2024 TCR UK THRUXTON RACE WEEKEND

For the first time in its history, the BRSCC takes the TCR UK Touring Car Championship to the ultra high-speed Thruxton circuit in Hampshire as both it and the regular roster of support championships touch down for what could turn out to be a crucial weekend for all series in attendance. This will be a weekend full of tin-top action, supported by the Classic Touring Car Racing Club contesting their final rounds of the year alongside Civics, Fiestas and Audi TTs.

Silverstone was certainly a flashpoint for the TCR UK Touring Car Championship, where rivals Carl Boardley and Adam Shepherd had their share of eventful moments with each other, including a clash at the start of race one. While Boardley went on to win two more races, a nightmare meeting for Shepherd effectively all but ended his title chances after a string of mechanical issues and bad luck plagued him at Silverstone. Now it appears to be down to Boardley versus Callum Newsham at the top with two weekends to go.

Just 16 points separate the top two, while Brad Hutchison is almost 50 back in third but still with a loose chance to keep in touch, although he’ll need a really fortuitous meeting outscoring the pair ahead to truly be in contention come the finale. Darron Lewis and Luke Sargeant will also be hoping for another fruitful weekend results wise, both drivers proving they have the pace to step up and challenge for podiums when the regular front runners stumble.

The scenario is a little more straightforward over in the battle for the Milltek Sport Civic Cup title battle, with Area Motorsport currently performing a complete lock out of the first five places. Max Edmundson holds a 29 point advantage over teammate and key rival Josh Files, but unlike Josh, Max has no more dropped scores to fall back on at this stage meaning every single race result until the end of the season is critical. These two have been the men to beat throughout 2024 and that looks likely to stay the same.

Behind them in the standings, there’s still a chance for third down to fifth to shuffle around between their stablemates, as Alistair Camp, Harvey Caton and Lewis Kent covered by less than 40 points between them. There’s enough races for this trio to switch around further before the season is over, and others could leave their mark this weekend including Will Redford, Spencer Stevenson and Dave Marshall who can all challenge for podiums and even be in contention for the win.

Silverstone proved to be a rather interesting affair for the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship, with points leader Jenson O’Neill-Going further extending his lead on dropped scores to head to Thruxton with 78 points over second placed Finn Leslie. Finn’s overall title chances took a blow after a disqualification in race one, and now finds himself fighting a rear guard challenge from third placed Jacob Hodgkiss. All three were of course in the mix last time out and expect to be there again.

Behind them, plenty of drivers continue to make more progress as the season goes on. The Wera Tools Alliance Academy pair of Alfie Garford and Jenson Mason have steadily found more and more speed with each passing race weekend. Alfie even took his first win in race three, so he’s another to find the top step in 2024. The likes of Thomas Merritt, Jack Burgess, Billy Blockley, Archie Davies and Henry Foote are all certain to be top ten runners too, while George Foxlow, Maggie Webster, Callie Clifford and Michael Wheeler are sure to also be contenders in the Mk6 class.

The senior counterparts of the AIRTEC Motorsport Fiesta ST240 Championship are all involved in a chase of their own, as Alastair Kellett continues to hold a firm grip on the top of the points table. A mixed Silverstone weekend was still concluded with a win, helping him maintain a healthy lead over his main rivals. Gary Miller also made his mark last time with a first ST240 win at Silverstone, while Zach Lucas also got back to winning ways too to keep the fight for second close.

Simon Horrobin is also still in close proximity but will need to rebound back after a tough outing at Silverstone, while Connor Blackburn, Lucas Hayden and co will also be in striking range to score well. All of the above compete in Pro class, while in Am it’s close between the top three in class – Daniel Lewis and Archie Johnson currently tie on dropped scores with James Pope in third, meaning all three will be on their toes to finish ahead of each other.

If you want a close championship battle, then you needn’t look much further than that which is currently raging in the Audi TT Cup Racing Championship. Silverstone certainly turned the tide at the top of the table, with Bradley Burns adding two more wins and climbing to the championship lead by the end of the weekend. This now puts him three points ahead on dropped scores, while teammates and closest adversaries Matt Luff and Carl Swift have battled all year non-stop, the pair now tied on dropped scores in equal second.

This means another Area Motorsport podium lockout in the standings at this point, while in fourth it’s Rob Boston Racing’s Will Stacey. He’s been edging closer to that first TTCup win and narrowly missed out at Silverstone, while Andrew Dyer is an established name in this championship already and currently rounds off the top five just behind Stacey and aiming to take his spot. Keep your eyes peeled for other front running names, including top Masters racer Sean Smith, Paul Luti, Ross Makar, Jason Pelosi, Luke Handley and Steve Foden.

Alongside the regular BRSCC content, we’re also pleased to add to the tin-top flavour of the event to welcome the Classic Touring Car Racing Club onto the timetable to contest their final rounds of 2024. All eight of their series will be in action across four grids, two championship featuring at a time.

The oldest cars in the field will come from the Pre ‘66 & Pre ‘83 grid, with top scorers in their respective championships including Ian Thompson’s Lotus Cortina, Barry Sime’s Morris Mini Cooper S, Piers Grange’s Ford Mustang and Luc Wilson’s Austin A40 in Pre ‘66, and Nick Williamson’s Rover SD1, Stephen Primett’s Mk1 Ford Escort and Jonathan Corker’s Datsun 510 in Pre ‘83.

Bringing another plentiful mix, the Pre ‘93 and BOSS contenders will line up on a grid of their own, with their own wide variety of more tin-tops. In the Pre ‘93 ranks, it’ll be the BMW M3s of Stuart Waite, Kevin Willis and Ian Bower that are sure to be contesting the title after their consistent results all year, while the BOSS line-up features a wonderful selection of fast Ford with a trio of Ford Fiestas heading to Thruxton as the highest scoring cars all season. Tim Mizen, William Hunt and Olly Allen will also be bidding to come out on top in their hot hatches, but also watch out for Piers Grange on double duty, this time in his escort.

While the weather is set to be dry all weekend, there’s one part of the CTCRC paddock that will certainly bring plenty of noise! The Classic & Historic Thunder Saloons grid should be set to produce the loudest and most intense spectacle, especially with the cars on display. Top scorers, and therefore championship contenders, this season bidding for the title will include Josh Lawton’s Honda Civic, Nick Vaughan’s Audi A3, Ian Bower’s BMW M3 and Colin Voyce’s Ford Escort.

The last of the CTCRC grids could just save the best until last, as the fan favourite Super Tourers team up with the Pre ‘03 contenders for a true battle of modern tin-tops. The Super Tourers will feature Jason Hughes’ Vauxhall Vectra, Stuart Caie’s Vauxhall Cavalier and Stewart Whyte’s Honda Accord along with a handful of BTC-era touring cars, while over in the Pre ‘03 line up it’ll be the rapid Honda Civic of Gary Prebble that everyone will have to try and match, with closest rivals set to be Anton Martin and John Hillyer who also pilot BMW M3s too.

Written by Scott Woodwiss