Author Archives: Scott-W

  1. BRITISH GT & GINETTA ROLL INTO SILVERSTONE FOR THE 500

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    British GT events don’t get any bigger than the Silverstone 500, which plays host to Round 2 of the 2025 campaign this weekend. 33 cars – 21 of them GT3s – are set to contest the championship’s blue riband three-hour race in which strategy is no less important than speed.

    2 Seas’ Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss top the GT3 standings following the opening round at Donington where Jack Brown also made the perfect start to his and Optimum’s GT4 title defence alongside new co-driver Marc Warren. But there’s now a price to pay for those victories on Sunday when both crews must serve the extra 20 seconds of compensation time at the last of their three mandatory driver changes.

    Such handicaps can, and have, been overturned before, albeit only once at the 500. What’s more, only one driver – Sandy Mitchell – has claimed the historic 1932 RAC Trophy on multiple occasions, while as many different manufacturers have triumphed there in the last four years. In short: this is a very tough race to win.

    Naturally, the Silverstone 500 counts towards GT3 and GT4’s overall and class championships. But it’s also Round 2 of the new Endurance Cup, which began at Donington Park earlier this month.

    Sky Sports F1 and SRO’s GT World YouTube channel will have live qualifying and race coverage this Saturday and Sunday. The latter’s build-up will, weather permitting, feature the Red Devils Parachute Display Team which is due to perform over and then land on the grid before the start.

    GT3 – written by Tom Hornsby
    The senior class includes several significant talking points at Silverstone. But for starters it’s hard to look beyond reigning champion and 2020 500 winner Rob Collard who returns to action with Barwell following an unforeseen medical procedure. Compensation time of varying degrees for the other leading contenders makes the #1 Huracan he shares with Hugo Cook a serious victory threat.

    Barwell’s other Lamborghini finished second at Donington and will therefore have +15s to deal with during its final pitstop on Sunday. What’s more, this is the first of three weekends that Alex Martin isn’t paired with his regular co-driver, Sandy Mitchell. Race winner and former title contender Patrick Kujala replaces the Scot.

    2 Seas also knows how to win with Mercedes-AMG at Silverstone having done so as a guest entrant in 2021. But its chances of another success are limited by two significant factors: compensation time and ballast.

    Dawson and Jewiss’ qualifying and race performances en route to victory at Donington were beyond those expected of a pairing comprising FIA Bronze and Silver graded drivers. To balance that potential, their entry will carry an additional 30kg of ballast whilst also serving the standard maximum compensation time of 20 seconds during the car’s final mandatory pitstop.

    Their team-mates, Kevin Tse and Maximilian Götz, also have a time handicap (10 seconds) for finishing third on the opening weekend.

    Garage 59’s victory 12 months ago saw the 720S join its GT3 predecessors – the 650S and 12C – on the 500’s roll of honour. The team and drivers responsible, Shaun Balfe and Adam Smalley, will not defend their win this year, but there are still no shortage of McLarens waiting in the wings. Optimum’s Morgan Tillbrook and Marvin Kirchhöfer are chief among them: they finished fourth at Donington, while the German came within 0.5s of Silverstone victory in 2022.

    As the saying almost goes, you wait an age for one Ferrari to compete in British GT and then three turn up at once! Sky Tempesta’s aborted Silverstone entry aside (the car was withdrawn after Free Practice last season), Maranello hasn’t contested a race in the top class since Snetterton 2020. But that run should, finally, come to an end this weekend thanks to Spirit of Race and Kessel Racing.

    Clashing European Le Mans Series commitments prevented Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin from appearing at Donington, but they will lead a Spirit of Race assault that also features debutants Marcos Vivian and Francesco Castellacci. Fellow guests Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda, meanwhile, make their third-straight 500 appearance, albeit in a 296 GT3 instead of the 720S.

    Like Spirit of Race, Blackthorn has also added a second car to its stable. 2012 winner Charles Bateman and team owner Claude Bovet are both former 500 entrants, but in reality it’s the sister full-season Aston Martin shared by Giacomo Petrobelli and Jonny Adam that looks most likely to mount a podium challenge. Somewhat incredibly, Adam has taken only one of his 19 overall wins at Silverstone, and that was all the way back in 2011 with AMR’s first GT3, the DBRS9.

    BMW’s previous generation M4 won the 500 two years ago and was a victory contender again last season. Now 2023’s victorious duo and champions, Darren Leung and Dan Harper, return with the updated Evo version in search of a second win. Their Paradine-run example is one of two BMWs on the entry this weekend: Century’s Jon Kearney and Will Moore will be eyeing Silver-Am spoils.

    Elsewhere, Steller – which hasn’t contested British GT’s senior class since 2020 – fields an R8 for Darren Burke and two-time GT4 class 500 winner Matt Topham who subbed for Collard at the season opener.

     

     

    GT4 – written by Tom Hornsby
    Jack Brown loves the Silverstone 500. He and Optimum’s Artura have been unbeatable there over the last two years despite Silver crews’ extra pitstop time being multiplied over three driver changes. Indeed, those circumstances had previously favoured Pro-Am line-ups, which won five of the 500’s previous six editions.

    The problem for everyone else this weekend is that Brown, for the first time, is now one half of a Pro-Am partnership. True, he and Marc Warren will serve +20s at their final pitstop for winning at Donington, but they will not be subject to the weight and time handicap incurred by Silvers over the three-hour duration.

    That also plays into the hands of other leading Pro-Am contenders, chief among which are Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson who finished second on the opening weekend. Century’s BMW therefore cops a 15-second handicap at its third stop but should have the speed to overcome the disadvantage.

    Likewise Ed McDermott and Seb Morris whose Team Parker Mercedes-AMG completed GT4’s overall podium and bagged full Endurance Cup points last time out. Morris, like his team-mate Phil Keen in the sister entry, is also an overall 500 winner. Only Adam Balon has won it as a GT3 and GT4 driver.

    Mahiki’s Lotuses were fast but ultimately fell short at Donington where its Silver crew of Aiden Neate and Josh Miller qualified on pole before starting from the rear. Neate had worked his way back to the front before the opening stint was done, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the extra pitstop time that then dropped it behind the top Pro-Ams.

    The other two Emiras suffered various woes but did show enough potential to suggest they’ll be part of the conversation on Sunday. Ian Duggan took his Lotus to an overall GT4 podium last year, while Steven Lake’s co-driver Jack Mitchell is a previous class winner.

    Optimum’s other McLaren, shared by Luca Hopkinson and Harry George, started second on the opening weekend but barely made it around the first lap before gearbox issues forced it to pit. The young duo will be eager to make amends at Silverstone where the Artura has proven so potent in team-mate Brown’s hands.

    Three Endurance Cup entries complete the list of GT4 contenders.

    Will Burns and Jamie Orton continue with the Porsche Cayman that Rob Boston Racing switched to at Donington, Peter Montague and Stuart Hall (MKH) share the sole Aston Martin, and there’s another McLaren courtesy of Jolt’s Rupert Williams and John Ingram.

     

     

    GINETTA GT CHAMPIONSHIP – written by Ginetta
    Following an entertaining and intriguing season opener, the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship rolls into Silverstone this weekend with a packed grid of V8-powered Ginetta G56 GTP8’s set to battle it out.

    A bold new era for the GT Championship got underway at Donington Park earlier this month, with the introduction of not only a new car but also a fresh weekend format featuring one sprint and one endurance race. For this weekend though, due to the unique Silverstone timetable, the series will run a pair of 25-minute sprint encounters.

    The star of the show at Donington Park was Archie Clark (MDD Racing). The Ginetta Junior graduate stormed through the pack in impressive fashion to secure the opening two race wins of the campaign and the early points advantage in the process.

    Joining Clark on the PRO class podium in both of the season opening races were Robert Cronin (Elite Motorsport) and Jack Collins (E3 Sport). Cronin secured a best result of third overall, while Collins excelled with top five overall finishes in his first ever car-racing weekend.

    Two drivers who will be keen to bounce back from mixed opening weekends will be Hadley Simpson (Xentek Motorsport) and Cameron Pratt-Thompson (SVG Motorsport). They both showed they have the pace to be podium contenders in the competitive PRO class.

    There’s a big name returning to the PRO grid from this weekend onwards too, as reigning champion Mckenzie Douglass kicks off his title defence with Fox Motorsport. The Welshman enjoyed an exceptional run to top honours last year, with 14 class wins and four further podium finishes.

    Nick White (Raceway Motorsport) saw his challenge for a third consecutive Ginetta title get off to a good start at Donington Park, with an impressive class win in the inaugural endurance race earning him the early points lead in the hotly-contested PRO-AM class.

    He faces stiff competition though from two of the leading lights from the GT Academy last season, Mike Taylor (Triple M Motorsport) and Harry Gamble (Elite Motorsport). They both started their season with overall top three finishes and double class podiums. Car-racing newcomer Alex Duncan (Xentek Motorsport) will be hoping to score his first podium this weekend meanwhile.

    Luke Shaw (Raceway Motorsport) was another GT Academy graduate to begin their season on a high note. He enjoyed a perfect start in the AM class with a dominant double victory, while he was right in the mix at the sharp end of the grid too with an overall top six finish.

    Four other drivers emerged from the opening weekend with class podium finishes. That group included two more GT Academy alumni, with Emma Tomlinson (DTO Motorsport) and Ali Juffali (Elite Motorsport) marking their GT Championship debuts with silverware.

    One-time British GT racer Dominic Paul (Triple M Motorsport) joined them in visiting the rostrum on his maiden weekend, while reigning class vice-champion Peter Mangion (Elite Motorsport) enjoyed a good start to his second season in the championship.

    The talented AM class entry also includes former British GT class champion James Townsend (SVG Motorsport), two-time GT4 SuperCup class vice-champion Carl Garnett (Breakell Racing), GT Academy graduate Amy Tomlinson (Raceway Motorsport) and Ginetta newcomer Oliver Fordham (Fox Motorsport).

    Completing the class entry meanwhile is Ginetta veteran Colin White with his own CWS team. A late entry to the grid at Donington Park, he will be one to watch as he gets to grips with the G56 GTP8 and looks to add to his phenomenal tally of 77 class wins and 149 podium finishes in Ginetta racing.

     

     

    GINETTA GT ACADEMY – written by Ginetta

    With two new overall race-winners and no less than 13 different class podium finishers across the opening three races, the Ginetta GT Academy is looking as competitive and exciting as ever heading into the second round of the season this weekend at Silverstone.

    Charlie Digby (MDD Racing) is the early GTA class points leader after a stunning debut weekend at Donington Park earlier this month. Seven years on from his last appearance in the Ginetta paddock, the former GT5 Challenge front-runner made a triumphant return to action with two overall race victories and a second-place finish.

    The other race victory on the opening weekend went the way of Jamie Caudle (E3 Sport). Returning to the grid this season after scoring multiple podium finishes last year, he reached new heights at Donington Park with his maiden GTA win and will have more success in his sights at Silverstone.

    Another driver to watch this weekend will be James Nicholas (E3 Sport), who won both GT Academy races on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit last year. One of the standout rookies in 2024, he’s now stepped up to the GTA class and started his season with a pair of podium finishes.

