BRSCC GOING INTERNATIONAL AT SILVERSTONE FOR FINALS WEEKEND
It’s time to close the show for several championships this weekend as the British Racing & Sports Car Club returns to Silverstone once more for the Nankang Tyre Finals Weekend, where champions are set to be provisionally crowned. With plenty more incredible racing guaranteed as the contenders take to the International circuit and the Wing complex to round out their seasons, there’s action abound from Mazda MX-5s, BMWs, CityCars, Fords, Minis and MGs – variety to satisfy all those in attendance!
The Kent Models Mazda MX-5 Championship comes to its conclusion for the 2025 season this weekend on Silverstone’s International circuit, where one man’s quest for the title will reach its final chapter. With a healthy entry for the finale ready to take to the track one last time, the Mk1s are ready to do what they do best – race hard, race fast and put on a great show.
So – let’s start with what seems to be the inevitable. The near unstoppable Ali Bray practically has one hand on the title already, after he maintained his unprecedented 100% win streak at Croft last time out. While he didn’t cross the line first in all three (he was promoted to the race one win after a time penalty for Steve Foden), the record is still unblemished – 20 wins from 20 races. This weekend is all but certain to see Bray provisionally collect the title, but while he’s not chasing it – remaining unbeaten will be in the back of his mind. If he can achieve it, it will be the season he was nothing short of invincible.
Main rival Steve Foden will chase him all the way but looks resigned to second place, which is no mean feat considering how tough this championship is. As a former champion himself, Foden knows what it takes and his season has been a strong one too. Finishing every race and never leaving the podium, his silverware collection is getting heavy and while he’d love to take a win before the season closes, he knows it’ll be tough with Bray standing in his way. As for third place, it looks to be going the way of Neil Chisnall, who has enjoyed a breakout season this year and managed to break into the podium places in races. He’s on course for his best ever season finish and would love to end it on a high.
Fourth and fifth also appear to be on the cards for Adam Craig and Richard Wootten, with Craig managing to rise this high despite being yet to score a podium this season while Wootten’s pace has risen in 2025 to help him place regularly in the top five. Both can be proud of the progress made this year. Outside of the top five, Harry Storer could sneak up on Wootten and pinch his top five spot if he outscores him enough, while Andrey Abaluev looks on course to pick up the Masters crown as well as seventh in the overall standings after an impressive first year too. James Seale is top rookie in eighth ahead of Thomas Walker, while veteran Paul Tucker has also been consistent enough to make a top ten spot too.
The battle for the Clapham North Mazda MX-5 Clubman Championship will be resolved this weekend, as the paddock descends on Silverstone, the Wing complex and the International circuit to contest the final event of the season. It’s tight at the top of the standings with just two races left to run, and it’s going to be fascinating to see who comes out as (provisional) champion.
Going into Silverstone, it’s an eight point swing on dropped scores between Jack Warry and Jordan Pimley. Even though Pimley has more wins than Warry, he has also racked up more penalty points over the course of the season too, leaving with the task of trying to out score Jack as much as possible over the course of the day. Form would suggest Pimley is favourite, but with Warry in front on points, it’s Jordan doing the chasing. As for Jack, Croft was a chance to rebound onto the podium after a rough two events prior, and he had been a long time leader on total scores before Oulton Park and Cadwell Park. This is his best shot at the title yet and he will want to make sure he grabs it with both hands and completes the job.
Jake Paice is 22 points off in third place and while his task is not impossible, it is looking pretty tricky considering he’ll really need results to go his way in order to pull off an upset title run. 2025 has certainly been the season he came of age with wins at Brands Hatch and Cadwell along the way, and ending the year on the championship podium at least would be an achievement in its own. Outgoing champ Jonny Greensmith has had a rocky second half of the year but is still fourth in points going to Silverstone. Considering he was never off the podium in the first six races and even won at Snetterton, he may be disappointed with not making the top three, but it’s guaranteed he will go down swinging and hoping for silverware to wrap up a mixed season.
Paul Simard is on course to take the Rookie Trophy honours as well as a top five place and has even placed on the podium as high as second a couple of times, proving he will be one to watch in 2026 if he’s back next year. Kevin Bird holds sixth ahead of Thomas Greenwood, with Andi Istrate, Matt Flowers and Matt Crozier completing the top ten heading to Silverstone.
There’s one final weekend left to settle the fate of the titles in the Clapham North Mazda MX-5 SuperCup, and on the Silverstone International circuit, the Pro, Club and Masters title are all due to be (provisionally) decided. With four races set to take place this weekend including the postponed third race from Cadwell Park, there’s plenty of chances for fortunes to swing one way or the other.
