BRSCC SET FOR A SILVERSTONE SUMMER SCORCHER
The Home of British Motorsport prepares to once again be the home of the British Racing & Sports Car Club, as Silverstone’s National circuit plays host to another action-packed Summer Race Weekend in store. There’s healthy grids to be expected across the board, with Fun Cup Endurance and ClubSport Trophy bringing the long distance factor, and the likes of Fiestas, CityCars, BMWs and more providing top sprint action.
Last time out in the Fun Cup Endurance Championship double header at Croft, something happened which up until now many would have thought to be impossible – defending champions Olympian-GRD didn’t win a race. Instead it was former champions UVio/ Hofmann’s Motorsport and Sheradize that shared the spoils across the day in Yorkshire. Those results have helped close the gap to Olympian to just five points with UVio in the driving seat to challenge. This is an old rivalry that’s played out for the last few seasons, and it could be about to truly re-ignite over this four hour race.
Alongside the top two, there forty points now separating third down to eighth, which has real potential to change around a lot of some hit problems during the race on Saturday. Currently, consistency from Axiametics places them in P3 ahead of Vapeclub with EDF, Sheradize UK, Red River Sport, Greenheath and PLR Racing. All of them have shown time and time again that not only can they hang at the front, but they can be in contention for victories consistently. In a field that’s set to exceed 20+ cars once again, the National circuit will lend itself to close, side-by-side battles and lots of entertainment.
The BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship is riding on the crest of a wave right now off the back of its biggest ever entry last time out at Snetterton with 29 cars. Now firmly cemented as one of the best supported and most competitive junior championships in the UK, this year’s crop of talented youngsters heads to Silverstone for the first time this season, on the short and fast National layout that’s guaranteed to produce stellar racing.
Out in front, it’s Thomas Merritt who holds the current points lead even though his Snetterton weekend last time out didn’t quite give him all the results he wanted. His best was a third place in race three, but he still heads the table by 16 going to Silverstone. Being one of the strongest sophomore drivers in the field, Merritt is gunning for the title this year and is giving himself his best shot.Hot on his heels is Dara McInerney, who is fresh from two victories at Snetterton and will want to keep up that momentum going forwards into the home of British motorsport. Now he’ll have some new found confidence, he’ll be pushing to give Merritt and co a hard time all weekend and bidding to add to that win tally.
Archie Davies and Issac Doble are tied for third place and both have a win apiece in their results thus far, so Silverstone will be the opportunity for either one to break the deadlock. While Davies’ form has been slightly mixed recently while Doble has found something of a purple patch with podiums from four of the last five races, so perhaps his form is turning compared to Archie’s. Jack Burgess was early championship leader, but now goes to Silverstone in fifth, not helped by a DNF in race one from Snetterton. There’s still three events plus the dropped scores factor to come, so Jack’s not totally out of contention and can still be in this at the end.
The rest of the top features a crop of talented names all vying for position, including both of our FJC Scholarship winners. 2024 scholar Daniella Sutton is having an incredible sophomore year herself and came agonizingly close to her first podium at Snetterton, only to be denied by a mistake at Riches corner that dropped her back. 2025 winner Lewis Islin is also looking solid, but hoping for a return to the form that scored him podiums early in the season, but on the whole is doing a superb job in his first year of racing. Chris Doble is on a high from his best weekend to date at Snetterton, while first full seasons for Oliver Heron and Max Fenton currently place them in the top ten.
This grid of Juniors is as strong as its ever been and on a circuit like Silverstone National, they could have the potential to be one of the show stealers of the weekend.
If there’s one thing that the Fiestas are in the AIRTEC Motorsport Fiesta ST240 Championship, it’s fast. Especially on circuits that will bring the best out of them, such as Silverstone. With its long straights, the National circuit at the home of British motorsport is certainly going to be the perfect place to unleash all 240bhp contained in these turbo rockets, as the championship now firmly progresses into the second half of the campaign.
Staying on course to defend his overall and Pro class crown, Alastair Kellett has been able to extend a lead on total points, helped by an excellent Snetterton meeting last time out. With two wins and a second place adding to his tally, Kellett wants a double title and is on the right course to make it happen. Silverstone hasn’t always been the happiest hunting ground for him, but perhaps this time it’ll be different. Fellow Irishman Gary Miller, an early points leader, has a deficit to make up overall but should be closer on dropped scores in second. He hasn’t won since Oulton Park in May, but staying in the lead group has helped him retain solid points scoring.