    Alex Deighton (Paradine by Xentek) enjoyed a brilliant Ginetta debut at Donington Park, celebrating a GTA podium in his maiden race. Julian Wantling, a class winner at Silverstone last year on his way to the GTA title, and his E3 Sport team-mate Mike West also started the season inside the top six overall.

    They’re part of a competitive pack of drivers who will be hoping to record their first GTA podium finishes of 2025 this weekend, including Paul Livesey (MDD Racing), Robin Grimwood (E3 Sport) and W2R duo Peter Thompson and Lucie Hodgson.

    Bolstering the GTA ranks this weekend will be Gilbert Verdian (SVG Motorsport), who makes his first appearance of the season after contesting two rounds in 2024, whilst former GRDC racer Chris Babington (W2R) returns to a Ginetta grid for the first time in nine years.

    In the rookie class, the early pace-setters were car-racing debutants Sam Shrimpton (W2R) and Shiv Sapra (Paradine by Xentek). The latest winner of the PalmerSport Ginetta Race Scholarship, Shrimpton starred with a podium hat-trick including two victories, while Sapra excelled by qualifying fourth fastest overall and securing the other class win.

    MDD Racing’s Louis Darling and W2R pair Joe Edge and Allan Wright also picked up rookie podium finishes during the season opener, while fellow W2R racer Damien Duffy will be aspiring to secure his first Ginetta trophy this weekend.

     

    GINETTA JUNIORS – written by Ginetta
    The 20th anniversary season of the Ginetta Junior Championship got off to a thrilling start earlier this month, and the teenage rising stars are sure to put on a show again this weekend as the series celebrates its landmark 500th race at Silverstone.

    Since its inaugural season in 2005, Ginetta Juniors has firmly established itself as the longest running and most prestigious Junior championship in the UK. Reaching 500 races is the latest milestone for the series and the class of 2025 will be fighting to earn the bragging rights of securing the landmark victory.

    The Red Bull Junior Team is being represented on the Ginetta Junior grid for the first time this season and member Rocco Coronel enjoyed a dream start in the Donington Park season opener. The Dutchman celebrated two victories to secure the early points advantage.

    R Racing started their defence of the drivers’ and teams’ titles with a clean sweep of the opening weekend wins. Alfie Slater joined Coronel in securing a maiden car-racing victory, as the young brother of 2023 champion Freddie builds on his impressive rookie campaign last year.

    Fred Green (Elite Motorsport) is competing this season as the latest winner of the coveted Ginetta Junior Scholarship and he made a brilliant start, scoring the opening pole position of the season and a pair of second place finishes.

    Torrin Byrne and Pace Performance celebrated their maiden Junior podium finish on a memorable season opening weekend at Donington Park, while R Racing duo Max Cuthbert and Red Bull-backed Scott Kin Lindblom also featured in the overall top three.

    A number of rookie drivers made their mark on the opening weekend, including Joseph Smith (Elite Motorsport) and Freddie Lloyd (Fox Motorsport) who picked up class trophies. Lloyd impressed with his overtaking too, remarkably gaining more than 40 places across the opening three races.

    Amongst the other potential podium contenders this weekend will be Colin Cronin (Elite Motorsport), a race-winner at Silverstone in the 2024 Winter Series, plus rookie talent Ethan Lennon (Pace Performance) who started the year firmly inside the top ten battles.

    Four other rookie class contenders emerged from the opening weekend with overall top ten results to their name; Jarrett Clark (R Racing), Emmilio Del Grosso (Elite Motorsport), Noah Young (Performance One) and Harry Bartle (MKH Racing).

    Performance One and MKH Racing are amongst four new teams on the grid this season. The latter are also running Raúl Zunzarren, while Tim Gray Motorsport have entered a talented quartet of Josh Watts, Joshua Henry, Matthew Chiwara and Katrina Ee.

    While race results didn’t go their way as hoped at Donington, Ethan Carney (Elite Motorsport) and MDD Racing pair Felix Livesey and George Proudford-Nalder all showed their front-running potential. The grid for Silverstone this weekend is completed by three more rookies; Felipe Reijs (R Racing), Revie Lake (Elite Motorsport) and Henry Cameron (Fox Motorsport).

     

     

  2. BRSCC READY FOR FIRST OULTON PARK OUTING OF 2025

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    The British Racing & Sports Car Club and its North Western Centre kick off the region’s racing activities for 2025 on Saturday, as the Club makes the first visit of the year to Oulton Park in Cheshire. Along with three championships and series making their second appearance of the year, a brand new series and an established contest both make their full season debuts with the club too this weekend.

    The main event of the day will be the second PBS Brakes SuperSport Endurance Cup two-hour encounter of the season, after the championship kicked off last month on the Silverstone GP circuit. Defending champions Adam Read and David Drinkwater won their class in round one and are already one of the main contenders for the overall crown from the outset. Once again, several BMWs dominate the top class of Pro-A, but Silverstone outright winner Julian McBride will be gunning for another victory in his Pro-B class M3. Also expect the rest of the classes to be populated with a super mix of MINIs, Honda Civics, Renault Clios, Mazda MX-5s, Audi TTs and more. 

    The Demon Tweeks Audi TT Cup Racing Championship began at Silverstone with three exceptional battles at the head of the field, with 2024 vice champion Matt Luff in control at the head of the standings as the paddock heads to Cheshire. Standouts to challenge Luff after pushing him hard at Silverstone include Sam Heading, Jordan Stilp, Andrew Rogerson and Will Stacey, the latter of the four looking to rebound after his engine blew in race two of the opening weekend. The TTs have quickly become one of the most competitive tin-top contests in UK club motorsport, and Oulton should produce another excellent day of racing for the Audis.

    After a superb debut at Silverstone, the new BRSCC Pro Sports Sprint series now goes on to Oulton Park to carry on its momentum. David May’s Ginetta looks set to be one of the leading contenders, but could be pressed hard by Lee Collins in his Caterham, especially around Oulton’s sweeping twists and turns. Other high-powered machines on the grid sure to impress include Luke Woodhouse’ VW Golf Clubsport, the Audi TT of Thomas Stephen Moore, David Lawrence’s SEAT Leon Cupra, and Billy Blockley in another Ginetta.

    Another new series that makes its highly anticipated debut this weekend is the Fix A Wheel Production Cup, bringing all the fun of the ever popular ClubSport Trophy series but in a sprint format. The premise is around attracting a range of production based clubman race cars, and this first grid has produced an excellent mix that mainly contains a vast array of hot hatches. From Honda Civics and MINI Coopers, to Renault Clios, Peugeot 206s and a Fiesta ST150, there’s sure to be plenty of back and forth scraps on track between the classes. And that’s not all on this grid, either…

    Amongst the Production Cup grid, you’ll find the first batch of cars completed to contest the new Silverlake DS3 Cup, bridging the gap between entry level tin-tops like CityCar Cup and faster championships such as the Audi TT Cup and Fiesta ST240s. For Oulton Park, six DS3 Cup cars will take to the grid with drivers including former CityCar Cup champion Elliot Lettis, Stefan Oates, Fix A Wheel’s Jared Coulson and more. These cars certainly look the part and will definitely enjoy mixing it amongst the Production Cup contenders.

    After appearing at Silverstone last September ahead of an announcement not long after, the BRSCC welcomes the MG Cockshoot Cup for its first appearance on a BRSCC event since joining the Club’s formulae roster at the end of last season. A long standing championship giving a home to MG models of varying ages and models. From classics such as MGBs and MG Midgets, to more contemporary machines such as ZRs, ZSs and MGFs, there’s a place on the grid for all of them. Leon Wignall carries the number 1 as defending champion, and will be keen to defend it this season.

    Written by Scott Woodwiss

  3. FUN AND FRANTIC BATTLES FOR BRSCC AT BRANDS HATCH

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    With a mix of warm Spring sunshine coupled with some inclement heavy rain showers during Sunday’s action, the British Racing & Sports Car Club’s first visit of the year to the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent was filled with plenty of top-level club motorsport from start to finish. While some championships and series were getting their 2025 seasons underway, others were already into their second outing of the year.

    With an entry stacked with competitive teams, some new, some established and even past champions squads making a comeback, the new Fun Cup Endurance Championship season got underway with a blast at Brands Hatch. The lead was traded in the opening stints between Team Pacific and Axiametrics, through an early safety car and the first couple of pit windows. It would take until one thirds race distance before multiple champion team UVio/ Hofmann’s Motorsport finally worked their way to the front.

    While UVio led, defending champions Olympian-GRD were steadily working their way towards the front of the pack. Another safety car going into the second half helped Olympian stay close to leaders UVio and Axiametrics, and after more mandatory stops, a pass for the lead on track was made just before the final hour. Once the final stops were complete, it was Olympian’s race to lose despite the chase from UVio. The #1 squad picked up where they’d left off in 2024, winning the opening race of the season just 2.8 ahead of UVio, with Axiametrics in third ahead of Team FFS and Team Pacific.

    Despite many of his rivals running him close in all three encounters, there was absolutely no stopping points leader Ali Bray in the Kent Models Mazda MX-5 Championship all weekend. Race one could be labeled an all-time classic in championship history, even with a late safety car interruption. Bray and Sparrow spent lap after lap side by side in the earlier stages as part of a sizeable lead group, but at the flag Bray took his fourth win with Thomas Walker taking a first podium ahead of Steve Foden, Sparrow and Richard Wootten.

    Many of the same lead group scrapped with each other in race two, but Bray still remained on top come the chequered flag to go five for five from Foden and Neil Chisnall on the podium, then Sparrow and Adam Craig in the top five. In damp conditions after an inclement rain shower, Bray then proved his wet weather prowess to retain a 100% win record for 2025, completing another hat-trick from Steve Bartlett, Foden, Chisnall and Sparrow.

    Saturday saw the Clapham North MOT Mazda MX-5 Clubman Championship make their second outing of the season, but had to go through two starts of race one after Adam Lawrence’s car ended up in the pit wall, closely followed by erstwhile leaders Del Paice and Jordan Pimley tangled at Clearways just as the red flag came out. Both drivers were permitted to restart from the pit lane, allowing Jack Warry to clinch a second win of the season from Jake Paice, 2024 champion Jonny Greensmith, top rookie Paul Simard and William Breame.

    While Pimley leapt from 21st to seventh place on the opening lap of race two, Greensmith and Warry duked it out for the lead at the front in the early stages but both were demoted off the top step by Jake Paice. Another mid-race safety car kept the field close, but Paice drove well to collect his first MX-5 Clubman win from Warry, Greensmith, Del Paice and Pimley.

    The front of the Clapham North MOT Mazda MX-5 SuperCup field was owned by the same four drivers all weekend – Silverstone leaders Will Blackwell Chambers and Thomas Langford, and returning hotshots Jack Harding and double defending Pro champ Aidan Hills. Harding and Hills wound back the clock with their duel for victory in race one, with Harding on top from Blackwell-Chambers, Hills and Langford with Ollie Hall also in the top five. Race two on Sunday morning played out in much the same fashion, Hills this time on the top step after battling and beating Harding and Blackwell-Chambers respectively, followed by Hall and Alistair Dendy.