In the Pro class, Will Blackwell-Chambers guns for his second SuperCup title after capturing his first in 2022. A 36 point gap separates him and second placed Thomas Langford, fresh from his first win in a Mk3 back at Croft last time and one that somewhat felt overdue given that he’d been on pace since the very first race. Blackwell-Chambers has taken eight wins thus far and will know he needs to rack up more to get the job done. His task might be made more difficult by last year’s champion Aidan Hills making another cameo appearance this weekend and looking to upset the applecart by stealing some points for himself.
Ollie Hall previously led the standings for a while and now finds himself third in Pro almost 60 points off the top. A podium place in the championship looks to be on the cards for him, but he won’t hesitate to get amongst the leaders if the opportunity arises. Alistair Dendy has also been one of the top stars in Pro this year and looks set to wrap up fourth place, so long as he too can keep himself out of trouble and give Misty Racing a reason to end the year on a high.
With Jack Harding not present, the returning George Grant will certainly be on course to pick a top five in the championship this year, the Clapham North man ready to end his latest SuperCup season in his best ever position in the standings. Also in Pro class this weekend are two from Hills Motorsport, with returnee Kamal Kalsi and Dan Parrans-Smith joining team boss Aidan on the grid too.
The battle for the Club class is also closer than it first seemed before dropped scores. While rookie sensation Sam Middleton has been at the top for the entirety of the season so far, now with dropped scores coming into place, it’s a lot closer. Jim Barratt is only 25 points away, and that’s a deficit that could definitely be reduced given that Middleton has virtually no more dropped scores to fall back on. Barratt could sneak up here and snatch it from under his nose. Chris Ginn holds third place ahead of Clive Powles and Steve Kite, but also watch out for Max Brown to be a strong contender too.
As for Masters, Dendy looks comfortable out in front and set to claim that crown, with Barratt, Ginn, Clive Powles and George Grant currently in the top five.
It all comes down to the final races of the season once again for the Nankang Tyre BMW SuperCup on the Silverstone International circuit, and for the first time both the Compact Cup and 1 Series classes will be decided on track this weekend. Both look set to go right down to the final race, with excitement guaranteed in both.
Millie Hart has controlled the top of the 1 Series class standings ever since the beginning of the season, and she goes to Silverstone 42 points ahead of Simon Waterfall. Simon has managed to find winning ways in recent meetings and surely goes into the weekend as the in-form man. However, his task of closing the gap to Hart is a behemoth of its own, and while not impossible, is going to take a LOT of good fortune to make it happen. Aydan Hassan was the most recent winner with two victories last time at Croft and looks set to own third place in the standings come the end of the weekend, but he too has the potential to take points away from the title contenders as well. Thorburn Astin and Chris Stretton complete the top five, Astin another proven race winner in the class while Stretton has had his own teething troubles but still scored when he could.
Over in the Compact Cup class, however, it is much closer and set to be quite the fascinating three way showdown. Defending champion Connor Grady has a slender six point lead over second placed Gareth Claydon, with only another six points back to Joe Doble in third. Between them, the three drivers have gone back and forth sharing all the victories this season so far, and while both Grady and Claydon have been here before, so too has Doble but he is yet to claim a title for himself and will want to correct that. All three will be going all out to ensure they claim the provisional title.
Outside of the title fight, Max Noble and Mike Doble make up the rest of the top five separated by ten points, with Adam Wright just four back in sixth behind them. Paul Mousell, Matt Kendall, Keith Towers and Ethan Woods make up the rest of the top ten, all of whom have had their flashes of brilliance and will want to end 2025 on as much of a high as possible.
The season finale for the Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup and Student Motorsport competition sees the championship conclude on the Silverstone International circuit as the contenders prepare for one last dance in 2025. It’s incredibly close at the top with as many as five drivers in contention to provisionally claim the title in the overall standings – which means this could be a particularly spicy end of the year given how competitive the field is.
At the top, Alistair May heads the standings by just eight points from Ben Spencer in second place, followed by defending champion Stuart Bliss in third, Richard Jepp in fourth, and Andrew Dyer in fifth. May’s consistency paired with two wins from Silverstone National and Croft have helped him rise to the top and there’s every chance he can stay there come the end of the weekend. However, the competition has been stiff since the beginning of the season and remaining in P1 will be tricky.