In an impressive third is Fiesta Junior graduate George Foxlow, already a race winner from Anglesey and now a consistent front running presence in the field. Being only 16 points off Miller in second, there’s every chance he’ll close that gap or even move past him by the end of the weekend, dovetailing his ST240 exploits with the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge too. Zach Lucas is fourth, a regular title contender and race winner, but he’s again having a slightly inconsistent season. In contention for the win on some occasions, further back on others, Zach needs to get back to regular podiums and victories to be in the mix.
Overall in fifth is where we find Am class leader Jason O’Connell, whose pace has been phenomenal enough to even take overall pole positions in recent meetings. With two outright second places at Anglesey under his belt too, his efforts to become Am class winner this season are going better than even he expected. He has a substantial lead over second placed Luke Warr, with Maggie Webster in third still despite a mixed Snetterton weekend.
Others to watch in the field in Pro class will include young guns like Connor Blackburn, James Pope, Morgan Kidd and Joseph Knight, while Simon Horrobin brings the experience too. Dan Robinson will also be a name to monitor in Am class, the former ST150 racer enjoying his step up to the turbos.
Venturing to Silverstone to keep the second half of their season progressing in 2025, the Nankang Tyre BMW SuperCup rolls into the home of British motorsport on the National circuit for the next chapter in this year’s campaign. Both the 1 Series and Compact Cup classes are being fiercely contested, and Silverstone is only certain to add to the excitement across this weekend’s three races.
It’s still Millie Hart in control of the 1 Series class thanks to early results, and it’s the consistent scoring on the podium each time that has really helped her to build the points lead she currently enjoys, even if she’s only had the one victory. Millie sits 52 points ahead of second placed Simon Waterfall, who could have been closer had a DNF at the Snetterton opener not cost him points. Nevertheless, he’s the nearest challenger and has been getting stronger with every race in the 1 Series and could be in prime position when dropped scores come into play.
Aydan Hassan has third place in class, another regular podium finisher who is improving and getting faster every weekend, while Thorburn Astin is tearing up the table in fourth with five win in a row leaving him unbeaten since Oulton Park in May. He’ll be waiting for dropped scores to kick in, but could be in prime position when they do. Also watch out for David Meadows and Chris Stretton too.
After Steven Dailly’s cameo appearance at Snetterton that netted him a pair of wins, the Compact Cup class will see its regular front runners take over again in the battle for victory. Managing to still score two podiums behind Dailly, points leader Joe Doble continues at the top of the pile. He’s almost 30 points ahead of Max Noble in second place, a beacon of consistency having finished every race and both in and around the top five. Then comes Connor Grady in third place, the defending champion with a little catching up to do, but still has the pace to win races as he has done three times this year. It’s not going to be easy, but he’ll be up to the task.
Ten points separate Keith Towers in fourth and Mike Doble (father of Joe) in a battle for best outside the top three. Keith has been another consistent points scorer, while Mike has also scored plenty of solid results but has been fighting back from an early DNF at Snetterton in April. There’s still more time for back and forth between these two and Silverstone could be that flash point. Others to watch for include Ethan Woods, Adam Wright, Tim Seaford and Paul Mousell, while former champ Gareth Claydon missed Snetterton and is back to make up ground, especially after winning again at Donington.
It’s no surprise that going to Silverstone this weekend for the latest round of the Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup, featuring the Student Motorsport competition, has a bumper entry – and this one is special. This weekend marks one of the biggest grids the championship has ever featured, and with 40+ cars in attendance, such is the size that an A/B/C group system is being used to give everyone two races.
It’s getting very close at the top – Stuart Bliss still leads the championship, no surprises there. But it’s the margin that’s the talking point here. While in the past he’s enjoyed a substantial gap at the top, this time it’s just three points to second placed Alistair May, who is using all of his C1 Endurance experience to run towards the front and has barely escaped the top five all season. Bliss will be gunning for that second title, but he needs his 2024 form to return to better secure it.
Richard Jepp is third, another top SM driver that is hoping to try and retain the crown for Northbrook Racing. While no race win has been forthcoming yet, there’s a good chance it could come here given Silverstone’s fast and high speed nature on this layout. Ben Spencer has been by far the best of the rookies having already taken pole positions and two wins, so watch for him to add to his impressive streak so far. And rounding off the top five, Alex Foden is also enjoying a stellar season with a podium finish last time at Snetterton, his confidence will be up this weekend too.
Behind the top five, look for the likes of Christopher Mackenzie, Philip House, Chris Parkes, Alex Jackson and Brady Pollock all in the top ten right now. Mackenzie has two wins to his name this year, but missing Oulton Park means he’ll have to rely on dropped scores to stay in contention at the top.