    But it was race three that produced the craziest encounter of the weekend. Starting in dry conditions, an inclement rain storm fell halfway through which caught out the leaders so suddenly that all of them ended up skating off the road at Surtees. Once everyone had recovered and survived a safety car, Harding and Hills were left to duel for the win with Harding squeezing past to make it two from three for the weekend. Hall took third from Dendy and Lanford in Pro class.

    Sam Middleton almost kept up his 100% Club class win record in his debut season, winning races one and two before ending up third in race three but scoring points for second, after guest Bill Taylor took the win from Steve Kite.

    A wonderfully eclectic first grid of the year for the Geoff Page Engineering Super Classic Pre ‘99 Formula Ford Championship produced two excellent single seater races for the Kent spectators and live stream viewers to enjoy on Sunday. Race one was a two-parter after being stopped for fluid on the circuit, but on the restart Ben Powney charged to the win from defending Super Classic C class winner Tom Hawkins and Gaius Ghinn, followed by Mads Gravsen and guest Andy Charsley.

    With conditions for race two somewhat more adverse, the amazing Charsley displayed some superb wet weather driving to battle Super Classic B runner Oliver Roberts initially, then winning by just over two seconds from Powney and Hawkins. Class honours behind the overall winners also went to Christopher Stones (Super Classic B), Colin Williams and Stuart Kestenbaum (Super Classic C) and Oliver Chapman (Super Classic D)

    Sharing a grid for the very first time this season, the Ricci Concept Classic VW Cup and Hickford Construction MG Metro Cup put on two excellent hot hatch contests on their combined grid across Sunday. The Classic VWs saw Ken Lark’s Scirocco battle with Tony Absolom’s Mk2 Golf for the lead before the latter dropped out, leaving Lark to cruise to victory from Carey Lewis’ Mk5 Golf and Paul Hoggins’ Audi TT. When the rain fell for race two, the Pinnacle Racing Audi A3s came into their own, their four wheel drive helping Chris Garnham and Paul Dunningham achieve a one-two from Lewis in third.

     

     

    Within the MG Metros, Jack Ashton came into the opener as the championship favourite and didn’t disappoint those that backed him, as he claimed pole in qualifying and led every single lap in both races to take a commanding points lead from the opening event. Race one victory was taken ahead of Matthew Simpson, Tim Shooter, Mike Williams and Jon Moore, while race two saw Jack triumph ahead of Williams, Simpson, Moore and Richard Garrard.

     

    The first SW Motorsports ClubSport Trophy race of 2025 saw the drivers tackle a damp and slippery circuit for their 45-minute contest, and it ended with a tight finish. Despite being chased down late in the race by the Morgan of Shane Kelly thanks to a late safety car closing the pack up again, Julian Daniel drove his VW Golf to victory both overall and in Class A by just over a second. James Alford’s Honda Civic was third ahead of Class B toppers Nick Brady and the Jason Pelosi/ Josh Larkin in their Audi TTs, while other class wins went to Elliott Walker’s MINI, Jonathan Hobbs’ Peugeot 106 Rallye, and Josh Bromley and Pete Smith in their Mazda MX-5 Mk1.

    Written by Scott Woodwiss

  4. BRSCC PRODUCES A SNETTERTON SUPREME FOR SPRING

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    The BRSCC’s first visit to the East Anglia region of 2025 at the Snetterton circuit brought one rather pleasant surprise – clear blue skies and warm Spring sunshine, as several more of the Club’s championships and series (plus a handful of guest formulae) all began their brand new campaigns with plenty of entertainment.

    The young stars of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship embarked on a brand new season as it began its first full season solely consisting of the next-gen Mk7 FJC race car. Thomas Merritt lead the first encounter of the year from pole for two thirds of the race, before being passed by eventual race winner Jack Burgess two laps from the end. Merritt retained a strong second place, while 2025 FJC Scholarship winner Lewis Islin scored a podium on his debut in third ahead of Dara McInerney and Callie Clifford.

    A thrilling four car lead battle between Merritt, Burgess, Islin and McInerney characterised race two, the flash point coming when Merritt ran wide at Coram on the outside of a three wide moment mid corner, forcing him to run across the grass and skip Murrays to retain the lead. Despite taking the flag first on the road, his excursion was deemed as gaining an advantage and Thomas was demoted to second behind winner Burgess, followed by Islin, Archie Davies and Clifford.

    Race three only ran a handful of corners before it was red flagged and abandoned, after a car dropped an excessive amount of fluid onto the circuit in the opening moments. This was deemed too unsafe to continue racing and with timetable constraints from earlier delays, race three was unable to be restarted.

    As has usually been the case in their season starters in recent seasons, no one driver dominated the first AIRTEC Motorsport Fiesta ST240 Championship weekend of the year at Snetterton. A fine defensive drive from John Cooper from pole helped him claim the first win of the season, clear from Gary Miller in second and defending champion Alastair Kellett in third from Simon Horrobin and Zach Lucas. Jason O’Connell won Am class from Luke Warr and Harry Hayes.

    Miller grabbed the lead from Kellett mid way through race two to take the victory ahead of the champion, with Lucas third followed by George Foxlow and Connor Blackburn in Pro, while O’Connell once again taking Am honours from Dan Robinson, Maggie Webster, Hayes and Warr. Foxlow then took his turn to lead the partially random race three grid briefly before Lucas led through a safety car period to the end, sealing victory from Foxlow, Kellett, Morgan Kidd and Miller. It was also a hat-trick for O’Connell in Am class from Robinson and Webster.

    A competitive field lined up for the opening Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge races of the year, with Sam Watkins holding off a double-duty George Foxlow to win race one ahead of pole sitter Max Buxton, defending champion Michael Blackburn and Aiden Vickers in the top five. Buxton rebounded with his first career ST150 win in race two from Foxlow, Liam Browning, Robbie Harrison and Dillon Davis, before an impressive early stint from Sophie Kinghorn in the lead of race three was eventually overhauled by double winner Buxton, Watkins, Davis and Foxlow, with Kinghorn still finishing an excellent fifth.

    The first ever championship race for the newly formed Nankang Tyre BMW SuperCup saw both BMW Compact Cup and 1 Series SuperCup cars competing in respective classes on the same grid together for the first time in a points scoring context. Invitation driver Thorburn Astin took the flag first in race one ahead of Danny Wilkinson and Michael Sanford in the 1 Series ranks, while Joe Doble kicked off 2025 in the Compact Cup class with victory ahead of defending champ Connor Grady and Gareth Claydon.

    The on-track duel for the lead between Wilkinson and Millie Hart would define the next two races of the weekend. Wilkinson only just beat Hart by three tenths in race two with Sanford in third, and Grady finished just behind in fourth overall as best of the Compacts from Mike Doble and Claydon. The 1 Series top three remained the same in race three with the same winning margin, as Joe Doble picked up his second Compact class honours from Claydon and Grady.

    A packed out 45-car capacity entry descended on Snetterton for the opening Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship races of the year. 2024 champion Stuart Bliss, now racing for Student Motorsport team Boston College Racing, made everyone believe it was going to be a carbon copy of 2024 after winning race one from Philip House, Josh Jackson, Alistair May and Andrew Dyer, but Jackson managed to get the better of May and Bliss to take his first outright CityCar race win in the second encounter later in the day, as Dyer and Chris Mackenzie completed the top five.

    A red flag midway through race three on Sunday, after an incident on the main straight forced barrier repairs, left a three lap shootout for victory. Mackenzie would come through to also collect his second CityCar win from Richard Jepp in second, newcomer Ben Spencer in third, then May and Bliss. Unsurprisingly, Boston College Racing were the mostly dominant Student Motorsport team with Bliss claiming two of the three wins, while Jepp took the third for defending champs Northbrook Racing.

    Another mammoth grid heading to Norfolk was that of the Modified Ford Series, once again producing an entry that looked and sounded incredible in equal measure. Jason Davies’ Sierra Sapphire Cosworth romped to a twelve second win in race one from Tom Ovenden’s Escort Mk1 RSR, Ashley Shelswell’s Sierra XR4i, James Allen’s Focus RS and Alex Boam in the top five. Davies then replicated that feat in race two from Ovenden once again, while Allen took third this time from Paul Nevill’s Escort RS2000 and Martin Reynolds’ Escort Mk2.

    Some excellent support formulae also joined in on the timetable for further entertainment. Our friends at the Mini 7 Racing Club brought both their Se7ens and Miglia grids out to play for their opening rounds of 2025, with plenty of exciting action guaranteed across all four races. Damien Harrington opened his account in the Se7ens by winning race one from 2024 champ Joe Thompson and Spencer Wanstall, while race two went the way of Ross Billison ahead of Wanstall and Thompson. Matthew Ayres won the Se7en-S class both times, with podiums shared between Joel Wren, Michael Winkworth, Oliver Birkett and Graeme Davis.

    In the faster Mini Miglias, a pair of wins went to Rupert Deeth with Ian Curley also claiming a brace of second places and third places split between Jeff Smith and Aaron Smith. Race two was shortened after a start incident required recovery of a car stranded against the pit wall. Ian Fraser and Peter Hills also took a Libre class victory each, with further podiums also spread between Huw Turner, Julian Proctor and Philip Harvey.

    The Classic & Modern Motorsport Club Southern division brought its Super Saloons, Tin Tops and Intermarques onto one combined grid to start their 2025, and the day was dominated by the booming Holden Commodore V8 Supercar of Alex Sidwell. Alex roared to victory in both encounters, mostly chased by the leading Intermarques cars both times. Ray Harris’ Vauxhall Tigra, the Ginetta G40s of Ray Harris and Reuben Taylor, and Martin Reynolds’ Escort Mk2 came in behind Sidwell in race one with Sam Haywood’s Renault Megane best of the Tin Tops behind them. Sidwell and Harris again locked out the top two in race two, followed by Russell Humphrey’s Tigra, Ian Hales’ Ginetta and Reynolds’ Escort.

    Adding a local flavour to proceedings, the Uncle Luke’s Snetterton Saloons series also brought a great variety of machines to the paddock for their pit-stop race, shortened to 35 minutes due to timetable constraints thanks to earlier incidents. At the end of it all, Kevin Clarke’s BMW M3 was victorious, putting at least a lap on the entire field by the flag. Anton Martin and Simon Donoghue ensured it was a Bavarian lockout on the podium, followed by Martin Ward’s Honda Civic Type R and Miles Moseley’s Peugeot 208 GTi.

    Written by Scott Woodwiss

  5. BRSCC READY TO COOK UP A BRANDS HATCH BANGER

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    The BRSCC 2025 Spring Season Starter is ready to light up the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit with a weekend of high-stakes racing, as some of the most exciting championships in British motorsport go wheel-to-wheel at one of the UK’s most iconic circuits. With everything from multi-hour endurance races to fast-paced sprints, this event promises to be a spectacular curtain-raiser for the spring racing season.

