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The noise it makes is simply deafening – imagine a hornet’s nest being plugged into Wembley Stadium’s PA system, and you’re nearly there

Vijay Pattni spends a day in the passenger seat of the race-spec Clio with driving prodigy Stefan Hodgetts.

Under starter’s orders

A phalanx of Ferraris, Porsches and Lotus’ thrum around with scant regard for noise pollution, floating through the heaving paddocks like supermodels on a catwalk.

Lined up behind us is some of the world’s finest automotive exotica – a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale rolls into the rear view mirror; behind it, a hardcore Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

And bringing up the rear, a Lotus Exige pulls in menacingly behind the throng of track-day specials.

Stefan and I head up the pack, sitting at the front of the paddock waiting for the official to wave us onto the track.

The Clio’s engine is off, and Stefan taps away at the thick steering wheel as though waiting in line at the Post Office.

“Have you ever done this kind of thing before?” he asks, in his Black Country drawl.

I shake my head.

Stefan smiles and gives me the thumbs up, and I begin squirming nervously as he prepares the Clio for take off, pushing all manner of switches, before hitting the big red starter button, firing the hardcore Renault into life.

The noise it makes is simply deafening – imagine a hornet’s nest being plugged into Wembley Stadium’s PA system, and you’re nearly there.

He blips the throttle, sending the revs through the roof and my eardrums to meet their maker, before the official waves us through and Stefan shoots the Clio into Donington.

Steering into the very first bend, Stefan oversteers the track-honed Clio into a powerslide, before regaining control and storming past a TVR which rightly moves out of the way.

Stefan turns to me – while executing death-defying speeds and cornering – to give a quick thumbs up to make sure I’m ok.

I gingerly hold up my hand to signal I’m alive.

Stefan seems to take the sign as an indication to press on – and he gladly obliges by storming past a race-spec Ferrari 360 and Vauxhall VX220, accelerating manically through the corners when all rational logic would imply this feat is impossible.

But the amazing thing which strikes me is the eye-watering level of grip the Clio generates through the bends – Stefan simply points and the Clio obliges, hustling around the course like an eager puppy.

Racing against the odds

As we pull back into the paddock, ears ringing, I speak to Stefan about the Clio.

“I slid it going into that first bend on purpose”, says Stefan. “The Clio’s tyres were still cold and so the grip wouldn’t have been any good.”

Reassured, I sit down to regain some composure and listen to the young Clio Cup starlet.

“You can only get a really good lap time in once the tyres are warmed up – the slide builds up heat in the tyres really quickly so I can concentrate on the rest of the track.”

And concentrate he did – 2007 was his debut season in the hotly contested Elf Renault Clio Cup – winning a record five races and a clutch of lap records.

But how did Stefan compete with over 40 Clios racing tightly together on the track?

“You get a feel for who is around you”, he says. “Other than that, you generally know somebody is next to you when you hit them.”

And as I take a quick stroll around the two MOMO (which stands for MOretti-MOnza) Clios cooling off in the garage, I understand his point – they are both battle-hardened racers bearing the bruises of a hotly fought series, with the MOMO team led by Sean Brown, Managing Director of Brown and Geeson – the UK’s sole distributor of MOMO products.

“Sean offered me a race in the MOMO Clio”, explains Stefan, “and in the first race at Rockingham, I won.”

But this wasn’t just a case of beginners luck. Despite zero experience behind the wheel of the hardcore Clio, Stefan made waves with his performances.

“I won the next three races after that too”, Stefan said. “MOMO put together a great package for me and although we didn’t win, we had a fantastic year.”

Mountaineering in a Mitsubishi?

And talking of great car packages, what does Stefan drive in his spare time?

“I’m really lucky because I’ve driven loads of sportscars. But at home I drive a Mitsubishi Galant – for no other reason than me and my friends being able to put our pushbikes in the back.”

“All through the summer I was up and down the Welsh mountains for fun, and also it keeps me fit too, keeping my reaction times sharp.”

So what would be the dream motor then?

“The Ferrari F40 – it’s one of the few cars around which can kill you.”

After that brief cool down, we’re back out on the track, overtaking Lamborghini Gallardos and track-special Caterhams, and it’s here that the Bromsgrove-born racer shows his talents, chucking the Clio into bends at unimaginable speeds and displaying razor-sharp cornering prowess.

Clio Craziness

And the Clio is an engineering masterpiece.

Churning out 205bhp from its 2-litre engine, the malleable front-wheel-drive Clio comes equipped with race-spec brakes and suspension, and a tiptronic six-speed gearbox.

Although the engine remains the same as the road-going Clio, the suspension is infinitely adjustable, and it is here where the teams can gain crucial tenths of a second to secure victory, something which Sean points out to me.

“The cars are so closely matched, between the top contenders there is only a fraction of a second in it”, Sean explains.

Something he is keen to point out to his son, Daniel, who is hurtling around the track testing out the Clio.

He shrugs his shoulders but lets out a little smile. “I suppose he has to do it sometime.”

Just then, Daniel pulls into the paddock and I ask him how it went.

“It’s OK – the Clio’s great around the bends, but it’s a little slow on the straights.”

Slow?