BRSCC ENJOYS A WET AND WILD SUMMER SNETTERTON WEEKEND
Instead of the hot weather experienced in recent weeks, the BRSCC’s July visit trip to Snetterton mainly saw typical British summer conditions – rain. Nevertheless, a fine timetable of races filled with Citroen C1s, Fiestas, BMWs, CityCars and another variety packed ClubSport Trophy grid all took to the 300 circuit and produced another exceptional two days of club motorsport on track.
Dominating the timetable on both days with a three hour race on each, the Silverlake C1 Endurance Series put on two enthralling races, each winding up with late drama that decided the result of the race both times. Baycon Racing were drawn onto pole position after qualifying, but both the #421 Alpha-Trojon car and then Red Sky Racing both took turns in the lead as the early pit stops began to filter through. In total, no fewer than eight different teams took throughout the course of the race, but in the closing stages the advantage once again swung towards the Trojon team out in front.
But with a downpour going into the last hour of the race, further drama occurred when with just two laps to go, a rare error from Alpha-Trojon saw them run out of fuel and retire from the lead. This handed WRC Developments a very popular victory, with Baycon Racing picking up second less than 30 seconds behind them. PMF Racing with CSR was third ahead of RABsport Racing and Red Sky in the top five.
The wet weather continued into Sunday’s second three hour race of the weekend, where Kellamity Racing started on pole after the post-qualifying draw. Kellamity had four laps in the lead from the start before duelling with Silverlake early on. In fact Silverlake were in contention throughout most of the race and led three times throughout the encounter, but different pit strategies meant that they weren’t able to take the flag first in the end.
That would fall to WRC Developments once again, who again left it late to move up to P1 as they would only lead the final five laps to the flag. Nonetheless, victory is victory and WRC doubled up in fine style while pole sitters Kellamity Racing drove a fine race to pick up second place 12 seconds, while Silverlake still managed to claim third place after a hard fought race. Baycon Racing took fourth, while a trouble-hit Trojon Motorsport team could only manage rounding off the top five on this occasion.
There was a landmark moment in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship at Snetterton, as the paddock welcomed a record breaking 29 cars for a trio of races in rather mixed weather conditions across both days. With the championship also looking competitive heading back to Norfolk, it was always going to be busy on track and especially at the head of the field.
Isaac Doble opened the weekend with a hard-fought maiden victory in Saturday’s opener, leading early from pole and fending off challenges from Archie Davies and his cousin Chris Doble in a tense battle as the lead pack grew to six cars. Regaining control mid-race, Isaac managed to edge clear and took the win by 1.1 seconds from Chris, while Dara McInerney climbed from the second group to steal third after a late scrap with Davies and Thomas Merritt, who completed the top five. Jack Burgess had looked quick early on but dropped back with left-front damage, and 2025 Scholarship winner Lewis Islin was forced to retire late on with a right-rear issue.
McInerney struck back in race two with a composed drive to victory, moving into the lead before the end of lap one and steadily pulling away with a string of fastest laps to win by 1.8 seconds. Isaac Doble stayed in touch but a small error on the final lap invited pressure from Davies, who came up just 0.164 seconds short as Isaac held on to second. Chris Doble remained close in fourth throughout, while Daniella Sutton delivered another strong showing to complete the top five after running well in the lead group.
The final race on Sunday saw McInerney double up in tricky wet conditions, overcoming an early lead battle between the Doble pair that saw Chris initially take control before a mid-race safety car bunched the pack. At the restart, McInerney pounced with a decisive move into Riches to snatch the lead and gradually pulled clear to seal his second win of the weekend. Chris Doble held onto second after a tight scrap with Sutton, who briefly looked set for a podium before running wide and slipping back, allowing Thomas Merritt to take third ahead of Isaac Doble and a resurgent Jack Burgess in fifth.
Zach Lucas claimed victory in a damp opening race of the AIRTEC Motorsport Fiesta ST240 Championship at Snetterton, fending off a remarkable comeback from Alastair Kellett in the closing stages. Kellett dropped to 14th after an early off but charged back through the field with a series of fastest laps, climbing to second by lap eight and finishing just 0.9 seconds behind Lucas at the flag. Connor Blackburn grabbed third with a late move on early leader Rob Foxlow, who slipped to fourth ahead of Morgan Kidd, while Jason O’Connell took a composed Am class win in sixth overall, joined on the class podium by Luke Warr and Dan Robinson.