    The opening four hours of racing for the Fun Cup Endurance Championship kick off what’s due to be one of their most impressive and competitive campaigns in recent years, off the back of an incredible 2024 that ended with a healthy entry. 2025 promises to deliver even more, especially with so many strong teams expected. Defending champs Olympian are hoping to begin another title defence in perfect fashion, but their competition will be formidable. Squads such as UVio/ Hofmann’s Motorsport, GCI Racing and Racelogic and PLR Racing have also won FunCup titles in the past, while Greenheath, Red River Sport and Vapeclub with EDF are regular front runners too.

    Plus there’s a very exciting influx of new teams with very talented drivers, including Race Venture featuring CityCar Cup champion brothers Richard & Stuart Bliss, Team FFS featuring former Caterham champion Lewis Thompson, Balfe Motorsport with GT expert Shaun Balfe along with Thomas, and Demon Tweeks entering two cars, one containing Jason and Guy Minshaw plus rapid historic racer Michael Lyons. This opening race of the season has all the makings of being pure magic.

    A few weeks removed from their opening races of 2025, the BRSCC Mazda MX-5 paddock now bundles its way into the Kent speed bowl for race weekend number two. The Kent Models Mazda MX-5 Championship goes to Brands Hatch with AB Motorsport boss Ali Bray on a high after owning the top step all weekend, but he’ll know that key rivals such as Steve Foden, Adam Sparrow and Will Chadwick will surely make it difficult for him straight from qualifying. On such a short circuit, expect the battles at the front to be congested and exciting.

    Also in the Mk1 ranks, the Clapham North MOT Mazda MX-5 Clubman Championship also brings a healthy entry ready to resume after Silverstone. Both of their races were on a combined grid back on the GP circuit last month, but this time they’re back to standalone on a much less busy grid. Jordan Pimley and Jack Warry came away with the victories, but both had to contend with 2024 champ Jonny Greensmith plus the Paices Del and Jake. With their pair of races taking place on the Saturday, drivers will be looking to be in and out of there drama-free and with solid points.

    The Clapham North MOT Mazda MX-5 SuperCup found its early front runners at Silverstone, with 2022 Pro champion Will Blackwell-Chambers and Thomas Langford inseparable on track all weekend. They’ll be set to pick up where they left off, but they’re sure to have company in the form of double defending champion Aidan Hills and multiple race winner Jack Harding on the entry list this weekend. They’re sure to give the current points leaders in Pro some extra competition, while rookie Sam Middleton was a sensation at Silverstone with Club class wins in all three races. He will wish to keep the same form going to Kent and even try and get amongst the Pro runners again.

    Bringing a single seater flavour, the opening Geoff Page Engineering Super Classic Pre ‘99 Formula Ford Championship begins a new campaign at Formula Ford’s spiritual home of Brands Hatch. The Indy circuit welcomes another excellent mix of cars across all four classes competing for their respective accolades.

    Super Classic A features defending class winner Tom Hawkins, but with increased competition including Vincent Jay, Ben Powney and Andy Charsley. Chris Stones is also back to defend his Super Classic B honours with Mathew Smith, Lorna Vickers and Tim Fitzgerald amongst the contenders here too. Super Classic C will feature Stuart Kestenbaum, Colin Williams, Mark Bates and Simon Langman, while Oliver Chapman looks to make an impact in Super Classic D.

    The SW Motorsports ClubSport Trophy is back once more with another grid filled with excellent variety and competitive machinery for their opening race of 2025. Class A looks mighty with familiar front runners including Phiroze Bilimoria’s VW Scirocco, Shane Kelly’s Morgan, Adam Marshall’s VW Golf, and David Shead’s BMW likely to be favourites for overall victory. With the rest of the field populated by BMW Z4s, more VW Golfs, Honda Civics and Audi TTs amongst others, there will be plenty of position swapping up and down the classes.

    Two grids will merge into one for this weekend and for most of the season, as the Ricci Concept Classic VW Cup and Hickford Construction MG Metro Cup will share the tarmac between each other. The Classic VWs have an excellent selection of VAG cars, from the usual VW Golfs including Carey Lewis, Dawn Butcher, Chris Adams and Thomas Redford, to Ken Lark’s Scirocco, Ellie Dixon’s Polo, Pinnacle Racing’s trio of Audi A3s and Tony Hunter’s SEAT Leon. Competition amongst this lot should be entertaining.

    Over with the MG Metros, Jack Ashton has to start as the overwhelming favourite after missing the opening two rounds of 2024 and still managing to end the season runner up in points. If he can make as strong a start as he finished last year, he will surely be the one to beat. He will surely have main competition from Jon Moore, Dick Trevett, Tim Shooter and Matthew Simpson, all of whom will also have points to prove.

    Written by Scott Woodwiss

  6. BRITISH GT & GINETTA THRILL AT DONINGTON PARK SEASON OPENER

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    2 Seas’ Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss converted pole position into their first British GT3 Championship wins in the season opener at Donington where Jack Brown began his GT4 title defence with class victory alongside new Optimum co-driver Marc Warren.

    1.1s separated the #42 Mercedes-AMG from Sandy Mitchell’s charging Barwell Lamborghini, which threatened to derail an otherwise faultless performance in the final 10 minutes. 2 Seas’ second entry completed the overall podium courtesy of Kevin Tse and Maximilian Götz.

    GT3 Silver-Am spoils went the way of Beechdean AMR’s Andrew Howard and Tom Wood.

    Further back, Warren and Brown took GT4 top spot by 13s from Century duo Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson whose five-second post-race penalty wasn’t enough to promote Endurance Cup winners Ed McDermott and Seb Morris (Team Parker) into the class’ overall runners-up spot.

    But the result might have been very different had Mahiki’s erstwhile pole winning Lotus not been disqualified from qualifying. Aiden Neate starred in the opening stint en route from 10th to first, but the extra pitstop time incurred by Silver crews ultimately limited his and Josh Miller’s Emira to fifth overall.

    GT3

    2 Seas’ duo surprised many by their pace in qualifying, but any hopes Dawson and Jewiss had of disappearing into the distance were dashed by a Safety Car period that ended 10 minutes before GT3’s driver changes could begin.

    Barwell’s Lamborghini initially driven by Alex Martin, who relieved Tse of second at turn one on the opening lap, also kept Dawson within sight throughout the opening stint. The gap between them ebbed and flowed but had settled at around four seconds when Giacomo Petrobelli’s contact with Mahiki’s #88 Lotus necessitated a long Full Course Yellow period and subsequent Safety Car.

    Dawson had largely re-established his advantage before swapping with Jewiss, who rejoined ahead of Mitchell, Götz, Marvin Kirchhöfer, Marcus Clutton and Sam Neary.

    Much of the top six remained unchanged thereafter. Nevertheless, the fight for victory wasn’t settled until the final lap.

    Mitchell initially closed down Jewiss before dropping around two seconds back, confident that he would have the pace to go again towards the end of the race. And, sure enough, the Huracan – which had already set fastest lap – was back within a second 10 minutes from the finish.

    That became a nose-to-tail 0.5s as the final lap approached. But if Jewiss felt any pressure it didn’t show on track, and his position was never seriously challenged before the chequered flag fell.

    Götz took the final podium place another 10s back after circulating with Kirchhöfer and Optimum’s McLaren, which – in Morgan Tillbrook’s hands – had consolidated fourth place before the pitstops.

    Petrobelli’s spin after the contact initially helped Simon Orange to move into fifth. But although his co-driver Clutton re-joined in the same position, a drive-through for exceeding the Full Course Yellow speed limit initially dropped the Orange/JMH McLaren to seventh. Worse was to come post-race, however, when the car was disqualified for a parc ferme infringement. The team has appealed the stewards’ decision.

    Those issues helped Abba’s Mercedes-AMG shared by Richard and Sam Neary to complete the final top five, Matt Topham and Hugo Cook to finish sixth in Barwell’s second Lamborghini, and the Silver-Am winning Aston Martin – which enjoyed an entertaining scrap with Bridger’s Honda in the opening stint – to come home seventh.

    Paddock’s 720S featuring Mark Smith and Martin Plowman took eighth despite a differential issue and damaged floor hindering their performance.

    GT4
    He may be racing in a different class this year, but reigning GT4 champion Jack Brown produced a familiar result as he and new co-driver Marc Warren put in a controlled performance to guide their Optimum McLaren to victory.

    Despite switching across to Pro-Am for this season, Brown was still able to celebrate his ninth career GT4 win after issues befell the car’s Silver rivals and effectively handed the momentum to the Pro-Am crews.

    First, the Mahiki Lotus of Aiden Neate and Josh Miller that was set to start from pole was demoted to the back of the grid for a parc ferme infringement. Then when Harry George and Luca Hopkinson’s Artura suffered gearbox trouble on the opening lap it left the way clear for Warren and Brown to take centre stage.

    Warren found himself in an early lead and made the most of it, driving superbly to forge a gap of almost 10 seconds over his pursuers before a Full Course Yellow and resulting Safety Car wrecked his work.

    While Warren was comfortable out front, all eyes were on Neate over the early stages as he toiled to bring the #84 Lotus back up the order. He was fifth by lap three, inside the top three by lap 15 and eventually snatched second with a brave move on the brakes into the chicane against Ravi Ramyead’s #71 Century BMW just before the yellow flags came out.

    The Safety Car moved Neate right onto Warren’s tail when racing resumed, and he duly completed a back-to-front performance by snatching the lead into Redgate. However, it would be short lived as the car would still have to serve its additional 24 seconds of Silver time in the pits, which handed the initiative back to Optimum.

    The leaders pitted together. But Brown rejoined comfortably ahead and eased clear – via fastest lap – to score his second Donington win in as many seasons. Ramyead, meanwhile, swapped with Charlie Robertson who maintained the pair’s comfortable second place despite picking up a five-second penalty for contact under Full Course Yellow.

    Ed McDermott and Seb Morris drove a largely flawless race to complete the overall podium and secure British GT’s first-ever Endurance Cup victory in their Team Parker Racing Mercedes-AMG. Team-mates Jon Currie and Phil Keen were next up in the sister car.

    Josh Miller took the Mahiki Lotus over from Neate and fought to fifth overall as well as Silver class victory. And Rob Boston Racing’s Porsche shared by Jamie Orton and Will Burns completed the top six despite losing time early on to a drive-through.

    GINETTA GT CHAMPIONSHIP (written by Ginetta)
    Archie Clark secured a sensational double victory as a new era for the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship got underway with the 2025 season opener at Donington Park (05/06 April).

    The opening race of the season that afternoon saw Simpson get the jump over the line to lead into Redgate for the first time. Taylor and Clark ran side-by-side over the first half of the lap, with the latter emerging in front and setting his sights on the leader ahead.

    The top two ran in close proximity for a number of laps before a dramatic moment saw Simpson slow on circuit. Ginetta Junior graduate Clark swept past into the lead as Simpson fell down the order, eventually able to get going again and slotting back into 13th place overall.

    Clark took full advantage of the opportunity and led every remaining lap on his way to his maiden Ginetta race victory. Gamble climbed up to second place overall and the PRO-AM class win, having successfully fended off late pressure from pole-sitter Taylor.