Boston College Racing 1 still lead the Student Motorsport contest at this stage thanks to Bliss with Northbrook Racing 1 also still on their tail. Sussex Motorsport, West Suffolk College ME’s group of teams and the second Boston and Northbrook teams will also be hoping to score well and be competitive all weekend long.
The Silverstone National circuit is one of the best venues to race a Formula Ford, and this weekend the Geoff Page Engineering Super Classic Formula Ford Pre ‘99 Championship visits the home of British motorsport. With fine action expected across all four classes, this weekend sees the biggest entry of the season to date with no fewer than 26 cars expected to line up in Northamptonshire this weekend.
Super Classic A class is especially packed for this weekend’s event. Along with the usual suspects at the top of the table such as points leader Tom Hawkins, Neil Hunt, the returning Ben Powney and Vincent Jay amongst other regulars, there’s some interesting cameos in the class this time including a returning Gaius Ghinn, David Townsend, Paul Mason and Alex Ames, a previous race winner in this championship before.
For Super Classic B, Oliver Roberts has to be a favourite and looking to rebound from his mechanical issues at Oulton Park last time out. Chris Stones is another who can always be counted on for a good performance, while Jaap Blijleven gets another crack at the championship after his weekend was curtailed early at Oulton after he too had issues that stopped him racing. Koen Baretta will be present in class too, as will the likes of Mathew Smith and Don Boyack.
Super Classic C is particularly well populated this time, even if the majority of the entries are guests for this event. In terms of points scorers, Colin Williams and Stuart Kestenbaum will certainly want to keep it competitive between each other, but their guest contenders are certainly going to make things interesting. They include Graham Payne, Alan Fincham, Simon Langman, Martin O’Connell and Andy Gosling who are all hoping for a great day’s racing.
There’s also a good trio in Super Classic D, for the oldest cars in the field, with George Townsend, Ian Jeary and Julian Stokes ready to scrap amongst themselves for the honours. This will be a fascinating day of Formula Ford racing, and it sure to provide plenty of wheel-to-wheel action from start to finish.
The SW Motorsports ClubSport Trophy rolls back into town for its next installment of the 2025 season, and it’s back to Silverstone for the second time this season. First time out it was on the full GP circuit, but now it’s on the shorter, sharper and faster National circuit – and they’re bringing a stacked grid with them too. No less than 40 cars are set to compete, making it another typical packed ClubSport grid yet again.
Once again, usual suspects are back in the top category of Class A – these will certainly be the main cars in the mix for overall victory and are sure to be ones to watch. They include Phiroze Bilimoria and Roman Grendel in VW Sciroccos, VW Golfs for David Cox, Adam Marshall, Mike Parsons, Richard Clarke and Julian Daniel, and Shane Kelly’s Morgan. So far there’s been some great back and forths at every event, so this could be another one that goes down to the wire.
Class B is going to be mainly the home of Audi TTs and BMW Z4s, again the typical cars that get involved in ClubSport on a regular basis. On the Audi front, Graham Price and Brian Rose share one, Alistair Lindsay and Jason Pelosi drive another two between them, and another three come in the form of Paul Savage, Rory Pickles and Nick Brady. With the Z4s, watch out for the likes of Kieran Power, Adam Radford, Darren and Joseph Jukes, Steve Wood, and Chris Murphy. Also appearing here are Honda Civics from Kristian Goodall and Mark Jones, Nick Watling’s Ford Fiesta, Stephen Harrison’s Honda S2000 and Kevin Stirling’s Renault Clio.
Over in Class C, a quartet of cars are ready to go to battle. Chris Mayhew brings his Clio Cup Car, Trevor Algar prepares to share his BMW with the one and only Wil Arif, the Nowobilski pair are back too with their BMW Z4, and Craig Emmerson’s BMW 330. There’s plenty of competition set to take place in Class D, especially with the likes of the return of the Butterworths Craig and Gary in their new Renault Clio up against former class winner Jonathan Hobbs’ Peugeot 106 Rallye, Steven Watson in his Puretrack prepared Clio, more BMW Z4s for Paul Mercer and Dan Kennard, Tom Kirton in a Hills Motorsport Mazda MX-5 and Martin Smith’s MINI Cooper.
There’s also only one representative in Class E, but it’s a notable one. A Silverlake DS3 Cup cars in the hands of its coordinator Andrew Payne and Henry Swanson, the latter fresh from racing one at Cadwell Park last weekend, is in the field to compete and raise further awareness of the new series. We’ll be intrigued to see how it compares!
Written by Scott Woodwiss
