I'm pretty sure it was horney s stripped out 1.9 8v that had a sprint time similar to a focus st.
Not all that difficult, my bog standard Clio 172 was setting faster times at Curborough than an E36 M3 and an E46 M3, both of which have over 100 ponies in hand over the Clio (as well as being faster than a properly prepared caged, slicked and TB'd Clio) whilst being beaten by an MG TF160 with less power.... Its all about the circuit and the driver and sprint circuits typically dont do heavy cars any justice.