    Robert Cronin (Elite Motorsport) and Jack Collins (E3 Sport) completed the top five overall to secure PRO podium finishes alongside Clark. The AM honours went the way of Shaw, with a close battle for second in class seeing Dominic Paul (Triple M Motorsport) edge out Peter Mangion (Elite Motorsport) and Carl Garnett (Breakell Racing).

    In front of those three was PRO runner Cameron Pratt-Thompson (SVG Motorsport) and Nick White. After being spun out of fourth place on the opening lap, White put in a supreme fightback drive to charge from 20th to eighth overall, securing third in PRO-AM in the process.

    Alex Duncan (Xentek Motorsport) finished 12th overall in his first ever car race ahead of Ali Juffali (Elite Motorsport). Simpson ended up classified 14th and fifth in the PRO class after recovering from his issue, classified ahead of AM pair Colin White (CWS Engineering) and James Townsend (SVG Motorsport).

    A format change for the 2025 season sees the second and final GT Championship race of the weekend become a 40-minute endurance race featuring a mandatory pitstop. Taylor started from pole position again for this milestone race, with Simpson alongside him.

    The front-row starters were leapfrogged on the run to Redgate for the first time though, with Nick White squeezing down the inside to take the race lead. Cronin followed him through for second, with a tough opening lap for Taylor seeing him slip back to sixth place.

    Collins enjoyed a strong opening lap to climb from seventh to fourth behind Simpson, while Paul briefly grabbed the AM class lead in the pack behind before a wide moment at the Esses opened the door for Shaw and Emma Tomlinson to move into the top two places in class.

    A driver on the move in the early stages was race one victor Clark, who passed Collins for fourth and then set the fastest lap of the race as he hunted down those ahead. Simpson and Cronin were his next victims, with slick moves down the Craner Curves on consecutive laps earning him second place.

    Clark set his sights on Nick White at the front of the field next and when the pitstop window opened, he was the first to dive in and serve his mandatory stop. Rapid laps when he returned to the action ensured he moved into the race lead when his rivals completed their stops.

    It was Simpson who emerged in second place overall, having passed Cronin on the road before jumping White in the pitlane. That came due to a pitstop that was timed shorter than the minimum 75-second regulation though, earning him a 33 second penalty to be added to his race time.

    As Clark comfortably completed his double victory for the weekend, Simpson crossed the finish line in second but was demoted back to eighth with his penalty applied. PRO-AM class winner Nick White was therefore classified second overall, with Cronin and Collins completing the PRO top three behind.

    Taylor and Gamble picked up PRO-AM trophies as they rounded out the top six overall, while Shaw secured a dominant AM victory in seventh. In that class, an exciting battle in the closing laps saw Emma Tomlinson (DTO Motorsport) make a move stick on Juffali into Goddards for second position.

    Paul came home 11th overall ahead of Duncan, those two finishing fourth in AM and PRO-AM respectively, while Ginetta veteran Colin White finished fifth in AM. Amy Tomlinson (Raceway Motorsport) was sixth in that class ahead of Townsend.

    Mangion and Garnett fought back to eighth and ninth in AM respectively, having been caught up in a first corner incident with Pratt-Thompson that led to his retirement, while Fox Motorsport duo James Rolling and Oliver Fordham completed the race finishers to sign off their debut Ginetta weekend.

    GINETTA GT ACADEMY (written by Ginetta)
    Charlie Digby and Jamie Caudle secured their maiden Ginetta GT Academy victories during an entertaining 2025 season opener at Donington Park (05/06 April).

    Digby converted pole into his first-ever Ginetta victory in an action-packed opening race. After the original start was red-flagged due to an unfortunate incident for Louis Darling (MDD Racing) at the chicane, the race restarted with Digby fending off Deighton into Redgate.

    A spin for Sapra into the gravel behind led to a short safety car period. When the action resumed, Caudle was immediately on the offensive and passed Deighton for second at Melbourne. Digby was two seconds clear at that stage, leaving Caudle to settle for second.

    Deighton fended off late pressure from Nicholas to secure a podium on his Ginetta debut, while one of the drives of the race came from Sam Shrimpton (W2R). From 11th at the full race restart, the PalmerSport Ginetta scholarship winner charged forward to sixth in just a single lap.

    A move on Mike West (E3 Sport) after the safety car secured him an eventual finish of fifth and with it the rookie class victory, with West completing the top six. Joe Edge (W2R) was on course for seventh on his debut until an unfortunate incident with Peter Thompson (W2R) on the last lap.

    Paul Livesey (MDD Racing) and Phil McGarty (Xentek Motorsport) took advantage to move up to seventh and eighth respectively. Nick Ponting (W2R) impressed on his return to Ginetta racing to finish ninth ahead of E3 Sport pair Robin Grimwood and reigning GTA champion Julian Wantling.

    Allan Wright (W2R) benefitted from the late drama to move up to second in the rookies, with Edge recovering to third in class behind. Lucie Hodgson was in the group battling for the top six early on before an unfortunate moment lost her ground, leaving her 14th at the finish ahead of her W2R team-mate Damien Duffy.

    Caudle started the second race of the weekend from pole position courtesy of posting the best second-fastest time in qualifying. He fended off a challenge from Digby into the first corner to maintain his advantage, while Livesey moved ahead of Sapra for third on the opening lap.

    Deighton and Nicholas made early progress into the top six from eighth and tenth on the grid respectively, before both working their way past Sapra at Redgate on lap three. Next time round, a spin for Livesey from third left him stranded at the Old Hairpin and he was collected by the unfortunate West.

    After a short safety car period, the action resumed with Caudle leading from Digby, Deighton, Nicholas and Sapra. Darling took the restart in sixth, but a moment into Redgate sadly ended his race in the gravel trap, promoting Ponting into the top six ahead of Wantling.

    At the front, Digby made a challenge for the lead down the inside into Mcleans but ran wide on the exit, allowing Caudle back through. That gave the leader a gap at the front and he held it to the chequered flag for his maiden GT Academy win, with Digby coming home second.

    Nicholas worked his way past Deighton late on to complete the GTA top three, with Sapra holding the rookie advantage throughout for his maiden class win in fifth. Wantling put in a charging drive from 14th on the grid to finish sixth, having enjoyed a close tussle with Shrimpton in the closing laps.

    Thompson bounced back from late race one drama to put in a brilliant drive from 19th on the grid to ninth overall behind Ponting, while Grimwood made late progress to grab the final spot in the top ten. Edge finished third of the rookies on the road, however he was disqualified post-race for a safety car infringement, promoting Wright to the class podium.

    With the race two result setting the grid for the final encounter, Caudle and Digby lined up on the front row on Sunday afternoon. The pole-sitter maintained the lead through Redgate for the first time, with Nicholas slotting into third as Ponting shot from eighth to fourth in the opening few corners.

    Caudle’s advantage was short-lived however as Digby dived down the inside into Melbourne on lap two and secured the lead. Nicholas followed him through for second, but Caudle hit back at Redgate next time round to regain the position.

    As those two continued to battle behind, Digby enjoyed a comfortable run to his second win of the weekend. After almost making a move stick into Melbourne on lap five, Nicholas successfully picked off Caudle at Mcleans on the next lap to secure second place at the chequered flag.

    Ponting signed off his impressive return to Ginetta racing with a fourth-place finish ahead of Deighton, while Shrimpton secured his second rookie class win of the weekend in sixth overall. Wantling was next up ahead of Sapra, who doubled his rookie podium tally for the day.

    Thompson and Livesey were the two big movers of the race, climbing up from 14th and 17th on the grid respectively to complete the top ten. McGarty was in the thick of the action on his way to 11th, while Darling signed off a tricky debut weekend with a hard-fought 12th place finish and rookie podium.

    Ben Cooke (W2R) was another driver to have ended a mixed weekend on a high note in 13th ahead of E3 Sport pair West and Grimwood. Edge finished fourth of the rookies in 16th overall, with his W2R stablemates Hodgson, Wright and Duffy completing the race finishers.

    In the Chairmans Cup, a class for drivers over the age of 45, Deighton took a clean sweep of class victories across the three races. Wantling and Thompson celebrated double podium finishes, with West and Livesey also taking home class trophies.

    GINETTA JUNIORS (written by Ginetta)
    Rocco Coronel and Alfie Slater shared the wins as the 20th anniversary season of the Ginetta Junior Championship got underway with three thrilling races at Donington Park (05/06 April).

    The opening race that afternoon laid down a marker for the season ahead, with an enthralling encounter featuring close-fought action throughout the grid. At the front of the field, a brilliant three-way battle for victory played out between Green, Lindblom and Slater.

    The fight began straight from the off, with Lindblom grabbing the lead from Green on the run to Mcleans, before Slater moved ahead exiting the Esses to finish off lap one in front. Slater would go on to lead from Lindblom and Green through an early safety car period.

    Soon after the action restarted, Green grabbed second from Lindblom heading out of Coppice. He stuck to the rear bumper of Slater out front and got a run exiting the Old Hairpin on the penultimate lap, but the leader was able to hold on and went on to secure his maiden race victory.

    That result saw him follow in his older brother Freddie’s footsteps as a Junior race-winner, making them only the fourth set of siblings ever to enjoy wins in the championship. Behind, Lindblom put in a good challenge for second place on the final lap, but Green held him off to take the rookie class win.

    Fantastic early action came in the battle for fourth place, with Coronel, Byrne and then Cronin holding the position prior to the safety car. Cronin maintained control of that group after the restart, with battling between Coronel and Byrne allowing Joseph Smith (Elite Motorsport) to slip past both.

    Cronin, Smith and Coronel went on to complete the top six at the chequered flag, while Byrne dropped back to tenth by the finish. Max Cuthbert (R Racing) came home seventh ahead of Felix Livesey (MDD Racing), however the latter was disqualified post-race due to a technical infringement.

    Ethan Lennon (Pace Performance) completed an impressive debut in eighth place, while a stunning opening race performance from Freddie Lloyd (Fox Motorsport) saw him charge through the field from 27th on the grid to ninth in the final result.

    Jarrett Clark (R Racing) emerged from a close-fought battle in 11th ahead of George Proudford-Nalder (MDD Racing) and Harry Bartle (MKH Racing), though Proudford-Nalder was another to be disqualified post-race. Emmilio Del Grosso (Elite Motorsport) finished up 13th on the final result therefore ahead of Felipe Reijs (R Racing).

    Henry Cameron (Fox Motorsport) moved up five places from his grid position to finish 15th ahead of Noah Young, Raul Zunzarren and Mahlori Mabunda – drivers representing three new teams on the grid for 2025; Performance One, MKH Racing and RAB Sport respectively.

    The teenage talents kicked off the racing on Sunday and served up another entertaining encounter. Slater started on pole and led the field through Redgate for the first time ahead of Coronel, Cronin, Lindblom, Green and Byrne.

    The top six broke away in the early laps, leaving behind a close battle for seventh. Smith held the place in the early laps before being picked off by Cuthbert and Livesey, the latter having risen from 12th on the grid to eighth inside the opening three laps.

    An incident towards the bottom of the top 20 resulted in the safety car being introduced on lap four. When racing resumed soon after, the lead group were bunched together again and Coronel took full advantage to dive down the inside of Slater into Melbourne for the race lead.

