NEWPORT'S Rory Collingbourne heads to the third meeting of the 2016 Renault UK Clio Cup in confident form as the championship makes its way to the notoriously challenging Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

Billed as the ‘fastest circuit in the UK’, Thruxton presents a number of unique challenges for drivers and engineers, not least in the special compound tyre required for the meeting due to the circuit's abrasive track surface.

In addition, the Hampshire venue features some of the fastest corners in the country, such as the infamous flat-out left-hander at Church and the sequence of corners in Sector One that are aptly nicknamed 'the Complex'.

At Donington Park last time out, Team Cooksport’s Collingbourne turning around the disappointment of qualifying with a brace of strong points finishes.

Starting 19th and 20th respectively, the teenager stormed through to claim finishes of 11th and ninth, which saw him move up to 12th in the overall standings after four races.

Thruxton holds extra cause for optimism for the 18-year-old after he topped the timesheets during wet weather at a test day there a few weeks ago.

Electing to miss the initial part of the session to analyse the performance of his closest rivals, Collingbourne then took to the circuit and shot to the lead of the field on his first flying lap.

Even when the track surface dried and the times began to tumble, he remained in a very strong third amid several championship contenders and former winners.

Bearing all these factors in mind, the team, and Collingbourne, expects a strong pair of results in this weekend’s two races.

“I can't wait to get to Thruxton” admitted Collingbourne “We proved ourselves around there at the last test day and we're confident. For qualifying, that's going to be crucial.

“It’s nice to go into a session knowing I'm fully capable of putting together an optimum lap and getting the result we're all after, which is of course pole position.

“Even in the drying conditions, we remained as high as third, so I've got every reason to be in high spirits heading there.”

WDE Motorsport’s Paul Rivett leads the series by 13 points from Finesse Motorsport’s Paul Streather, with Collingbourne’s teammate Lee Pattison just behind in third.

The third Team Cooksport driver, George Jackson, lies ninth, 14 points ahead of Collingbourne.

The action can be seen on ITV4 from 11am on Sunday.