Kellett hit back in race two with a controlled drive from the front, beating pole-sitter Lucas off the line and holding off George Foxlow across the race distance to take victory by 1.4 seconds. Foxlow kept the pressure on with several fastest laps, but Kellett maintained a steady gap to seal the win. Gary Miller battled his way through a fierce midfield fight to finish third, just ahead of Am winner O’Connell, who secured fourth overall with a decisive late pass on Lucas after the latter ran wide on the final lap and dropped to sixth behind David Nye. Luke Warr and Maggie Webster completed the Am class podium.
The final race delivered a spectacular finish as Kellett stormed from 10th on the grid to snatch a dramatic victory in a last-lap drag race to the line, edging George Foxlow by just 0.1 seconds. On a damp track, the lead changed hands several times in a gripping battle that saw Zach Lucas lead early on before being shuffled back to third. Joseph Knight and Morgan Kidd rounded out the top five in a tightly packed lead group, with less than seven tenths covering the top four at the flag. Jason O’Connell continued his dominance in the Am class with another win in sixth overall, while Dan Robinson and Maggie Webster again completed the Am podium.
Thorburn Astin dominated the opening race of the Nankang Tyre BMW SuperCup Championship at Snetterton, converting 1 Series class pole into a commanding lights-to-flag win. After fending off a three-wide challenge from Simon Waterfall and Danny Wilkinson into Riches, Astin gradually pulled clear as light rain set in, building a gap of 9.8 seconds by the flag. Waterfall and Millie Hart completed the podium, while Aydan Hassan just edged Wilkinson for fourth. In the Compact Cup class, Steven Dailly made the perfect start from pole and controlled the race throughout, holding firm under pressure to win by 1.9 seconds. Reigning champion Connor Grady took second ahead of Joe Doble, with Max Noble and Paul Mousell completing the top five.
Astin completed a dominant double in race two, again leading every lap of the 1 Series contest and winning unchallenged by 8.9 seconds. Aydan Hassan slotted into second early on and held firm under pressure, while Millie Hart moved up to third with a clean pass on Waterfall and stayed there to the finish. The Compact Cup class followed a similar pattern to race one, as Dailly maintained his unbeaten form with another calm and measured drive at the front. Joe Doble and Grady swapped places in the early laps but couldn’t close the gap to the five-time champion, who held on to win by a second. Doble and Grady again completed the podium, with Noble and Mousell once more in fourth and fifth.
Chris Mackenzie mastered the wet conditions to win the opening Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup race of the weekend at Snetterton, hitting the front on lap two after an early scrap with Stuart Bliss and Ben Spencer before pulling clear to win by over five seconds. Alistair May climbed through the field to take second, while Alex Foden completed the podium. Bliss and Spencer rounded out the top five after a tight midfield battle. In the Student Motorsport Challenge, Bliss secured class honours for Boston College, followed by Alex Jackson for Sussex Motorsport and Richard Jepp for Northbrook Racing.
Race two saw Ben Spencer come out on top in a thrilling battle, taking the win despite intense pressure throughout. Alistair May led early from pole but Spencer hit the front on lap two and held on to win by just 0.217 seconds. Bliss claimed third, with Jepp and Brady Pollock completing a five-car lead pack that finished within just over a second of each other. Bliss also made it two class wins from two in the Student Motorsport Challenge for Boston College, with Jepp second for Northbrook Racing and Pollock third for West Suffolk College BP.
Josh Files delivered a dominant performance in a wet SW Motorsports ClubSport Trophy race at Snetterton, taking overall victory and Class B honours in emphatic style. After briefly losing the lead off the line to pole-sitter Shane Kelly’s Morgan, Files reclaimed it immediately at Wilson Hairpin and never looked back, building a huge advantage before the pit stops. A smooth stop saw him rejoin still comfortably clear, eventually crossing the line over 38 seconds ahead of the field. Richard Clarke brought his VW Golf home second overall to win Class A, with Kelly completing the podium.
Alistair Lindsay and Nick Brady rounded out the top five. Other class winners included Ryszard and Krzysztof Nowobilski in Class C (BMW Z4), Joshua Hilton in Class D (BMW E36 Compact), and Craig Ferns and James Dermott in Class E (BMW E36 Compact).
Written by Scott Woodwiss