    Fellow Red Bull ace Lindblom attempted to follow him through, but contact with Slater spun them both around. As Coronel led, the order shuffled behind with Green emerging in second ahead of Byrne, Smith, Cronin, Livesey and Cuthbert with three laps to go.

    Coronel comfortably stayed out front to the chequered flag for his maiden car-racing victory ahead of Green. Smith grabbed third at Mcleans on the final lap, but Byrne hit back into Melbourne to secure both his and Pace Performance’s maiden podium finish in the championship.

    Lennon impressively picked off both Cronin and Cuthbert on the final lap to finish fifth overall, with Livesey having unfortunately dropped out of that pack on the penultimate lap. Lloyd completed another phenomenal drive through the field behind, going from 27th to eighth on this occasion.

    Having dropped back to 15th after his incident, Slater was able to make some quick progress back to ninth in the closing laps. Young was another driver on a charge through the race, going from 23rd on the grid to a top ten finish ahead of Del Grosso, Reijs and Clark.

    Ethan Carney (Elite Motorsport), Bartle and Proudford-Nalder were in the battle for the top ten before a late incident dropped them to 18th, 19th and 24th respectively. Ntiyiso Mabunda (RAB Sport) made good progress through the race from 21st to 14th ahead of Zunzarren, Revie Lake (Elite Motorsport) and a recovering Lindblom.

    The race two result set the grid for the final race of the weekend, meaning Coronel lined up on pole position. The Dutch ace converted that into the early lead ahead of Green and Byrne, while a brilliant opening lap from Slater saw him climb through from ninth on the grid to fourth.

    A technical issue for Green dropped him out of second place soon after, meaning that it was Byrne and Slater aiming to close down a one-second gap to Coronel out front when the safety car came out. The action would resume with a final two-lap shootout to the chequered flag.

    Slater shot past Byrne heading out of Coppice on the penultimate lap but was unable to mount a challenge on Coronel, who completed his double win for the day. Last lap fighting for third saw Cuthbert dive down the inside of Byrne into Melbourne, sending both wide.

    Lloyd tried to take advantage and nip past both of them, but Cuthbert fought back at the final corner to complete an R Racing lockout of the overall podium. Lloyd completed a stunning debut weekend in fourth, with Byrne eventually slipping back to sixth behind Cronin.

    Clark and Del Grosso made good progress in the race to secure their best results of the weekend in seventh and eighth respectively, while Lennon recovered from an early off-track moment to finish ninth. One of the drives of the race came from Bartle, who fought forward from 19th to his maiden top ten finish.

    After pitting with bonnet damage in the early laps, Smith benefitted from the safety car period to rejoin the back of the field and sensationally moved up 11 places in just two laps to finish 11th. Another big mover was Josh Watts (Tim Gray Motorsport), charging forward from 26th to 12th through the race.

    Proudford-Nalder and Livesey had climbed from 24th and 25th on the grid respectively to the fringes of the top ten, however a late incident with Lindblom led to an early conclusion for both MDD Racing drivers and a 20th place finish for Lindblom.

    Tim Gray Motorsport duo Joshua Henry and Matthew Chiwara ended their debut weekends with breakthrough points finishes in 17th and 18th respectively, while their team-mate Katrina Ee just missed out on points of her own with a best result of 21st in the opening encounter.

    In the Freshmans Cup, a class for car-racing rookies with no previous national-level karting experience, Cameron picked up a pair of victories. Young secured a win of his own too, while Lake and Proudford-Nalder also took home class trophies across the weekend.

     

  7. BRITISH GT & GINETTA BLAST OFF FOR 2025 AT DONINGTON PARK

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    Written by Tom Hornsby – New teams, cars and drivers join the list of established stars and champions this weekend when Season 33 of the British GT Championship kicks off at Donington Park.

    Both the venue and date are a little unusual given that neither are Oulton Park or Easter, the traditional combination for British GT’s curtain raiser. Donington’s 120-minute affair this Sunday also provides a different proposition to that of Cheshire’s two hour-long sprints held on a Bank Holiday Monday, although that familiar scenario will play out later this spring.

    Instead, all eyes are on a circuit that bookends British GT’s season but also hosts the first-ever ‘championship within a championship’ Endurance Cup round.

    British GT is always best enjoyed trackside. But those unable to make it can at least watch qualifying and the race live on Sky Sports F1 and SRO’s GT World YouTube channel this Saturday and Sunday. Joe Osborne’s team manager commitments see a new driver join the commentary team: GT3 race winner and World’s Fastest Gamer James Baldwin will be alongside David Addison and Andy McEwan throughout 2025.

    GT3
    Changes galore over the winter, as well as the reigning champion missing round one, mean there’s plenty to unpack in GT3 where the established team and driver combinations will most likely enjoy an early advantage.

    Rob Collard’s 2024 title triumph owed something to winning at Donington, but his enforced absence due to an unforeseen medical procedure leaves the #1 Lamborghini with a very unfamiliar look. Hugo Cook, who was due to partner the reigning champion after spending last season in an Audi, is instead joined by Matt Topham.

    The other side of Barwell’s garage remains unchanged from last year when Alex Martin and Sandy Mitchell almost denied Rob and Ricky Collard the title. One of their three wins came in the first of Donington’s two races, so it would be no surprise at all if the same combination began its campaign in similar fashion.

    Kevin Tse and Maximilian Götz also return in the familiar surroundings of a 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG after claiming two victories and pole positions last year – results that weren’t reflected in their final championship position. They’re joined at the team by reigning GT4 Pro-Am champion Charles Dawson and debutant Kiern Jewiss.

    Blackthorn’s Aston Martin didn’t win a race last season but did score its best result – second overall – at Donington after a largely frustrating start to 2024. Continuity in the shape of Giacomo Petrobelli and Jonny Adam makes this entry, along with 2 Seas, the most likely threat to Martin and Mitchell.

    But there’s also no shortage of potential winners amongst McLaren’s ranks despite wholesale changes to several line-ups. Morgan Tillbrook is a multiple Donington winner aboard the 720S and now has factory star Marvin Kirchhöfer for company after moving to Optimum. Its second GT3 entry features the familiar duo of Mike Price and Callum Macleod who have spent the last two years racing a Mercedes-AMG.

    Tillbrook’s previous success at Donington was achieved alongside Marcus Clutton who now partners Simon Orange at Orange Racing by JMH. There are no such changes at Paddock where Mark Smith and Martin Plowman join forces for a third campaign, while Greystone GT’s Andrey Borodin and Oli Webb return on a full-season basis.

    Sam Neary’s re-grading means Team Abba – which took its only overall British GT win at Donington in 2021 – is no longer eligible to contest Silver-Am. Instead, Bridger’s Honda and Beechdean’s Aston Martin, shared respectively by Johnny Ip/Luke Garlick and Andrew Howard/Tom Wood, will be scrapping for class honours and more.

    Two manufacturers, Ferrari and Porsche, were due to make their British GT returns this weekend. But while the 911 GT3 R will be there thanks to Team Parker, Nick Jones (a winner at Donington with Bentley) and factory hotshoe Sven Müller, clashing European Le Mans Series commitments prevent Duncan Cameron, Matt Griffin and AF Corse’s 296 from competing. Instead, Maranello will make its long-awaited return later this month at Silverstone where several Ferraris are scheduled to race…

    GT4
    Assessing the form guide at the start of a new GT4 season is always tricky. Few would have picked Forsetti to triumph on its British GT debut last year, for instance. But 2025 appears especially unpredictable thanks to eight cars featuring British GT winners.

    Optimum is the obvious place to start. No driver has enjoyed more GT4 success in recent years than eight-time race winner and reigning champion Jack Brown who also enjoys the advantage of stability by remaining with the same team and car. His co-driver, Marc Warren, is new to the fold and also Brown’s first-ever Am co-driver but one who excelled during his debut British GT campaign in 2024.

    The same Artura also won at Donington last year, albeit with a Silver combination behind the wheel.

    No driver has ever won two British GT4 titles, let alone consecutively. It was also back in 2016 when the last Pro-Am duo claimed the overall crown. Can Brown re-write both of those statistics this year?

    He’ll face tough opposition from another top drawer and unchanged Pro-Am partnership in the shape of Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson who scored the second of their two wins at Donington towards the end of last year. They remain with Century, which has the new Evo-spec BMW M4 GT4 at its disposal – a car that they have already driven extensively in the GT4 Winter Series.

    They’ll also have one eye on Century’s remarkable record of winning championships in the first year of each previous new M4 model.

    With second cars at their disposal, Optimum and Century look set to be teams’ championship contenders. But could the likes of Luca Hopkinson and Harry George, and Branden Templeton and Chris Salkeld also join their team-mates in the battle for drivers’ title success? Only one of them – 2023 Pro-Am champion Salkeld – has a British GT win to their name currently, while his co-driver steps up from junior single-seaters.

    Mahiki enjoys the numerical advantage with three Lotus Emiras and a former GT4 champion amongst its ranks. But will that be enough to make it a British GT winner for the first time? Its two Pro-Am entries feature 2018 title winner Jack Mitchell and Steven Lake, and Ian Duggan and Joe Wheeler, while the Silver combination pairs race winner Josh Miller with Aiden Neate. Incidentally, only its two best placed Lotuses will score teams’ points at each race.

    Perhaps this year’s most intriguing entry features Phil Keen who has joined Jon Currie in Team Parker’s full-season Mercedes-AMG. British GT’s all-time record holder in terms of wins – 19 GT3/overall and two more class – has only contested one partial GT4 season, and that was back in 2012. However, he and Currie have previously linked up in similar machinery elsewhere so should hit the ground running with a team that won the Pro-Am title last year. Their historic DTM livery is also amongst the best on this year’s grid.

    This weekend’s other four entries are also eligible for the Endurance Cup, which counts events at Silverstone, Spa and Donington’s opener as well as decider.

    Ed McDermott joins GT4’s reigning Pro-Am champion and 2017 GT3 title winner Seb Morris aboard Team Parker’s Mercedes-AMG, while Will Burns – who clinched the GT4 crown in 2021 – partners Jamie Orton at Rob Boston Racing. Their weapon of choice is now a Porsche Cayman.

    MKH has one previous British GT outing to its name and returns for an Endurance Cup programme with the latest generation Aston Martin plus two of the team’s three founders: Peter Montague and Stuart Hall. Jolt Racing’s McLaren, shared by reigning GT Cup class champions Rupert Williams and John Ingram, completes a championship within a championship featuring four different manufacturers.

    One significant change over the winter concerns GT4’s extra Silver ballast, which must now only be carried during the race. This allows Silver-graded drivers to demonstrate their true speed in qualifying.

    GINETTA GT CHAMPIONSHIP (written by Ginetta)

    A bold new era for the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship begins this weekend at Donington Park, with the introduction of the brand-new Ginetta G56 GTP8 set to produce the fastest-ever one-make Ginetta racing.

    The V8-powered GTP8 is the latest evolution of the successful G56 platform, with exciting upgrades to power, handling and grip compared to its predecessor. The car has proven hugely-popular with drivers and teams, with no less than 18 GTP8’s lining up on the grid this weekend.

