Teenager Louis Doyle is planning a two-year stint in the JCW Championship this year after confirming his switch from the Renault Clio Junior Series.
Doyle has opted to leave the Renault series after just two rounds to instead focus on his maiden season of MINI CHALLENGE racing.
The Liverpool-based driver was unable to join the series for the season-opener at Oulton Park as he didn’t turn 16 until later in April, but he will now step up with the JamSport team.
“In truth I wanted to do the JCWs from the start of the year but it couldn’t happen due to my age,” said Doyle. “Now the time is right, so my debut will be at Rockingham and I’m planning to be in the series for the next two seasons.
“I’ve been with JamSport for the last 6 months, running with them in Clios too and they’re a great team. Even though they’re new to the CHALLENGE they showed their potential with Ant [Whorton-Eales] winning at Oulton, so I know I’ll be in a good place.
“The Clios were good fun, but the JCW is just a huge step forward from that. Words cannot express how different it feels. The Clios are limited in power in Junior-spec, so the JCW has about 100bhp extra, slick tyres and phenomenal brakes. It will definitely be a learning process, but I’ve tested a few times already and love the car.
“This year will be a learning year I think. It’s about getting used to racing with a lot more power in a really competitive field. Regardless, I’m aiming to break into the top 10 as soon as I can and take things from there.”