no maximum age limit, this really is a class for all-comers. The Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT also perfectly complements the ERC Junior ladder and the Abarth Rally Cup, two alternative entry options available to prospective ERC competitors.”
The Renault Clio Rally5 in short
After being put through its paces by ERC3 event winner Florian Bernardi as a course car on Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 2020, the Renault Clio Rally5 began its competition life on Mexico’s FIA World Rally Championship round in March. A number of national Trophies got underway last autumn with more than 30 crews contesting the Clio Trophy France opener in September. Ola Jr Nore and Rachele Somaschini were then invited to drive the two Toksport WRT-run Clio Rally5s on Rally Hungary last November, the car’s FIA European Rally Championship debut, where Nore scored an ERC3 Junior podium. It remains unbeaten in the RC5 class at international level following the recent Rallye Monte-Carlo. The Clio Rally5 features an arc-welded steel monocoque, a four-cylinder, 16-valve, 1330cc turbocharged engine generating 180bhp and a Sadev five-speed sequential gearbox.
**Subject to FIA World Motor Sport Council approval