Spencer has been by far the standout Rookie, already with three wins to his name this season and now an unlikely title contender – could he take his Corolla WRC-liveried Toyota Aygo to an unprecedented championship victory in his very first year? Then there’s Stuart Bliss. Last year’s champ switched to Boston College Racing 1 to spearhead their Student Motorsport charge, but he’s only won twice and hasn’t done so since Oulton Park! Being 12 points off the top, he’ll really need to race hard to make sure he comes out on top. Jepp is only two points behind Bliss with Stuart’s teammate Andrew Dyer another two back in fifth, meaning this trio could very well change places several times by the end of the weekend. Both took a victory each last time at Croft and are also in good form. This could be a real bun fight for the title all the way to the final lap.
Outside the top five, top names to look out for include Brady Pollock, Alex Foden, Chris Mackenzie, Philip House, Joe Moss, Alex Jackson, Haydn Payne, Chris Parkes and so many more. Such has been the breadth of competition up and down the field, that several drivers are always in contention for top fives and podiums, so don’t be surprised to see many of these names appearing up and down the timing sheets.
As for the Student Motorsport contest, Boston College Racing has both of its cars on top of the table with team 1 (Bliss) ahead of team 2 (Dyer) by eight points. Northbrook Racing 1 (Jepp) is hot on their heels to in third a further two points away, meaning a three way showdown for the accolade this weekend too. Other teams from the likes of West Suffolk College, Sussex Motorsports, Nescot College Racing, City College Norwich and more will also be fighting hard for good results, but all eyes are certainly set to be squarely on the top three at the head of this segment of the field.
For the final time this year, the MG Cockshoot Cup is taking to the track to conclude its first full season under the BRSCC banner. Silverstone’s International circuit is the venue, almost full circle from just over 12 months ago when the 2024 campaign finished on the National.
For Class A, Leon Wignall will be looking to lead the line as he prepares to do battle against class mates Mark Bellamy and James Johnson. All in their MG ZRs in class, Bellamy leads the standings here by five from Wignall and Johnson who are tied, so this could be a fascinating three way scrap for the class honours in the end.
Class C has just about all of the regular front runners, which include the Midgets of David Morrison and Keith Egar, the MGFs of Christopher Greenbank and Eliza Seville, and Karl Green in his ZS. All of them will be just as competitive as each other, and none of them will give an inch especially as Egar looks to try and claim the class by the end of the weekend. Finally in Class F, Phil Rigby will be delighted that he’s not the only one competing as Laura Farrow returns in his fluorescent yellow MGF to do battle against Phil’s blue example.
Making what will be their final appearance of 2025 and on a BRSCC timetable this year to boot, the epic Modified Ford Series has produced another exceptional turnout, with their finale sponsored this weekend by both M74 Trailer Centre and Crossways Garage Bromley. This series is heaven on earth for Ford fans, as many of all shapes, sizes and specs turn out to bring the noise, the spectacle and some great racing.
Amongst this weekend’s stellar entry is one driver who has actually just captured championship silverware of his own just last weekend. Tom Ovenden swaps his MINI Challenge JCW race car (in which he won the title at Brands Hatch) for his Mk1 Escort RSR and will be a definite favourite going into this weekend. Others that are sure to be on the pace as usual include Dave Cockell’s Escort Cosworth, James Allen’s Focus RS, Jason Davies’ Sierra Sapphire Cosworth, Lloyd Jamieson’s Escort Maxi Cosworth, and Josh Payton’s Cortina.
Also appearing on the timetable this weekend to help close out their 2025 campaign too are the magnificent pocket rockets of the Mini 7 Racing Club. Both Se7ens and Miglias are out in for one final time this year, and given their reputation and ultra-close action on track, so their races are certain to put on an amazing show for all in attendance. In the Miglias, Rupert Deeth leads Kane Astin and Aaron Smith on dropped scores with all three covered by just three points and just as formidable as each other. Phil Harvey is in a more comfortable position in the Libre category, fourty points clear of Julian Proctor in second place ahead of Ian Fraser, James Lindridge and Huw Turner.
Over with the Se7ens, it’s Ross Billison holding a ten point lead over Damien Harrington in second place, the points leader hoping to add more wins to his six on this 2025 tally thus far. Spencer Wanstall holds third going into this weekend with Glen Woodbridge in fourth and Daniel Munro in fifth. Olly Birkett heads the Se7en-S division by ten points from Joel Wren in second place, with Bertie Woollard a slightly distant third from Matt Ayres and Callum Perfect.
Written by Scott Woodwiss