    The bumper grid will tackle a new two-race format this season, with each event featuring a 20-minute sprint and 40-minute endurance run with a mandatory pitstop. There’ll be plenty to fight for throughout the grid, with drivers split across three classes; PRO, PRO-AM and AM.

    Two reigning Ginetta champions will be looking to enjoy further title glory this season as they go head-to-head in PRO-AM. One of those is Nick White (Raceway Motorsport), who wrapped up the GT Championship AM class honours last year off the back of winning the GT Academy crown the year prior.

    Mike Taylor (Triple M Motorsport) meanwhile moves up the Ginetta ladder as the latest rookie champion in the GT Academy. Joining him in PRO-AM will be two of the drivers he went toe-to-toe with last year, Elite Motorsport pair Harry Gamble and Ali Juffali.

    The PRO class features an exciting mix of drivers. Established GT racer Robert Cronin (Elite Motorsport) will go up against reigning Britcar Trophy champion Hadley Simpson (Xentek Motorsport), Ginetta Junior graduate Archie Clark (MDD Racing), former JSCC vice-champion Cameron Pratt-Thompson (SVG Motorsport) and car-racing newcomer Jack Collins (E3 Sport).

    It’s set to be a hotly-contested battle in the AM class meanwhile, as some familiar Ginetta faces take on newcomers to the family. Peter Mangion (Elite Motorsport) finished runner-up in the class last season and has previously title-winning experience in Porsche racing.

    James Townsend (SVG Motorsport) is one to watch, having won the GT4 AM drivers’ title in the British GT Championship two years ago, while Carl Garnett (Breakell Racing) twice finished as a class vice-champion in the Ginetta GT4 SuperCup and has finished on the overall GT Championship podium.

    The AM entry includes three more drivers stepping up from the GT Academy ranks. Luke Shaw (Raceway Motorsport) was an overall race-winner last season, while sisters Amy and Emma Tomlinson will go up against each other with Raceway Motorsport and DTO Motorsport respectively.

    Fox Motorsport are entering two drivers embarking on their first full seasons of racing this year; Oliver Fordham and James Rolling. The grid is completed by Dominic Paul (Triple M Motorsport).

    GINETTA GT ACADEMY (written by Ginetta)
    The Ginetta GT Academy enters its fifth season in 2025, with a talented entry list of series regulars, Ginetta returnees and championship newcomers set to serve up an exciting and competitive year of racing, starting this weekend at Donington Park.

    The GT Academy offers drivers of all ages and experience levels the opportunity to try entry level GT racing in identical Ginetta G56 GTA’s. It runs to a two-class format, GTA and rookie, with a bumper 2025 entry set to battle it out over 17 races across the campaign.

    Julian Wantling (E3 Sport) will be running with the coveted #1 on the side of his car this year as he returns to defend the GTA class title. The experienced racer, who debuted with Ginetta back in 2018, celebrated six class wins and 17 podium finishes on his way to title success last season.

    One of the drivers aiming to dethrone him as champion will be his new E3 Sport team-mate James Nicholas. He steps up to the GTA class having been one of the standout rookies last year, with five overall race victories including a double win here at Donington Park.

    Jamie Caudle (E3 Sport) and Peter Thompson (W2R) also graduate from the rookie class having enjoyed overall top three results in 2024, while Paul Livesey (MDD Racing) and Mike West (E3 Sport) were GTA class race-winners last season at Anglesey and Brands Hatch respectively.

    Bringing a wealth of Ginetta experience to the grid will be Robin Grimwood (E3 Sport) and Phil McGarty (Xentek Motorsport), the latter embarking on his 11th consecutive season of Ginetta racing, while Lucie Hodgson (W2R) was a popular member of the paddock as she impressed as a rookie last year.

    Two drivers are making long-awaited returns to the Ginetta paddock this year. Nick Ponting (W2R) last competed in the Juniors all the way back in 2008, while more recently Charlie Digby (MDD Racing) was a podium finisher in the GT5 Challenge in 2018.

    Ben Cooke (W2R) and Gilbert Verdian (SVG Motorsport) both return to the grid after enjoying impressive cameos in 2024. Team boss-turned-driver Joe Edge (W2R) makes his racing debut, while one-time junior single-seater champion Alex Deighton (Paradine by Xentek) returns to racing for his Ginetta bow.

    This year’s rookie contingent includes Nicholas’ successor to the coveted PalmerSport Ginetta Race Scholarship, Sam Shrimpton (W2R). Former Caterham racer Louis Darling (MDD Racing), Shiv Sapra (Paradine by Xentek) and W2R pair Damien Duffy and Allan Wright complete the class entry.

    GINETTA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP (written by Ginetta)
    The Ginetta Junior Championship is set to launch its landmark 20th anniversary season in spectacular fashion this weekend with the largest opening round grid in series history ready to put on a show across three races at Donington Park.

    20 years on from its launch in 2005, the Ginetta Junior Championship is bigger and better than ever heading into the new campaign. No less than 28 talented drivers are ready to start the campaign in refreshed Ginetta G40 Junior Evo cars, with more drivers lined up to join the grid later in the year.

    R Racing celebrated title glory last season and return to defend their crown with a capacity six-car entry. Headlining that is two members of the Red Bull Junior Team, Rocco Coronel and Scott Kin Lindblom, who bring the iconic Red Bull livery to Ginetta machinery for the first time.

    Alfie Slater is the highest-placed returning driver from 2024 and will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of his brother – 2023 champion Freddie Slater – and challenge for the top prize, while Max Cuthbert is ready to build on a brilliant performance in the season-ending Winter Series.

    As R Racing aim for a fifth consecutive drivers’ title, Elite Motorsport are determined to regain the crown they last won in 2020. They’ve recruited two front-runners from last season; Colin Cronin, a race-winner at Donington Park in September, and Ethan Carney as part of their six-car line-up.

    Felix Livesey (MDD Racing) is one to watch as the most experienced driver on the grid with almost sixty Junior starts under his belt, while Torrin Byrne (Pace Performance) and brothers Mahlori and Ntiyiso Mabunda (both RAB Sport) also return from the class of 2024.

    The Junior Championship’s global appeal has attracted young talents from all around the world for the new season, with the most multinational grid in series history featuring drivers representing ten different nationalities across five continents.

    The Mabunda brothers are amongst a group of five South African racers this year, joined by Luviwe Sambudla (RAB Sport), Matthew Chiwara (Tim Gray Motorsport) and Ethan Lennon (Pace Performance). Venezuela and Malaysia will be represented in the series for the first time in 2025 meanwhile, by Emmilio Valentino Del Grosso (Elite Motorsport) and Katrina Ee (Tim Gray Motorsport) respectively.

    Del Grosso is one of four rookies at Elite, alongside Joseph Smith, Revie Lake and the latest winner of the coveted Ginetta Junior Scholarship, Fred Green. R Racing’s rookie contingent includes Jarrett Clark and Felipe Reijs, while Fox Motorsport are entering Henry Cameron and Freddie Lloyd.

    MKH Racing are one of four new teams on the grid this season, running Raúl Zunzarren and Harry Bartle. Noah Young (Performance One) and George Proudford-Nalder (MDD Racing) are fellow debutants, while completing the grid with Tim Gray Motorsport are Joshua Henry and Josh Watts; two drivers with previous car-racing experience to build upon.

  8. BRSCC’S SNETTERTON SPRING STARTER LOADS UP FOR NORFOLK

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    Another season starter is in store this coming weekend for the British Racing & Sports Car Club, as we travel east to the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk to kick off a few more championships and series on the Club’s roster. With spring sunshine expected, drivers will hope it’s an omen for a positive season ahead as they get underway.

    This year’s BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship will be another important season as it marks the very first to feature an all-Mk7 FJC race car grid after the Mk6 ST150 was phased out at the end of 2024. Registration numbers have been healthy across the winter and another 20+ car grid is set to line up for the Snetterton opener this weekend. Of the highest placed returning drivers, Thomas Merritt is top and one of the favourites to do well along with Archie Davies and Jack Burgess, after the rest of the top ten have all graduated to new series.

    Along with many other returnees, there’s also a brilliant influx of brand new names to the championship. Notable amongst them are two surnames you’d typically find on a touring car grid these days – Turkington and Doble. Lewis Turkington, son of four time BTCC champion Colin, makes his circuit racing debut in Fiesta Juniors this season, and he’ll be joined on track by Isaac Doble, the younger brother of Mikey. They’ll be joined by fellow first-timers such as Kacper Tomalewski, Dara McInerney and the 2025 Fiesta Junior Scholarship winner Lewis Islin, who will be sporting a striking Goodyear-backed car as part of his season prize. It’s set to be an all-action start to the FJC season!

    Their senior counterparts in the AIRTEC Motorsport Fiesta ST240 Championship also look set to have a healthy 2025 season, with defending champion Alastair Kellett hoping to defend his hard-fought title from last year. Carrying the #1 on the door once again, Alastair’s task of holding on to top spot is much easier said than done, especially as his competition this year looks to be even stronger.

    Many of his main rivals from 2024 are back to try and stop him, including race winners Zachary Lucas, John Cooper, Simon Horrobin and a welcome return to former multi-time champion David Nye back on the grid too. Other young talents to watch will include Morgan Kidd, Connor Blackburn and James Pope, while the new names feature another crop of Fiesta Junior graduates. Maggie Webster and Ben Doughty were impressive on their senior debut in the Pro Sports Sprint races at Silverstone a couple of weeks ago, and George Foxlow steps up to ST240s too in Kellett’s 2024 title winning car. This is sure to be a fast and thrilling spectacle.

    There’s even more Fiesta goodness this weekend as we begin another year of the Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge at Snetterton too. Last year it was a dominant display by the now two time champion Michael Blackburn and he’s back to defend the #1 on his window too. He will again have some fast rivals in Sam Watkins, Dillon Davis, Liam Browning, Max Buxton, Mark Blunt and Jade Goodwin, all of whom had their moments in 2024 and will be keen for more.

    This has been another championship that has enjoyed a healthy infusion of brand new drivers to the grid, certain to make their mark throughout. Along with George Foxlow doubling up alongside his ST240 efforts, there’s also entries from Brisky Racing boss Richard Wheeler (father of FJC racer Michael), Cooper Motorsport’s Gary Cooper, the impressive young Sophie Kinghorn moving across from Scottish Fiestas and SIM Motorsport Race School graduate William Box. This looks set to be another season that will be full of unpredictability and Snetterton will certainly bring plenty of intrigue too as a new season dawns.

    If there’s one grid that’s positively blossomed over the winter off-season, it’s the Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup. For the Snetterton opener this weekend, the championship is set to feature a capacity grid – a sensational 45 entries from top to bottom. That not only guarantees a busy track at any one time, but also plenty of competition for defending champion Stuart Bliss, who chooses this season to race with Student Motorsport outfit Boston College racing – could we potentially see the first SM team to take the overall title?

