The only exception to this from the nine meetings so far confirmed for 2004 is the season-opening event at Thruxton, Hampshire. This particular test will be a shared session with the Formula Renault UK Championship cars on Thursday, 8th April.

For the remainder of the year ELF Renault Hill House Hammond Clio Cup runners will test on Friday afternoons for around two hours meaning teams can now offer much improved packages to prospective drivers, many of whom may struggle to find the required time away from work commitments.

Cliff Johnson, owner of reigning Winter Champion outfit Boulevard Team Racing, commented: "I'm very pleased with this move by the championship organisers as it will prove to be a major benefit for the team, both from a practicality point of view next season and also in negotiations with prospective drivers ahead of next year.

"Time-wise and staff-wise this will make a huge difference to us. It used to be quite a problem at some circuits, especially those involving a lot of travel, whereby we would need to be away from our business from quite some time but now this can be almost halved which is great news."

SpeedEquipe Motorsport team manager Dave Older said: "This is a very good move by Renault UK and it will make this championship even more attractive. What I'm pleased about the most is how we will now be able to run a race weekend much more cost effectively and offer drivers a much better 'value for money' deal.

"It also means transport costs could be halved. At circuits like Knockhill and Croft this will be a massive benefit to teams like ourselves who are based in the south of England, and vice versa for northern teams when they travel south. I'm very glad to hear this announcement."

At seven of the tests, Clio Cup teams and drivers will benefit from exclusive attention and support from Renault's team as the series will not be sharing those days with stablemate Formula Renault.

"This move represents the biggest shake-up of how we operate since joining TOCA over 10 years ago", commented Championship Manager Simon North. "Competitors in both Renault championships will benefit from more attention from our support team enabling us to improve on our already excellent service."

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