BRSCC SWEEPS INTO SNETTERTON FOR SUMMER FESTIVAL RACE WEEKEND
It’s the middle of Summer and the temperatures are rising, which means that it’s the perfect time to hold two more enthralling days of club motorsport! The British Racing & Sports Car Club touches down with its East Anglian Centre for the first of two back-to-back visits to the Snetterton 300 circuit in Norfolk, the first of which playing host to our mega Summer Festival!
Leading the line is sure to be our pair of championships for the BRSCC Fiesta paddock, with both seniors and juniors keeping themselves very busy across both days. The Fiesta Championship currently has Luke Pinder at the top of the standings after his double win last time at Oulton Park, holding a lead ahead of Rob Smith, Spencer Stevenson, David Nye and Simon Horrobin in the ST240 class. Ethan Rogers still heads up the ST150 contenders in the points, with competition this weekend set to come from William Kellett, newcomer Nick Moore and Briannie Davis.
As for their younger counterparts in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship, this will be another landmark race weekend as for the first time ever, the contenders here will be contesting FOUR races in one meeting! This will be the equivalent of two race meetings worth of sessions, with a qualifying session each day to set the grid for the respective pair of races on both. Deagan Fairclough still holds on to his lead in the points, but a commanding day’s racing from Jenson Brickley saw him win both races and close the gap to less than 30 points. The likes of Alex Ley, Sid Smith and Joseph Knight are all likely to be chasing them both down.
More Ford Fiestas come in the shape of the ETSL ST-XR Challenge, appearing at Snetterton for the first time since 2018. This year’s field has been superb, with a battle for the title starting to brew between Chris Jones, who’s won four of the first five races of the year so far, and Lee Bowron, who has made an excellent return to the championship after an accident at Cadwell Park last year meant a car rebuild cut his 2020 season short. There’s sure to be close attention from former champions Mark Robinson and Michael Heath, while Chris Grimes and Sam Beckett are once again sure to lead the line for the Tensport Performance squad. Don’t count out the XRs either, as Simon Robinson, Alex Causer, Daniel Cooper, Jason Hennefer and Danny Leigh won’t be out there to just make up the numbers!
There’s always a thrilling race in store when the Nankang Tyre BMW Compact Cup is in town, but they’ll have to go some way to match the absolute classic that was their weekend last time out at Knockhill. Three incredible races kept fans on the edge of their seats and they’ll be hoping to do the same again in Norfolk. Steven Dailly comes here off the back of a high thanks to winning twice at home in Scotland, but given how both Ian Jones and Ben Huntley both kept him across all three races, it’s certain they won’t give him a moment’s rest here either. The third race on Sunday is a special one too, as it will be the first-ever 30-minute encounter in the championship’s history!
And if all that tin-top action wasn’t enough, we’re also bringing you even more from the Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup too! These little pocket rockets have been thrilling fans over their first three meetings of the season and now have Oulton Park and two Donington Park visits under their belt so far, with the previous outing coming as support for the British GT Championship! Fresh off the back of that, the contenders are still questioning how they manage get a hold of runaway points leader Nic Grindrod, who has led every lap of every race and won all six with the fastest lap in each, meaning he has been totally dominant thus far! Liam Browning and Andrew Dyer are locked in a battle for 2nd overall and the lead of the Novice Racer contest and also watch for Duncan Stone and William Burgess to try and make gains on their rivals too.
There’s a packed grid once again for what’s set to be another thrilling Clubsport Trophy race too, with Class A set to be a scrap between Olly Samways’ Toyota MR2, the Nissan 370Z of David May and Mark Skeats and the Honda Integra Type R of Mark Court and Colin Newbold. There’s also plenty more regulars returning for another go, plus a good selection also competing in other championships over the weekend such as the BMW Compact Cup and seven of the ST240 class Fiesta ST180 Turbos in the Invitation class too. With a mandatory pitstop within the 45-minute mini-endurance race, it’s sure to be another spectacular encounter from start to finish!
There’s additional racing from the Track Attack Race Club, which brings an excellent mix of machines to ensure superb variety amongst their ranks. The familiar Nippon Challenge and Tricolore Trophy classes are joined by the biggest ever entry from the 206 GTi Production Cup with no less than 16 set to line up in Sunday’s races, while the Deutsche Marks Cup class is populated with assistance from the Classic VW Cup who joined TARC this year and so far appear to be enjoying their new home.
Finally, there’s also a race lined up for the Aston Martin Owners Club’s trio of contemporary series which get ready for a 50-minute thriller on the 300 circuit. The GT Challenge, GT4 Challenge and Intermarque series features an exceptional mix. With a pair of Ferraris including one piloted by GT ace Benny Simonsen, a trio of Aston Martin Vantage GT4s, a Porsche 997 Cup and several BMWs populating the entry list, this should be quite the cherry on top of the cake when it comes to adding further excitement to this incredible weekend in Norfolk!
Scott Woodwiss