    Of course, answering that question is literally easier said than done. Especially when the rest of the field will feature plenty of challengers up and down the paddock. You can look to any of the following to be a threat – Andrew Dyer, Richard Jepp, Philip House (in one of several Gen 2 CityCars in the line-up), Jack Wheeler, Brady Pollock, Christopher Parkes, Alistair May and Joshua Jackson. All of them have had their moments, their victories and strong results, so don’t be surprised if any of them give Stuart a hard time.

    It should also be an exciting season in the Student Motorsport contest for competing colleges, universities and other educational institutions, with Northbrook Racing looking for four titles in a row. Bliss and Boston College Racing look to be a serious threat this season as will East Surrey College, West Suffolk College, QE Motorsports (Queen Ethelburga’s), City College Norwich, Sussex Motorsports and more.

    One grid heads into a brand new era in 2025 as the Nankang Tyre BMW SuperCup Championship kicks off for the very first time at Snetterton, after the winter amalgamation of the BMW Compact Cup and the BMW 1 Series SuperCup. This means both groups of cars will compete together in respective classes on one combined grid, making for an impressive spectacle on track.

    The Compact Cup class will see the return of champion Connor Grady after clinching the 2024 crown in his very first season in the paddock. He will have the chance to go toe to toe once again with the Dobles (Joe and Mike), along with Matt Kendall, 2023 champ Gareth Claydon, Richard Sutherland and Max Noble, all of which are established front runners in this group. In the new BMW 1 Series class, a solid initial entry includes Danny Wilkinson and Millie Hart who already have existing mileage in these new cars, along with Compact Cup convert Thorburn Astin, ex-Civic Cup racer Aydan Hassan, and MX-5 pilot Simon Waterfall.

    A mammoth grid awaits the opening Modified Ford Series weekend of 2025, which this weekend will see the series sponsored by DT Racing Developments. This series never disappoints for both grid size and variety of Blue Oval machines. Looking down the Snetterton entry, there’s plenty of Modified Ford regulars that will surely be in contention for victories, so keep an eye on the likes of James Allen’s Ford Focus, Tom Ovenden’s Mk1 Escort RSR, Ashley Shelswell’s Sierra XR4i and Lloyd Jamieson’s Escort Maxi Cosworth to be race win contenders. There’s the usual phalanx of Fiestas, Escorts, Sierras, Focuses and Pumas here, so if you’re a Ford fan, this grid will be heaven.

    This weekend, our paddock also receives a visit from the legendary Mini 7 Racing Club, which brings both Mini Se7ens and Mini Miglias to the party. These iconic race-prepped Minis may be small, but the action is anything but. The Se7ens offer ultra-close, slipstreaming battles where drafting and teamwork often come into play, while the faster Miglias bring outright pace and razor-sharp reactions into the mix. It’s classic Mini racing at its best, and with two championships on one grid, fans are guaranteed non-stop action.

    Adding to the spectacle are two exciting guest series this weekend. The Snetterton Saloons series showcases a variety of saloon and touring cars from a range of eras and specs, creating a thrilling mixed-class battle. Some of Norfolk’s finest will be on the grid in the shape of three Lotuses (two Evoras and an Elise), plus BMWs, hot hatches and more will do battle across the weekend. If there’s one circuit this series knows better than any other in the UK, the clue is in the name!

    Meanwhile, the CMMC Southern division’s Super Saloons & Tin Tops deliver a wild combination of high-powered saloons and lightweight hatchbacks all fighting for supremacy. With cars as varied as high-horsepower beasts and nimble track weapons, the racing will be unpredictable, dramatic, and full of on-track fireworks. The range is usually very broad, from ex-Australian V8 SuperCars and rapid BMWs, to a wide scope of smaller, faster tin-top looking to run circles around the bigger machines. Always a treat to watch!

    Written by Scott Woodwiss

  9. BRSCC PRODUCES A THRILLING SILVERSTONE GP OPENER

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    The British Racing & Sports Car Club’s opening race event of 2025 kicked off the new season in tremendous fashion on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, as many drivers, teams and race cars emerged from a winter’s hibernation and produced an enthralling spectacle as another campaign of club racing began.

    Opening their season with a three-hour encounter, the Silverlake C1 Endurance Series performed the perfect warm-up ahead of the return of the 24 Hour race on the GP circuit at the beginning of May. Just shy of 50 teams took to the track for a busy qualifying, where regular C1 race winners Alpha Trojon took a commanding fastest lap but where shuffled back to ninth after the random top ten draw. This placed Silverlake Racing #458 o pole, leading the early stages ahead of JW Bird Motorsport, both Trojon Motorsport cars and the second Silverlake car.

    After the first few pit stops took place and an hour’s racing was complete, the order had shuffled around with CSC Racing’s two cars sandwiching Alpha-Trojon within the top three. A near 20 minute safety car for a roll-over at Luffield helped close up the field, JW Bird’s #347 taking over in front with Liam Griffin at the wheel. As more stops rolled through, Alpha-Trojon took up their typical place at the head of the field going into the final hour, looking set to add another victory to their tally.

    Heading into the closing stages, Alpha-Trojon had to reduce its pace in order to make the finish without needing another fuel stop, and despite lapping several seconds slower than normal, their gap to the fight for P2 was more than enough to calmly cruise to victory. That battle for second was an intense affair in the final laps, and at the flag Silverlake saw both cars cross the line in podium positions. However, their #558 car would be penalised three laps for failure to provide footage which promoted Abbott Racing into 3rd behind Silverlake #458. AF Racing and WRC Developments completed the top five.

    Saturday’s main event saw the season opener for the PBS Brakes SuperSport Endurance Cup, with a pair of BMWs on the front row together. Pro-B class winner Julian McBride saw off an initial challenge from William Lynch’s orange 3 Series and aside from a shuffle of the order through mandatory pit stops, McBride would be in control of the race from start to finish. Two safety cars in the first hour of the race helped to keep the competition close across the classes.

    The Lynch BMW was one of the key retirements of the race, pulling up on the exit of Copse not long after half distance. Once all of the on-track battles were settled, McBride’s E46 M3 cruised to overall and Pro-B victory by just under a minute and a half ahead of Pro-A victor Chris Murphy’s BMW M3 E36. Jason McInulty’s Lotus took third overall and Pro-C victory, followed by the Gilbert/ Huggins Caterham and Clubman-A toppers Bruce Robinson and Colin Turkington in the top five. Additional class wins went to Rory Pickles’ Audi TT (Clubman-B) and defending champions Adam Read & David Drinkwater’s BMW Compact (Clubman-C).

    The BRSCC Mazda MX-5 paddock burst back into life at Silverstone, with all three championships out on force to kick off their 2025. Both the Kent Models Mazda MX-5 Championship and Clapham North Mazda MX-5 Clubman Championship shared a grid together on the Saturday, producing more than 50 cars lining up for race one. In the MX-5 Championship ranks, Ali Bray took a draft-aided pole by 1.3 seconds but faced much stiffer competition come the start of race one. He was chased race long by returning former champion Steve Foden, but Bray held firm to clinch the win ahead, with Adam Sparrow, Richard Wootten and Will Chadwick completing the top five.

    Foden managed to briefly depose Bray from the lead in race two, but the AB Motorsport quickly took it back in time before a safety car neutralised the rest of the race. Finishing under yellows, Bray’s second win was confirmed ahead of Sparrow, Foden, Wootten and Chadwick. Sunday saw a standalone grid race with another frantic lead scrap, with Bray completing the hat-trick from Foden and Sparrow, the latter fending off a late challenge from Chadwick who took to the grass on the Wellington straight on the final lap. Harry Storer wrapped up the top five.

    Over in the MX-5 Clubman ranks, Jordan Pimley made the best possible start to the season on his full time return. Running with the MX-5 Championship front runners, Pimley dominated proceedings to pick up the win, with 2024 champion Jonny Greensmith fending off Jack Warry to hold on to second place. Jake Paice took an excellent fourth, with Beau Parry rounding off the top five.

    Race two was a much closer affair, mainly characterised by the lengthy safety car that saw the finish under yellow. On this occasion, Jack Warry seized the opportunity to pinch the lead from Pimley to remain there once the race had been neutralised, taking the victory and the 100 points to go with it. Pimley still claimed second ahead of Greensmith, followed by Parry and Del Paice.

    The opening salvo for the Clapham North Mazda MX-5 SuperCup ended up as a personal duel between Will Blackwell-Chambers and the incoming Thomas Langford, fresh from the 2024 MX-5 Championship title. The pair took off from the front row and locked out the top two with Blackwell-Chambers victorious in race one, while an intense three way fight for third went to Ollie Hall from Alistair Dendy and Club class winning debutant Sam Middleton.

    The same leading duo again dominated race two on Sunday morning, as Blackwell-Chambers remained on the top spot with Langford in his wheel tracks, while Dendy took his first podium in the closing stages ahead of Hall and Middleton again clinched another Club class win with fifth overall. Even though Middleton led initially from his first front row start thanks to the top ten reversal for race three, Blackwell-Chambers chased him down and secured the hat-trick, with Langford again second and Hall securing another third. A track limits penalty for Dendy dropped him to fourth, with Middleton’s trio of Club wins also secure in fifth.

    Another fast and competitive entry took to the Demon Tweeks Audi TT Cup Racing Championship at Silverstone, where defending champ Bradley Burns tried to start as he meant to continue from 2024. His lead in race one was snatched away when a driveshaft problem forced him out, thus handing Sam Heading P1 on the road. However, Sam was penalised ten seconds for an out of position start, promoting Matt Luff to the win from newcomer Jordan Stilp and Will Stacey on the podium. Andrew Rogerson and Carl Swift completed the top five finishers.

    Luff led straight off from pole in race two and wouldn’t be headed from start to finish, leading all of the battling behind him for second place backwards. Swift and Stilp were able to break away to pick up the podium places respectively, while Will Stacey lost out in the closing stages thanks to an engine failure at Vale, bringing out an early chequered flag. This gave Heading fourth and Rogerson fifth, while Burns crucially worked his way from the back of the grid to sixth. Burns was then shuffled onto the second row thanks to the random top ten draw for race three, quickly taking the lead and winning from Heading, Luff, Luke Handley and Ross Makar.

    Making its highly anticipated debut on the Silverstone GP circuit, the all new BRSCC Pro Sports Sprint Series attracted a highly eclectic and varied entry of race cars for their first trio of races. Leading the line were Steve Gambrell’s Porsche 991.2 Cup Car and John Seale’s Lamborghini Huracan, who duelled superbly in the opening two encounters. Despite the Huracan taking pole, Gambrell hit the front and wouldn’t be headed in race one, with Aaron Cooke’s Ginetta completing the top three.

    A fantastic battle for the lead in race two eventually went Gambrell’s way with Seale settling for second and Simon Mauger’s CUPRA TCR Gen 1 in third, before Seale’s Huracan was forced to the sidelines for race three. This left Gambrell’s Porsche to complete the clean sweep out in front in the final encounter, dominating from start to finish and leaving Cooke and Mauger to complete the top three behind him. Other impressive performances over the weekend came from Luke Woodhouse’s VW Golf GTi Clubsport and the duelling Fiesta ST240s of Maggie Webster and Connor Blackburn. A big thank you to all Pro Sports Sprint competitors that turned out!

    Written by Scott Woodwiss

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