Max Marzorati (Harrow) has become the first driver to announce he will race in the new Renault UK Clio Cup Junior championship for 14 to 17-year-old drivers in 2017, with the 20Ten Racing with Pyro squad.

Sixteen-year-old Marzorati's announcement came on the opening day of Autosport International, among the world's leading motor racing shows being held at Birmingham's NEC (12-15 January).

Furthermore he has attracted support from Renault Retail Group UK for his first season in car racing.

Marzorati's previous racing experience includes trials bikes and national-level karting and he's even a dab hand at martial arts! He's also a student on UK motor sport's governing body the Motor Sports Association's AASE sports science programme.

He commented: 'I've sampled the UK Clio Cup Junior car a couple of times now and it is just phenomenal – I love driving it for its performance but also for what it is teaching me in terms of front-wheel-drive skills for the future.

'I'm really pleased to be with the 20Ten-Pyro set-up too. Between them they have had a lot of success in the senior UK Clio Cup so I know I am very good hands. The plan now is for more testing before the season starts in early June.'

20Ten with Team Pyro's Mark Hunt said: 'We are pleased to have Max joining the team for the new Renault UK Clio Cup Junior championship. Early testing shows he is an exciting prospect and definitely one to watch.'

Renault Retail Group's Managing Director Barry Jones added: 'We are excited about supporting Max in the 2017 Renault UK Clio Junior championship as we believe it will bring us closer to the fans and our customers around the country as all of the circuits on the calendar can be reached from one of our 19 dealerships nationwide.'

Will Fewkes, Renault Sport's UK Motorsport Championship Manager, said: 'We are delighted to welcome Max as the first driver onto the new Renault UK Clio Cup Junior grid in 2017. He is clearly very motivated and it will be interesting to see how a driver with some tidy results in club-level motor sport progresses – driver development is an integral part of UK Clio Cup Junior.'

The inaugural 2017 Renault UK Clio Cup Junior championship will take place over 12 races – two each at six events. They start at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire on Sat 3/Sun 4 June. CLICK HERE for the race calendar.

Drivers will be in cars almost identical to those raced in the high-profile senior Renault UK Clio Cup that appears at British Touring Car Championship events. The only differences are a minor modification to the ECU to limit cars to five gears and 100mph and a switch to road tyres, Michelin's high performance Pilot Sport 3.