BRSCC’S SUMMER SILVERSTONE SOJOURN
Silverstone in the summertime – usually playing host to events such as the British Grand Prix, British GT and other high profile occasions. The home of British motorsport is always a venue we enjoy visiting, and we do so once again with the BRSCC Midlands Centre, as the National circuit prepares to be invaded by an armada of Mazda MX-5s, plus single seaters, tin-tops and an endurance race on Saturday. Plenty of variety to keep everyone entertained!
Saturday’s racing action is mostly dominated by a 4-hour endurance epic from the sensational FunCup Championship. These silhouette-bodied single seaters make up one of the most cost-effective ways to go long distance racing, with teams of 2 to 5 drivers battling it out on track, with race distances ranging anywhere between 3 and 6 hours. Fresh from their European trip to Zandvoort in Holland, the Sheradize duo of Marcus Clutton and Peter Belshaw are sitting pretty at the top of the standings after storming to victory in both races last time out. With the rules permitting them to start from the back of the grid for this round, can they charge through to pick up another win, or will Track Torque 2 Rent Dominos, Team Honeywell, Viking Self Storage or any other teams get to the chequered flag first?
Without question, the most significant entry of the weekend comes from the BRSCC Mazda MX-5 Championship where at the time of writing, a staggering 56 car field will be out in force split between two group as per usual. At the head of the field, expect the title battle to resume once more between the Mike Comber Racing trio of defending champion Will Blackwell-Chambers, Samuel Smith and team boss Mike Comber himself, as they fend off the AB Motorsport’s leading drivers Oliver Allwood, Brian Trott and John Langridge. With many of the regular drivers all in attendance and a handful of new faces in attendance too, the MX-5 freight train is ready to roll once again with its biggest grid of the season.
Their new paddock mates for the season have been the Mazda MX-5 Super Series, a non-points scoring contest that’s home to cars that are identical to those that race in the MX-5 SuperCup. So far, race wins have mostly gone the way of either Joshua Jackson or Jake Bailey, with Jackson picking up eight victories himself from the 12 races contested. Sam Bailey and Richard Breland will be two of some names that will be chasing them down, in three races that should hopefully provide as much entertainment and close competition as the main SuperCup does. If you want to learn how to race a Mk3 MX-5, this is where you come to do it!
Single seater action comes from a much-loved category, as the Avon Tyres Northern Formula Ford Championship makes its annual voyage outside of its usual staple venues of Oulton Park and Anglesey. Post 89 points leader Andrew Thomas has repaired his Mygale back to full strength after incidents last time out at Oulton, but his task of racing for the win has been made infinitely harder on this occasion. A selection of some of the quicker competitors from the National Championship is here to gain a little bit of extra track time, with Nico Gruber, Michael Eastwell, Hugo Bentley-Ellis, Jonathan Browne and Rory Smith amongst the notable attendees. In the Pre 90 entry, defending class champion Jaap Blijleven should be the man to beat once again.
Covering the tin-top quota, it’s time for the Alfa Romeo Championship to hit the track once again only three weeks after their most recent rounds at Snetterton in Norfolk. On that weekend, none of the overall title contenders won a race as Ray Foley, and Chris Oxborough picked up a victory each. The Twin Spark Cup is the most competitive of the three classes competing, and Snetterton double race winner Richard Ford is back out in force along with Tom Hill and Dave Messenger to name the leading contenders. The Power Trophy contest should be intriguing as Foley will have both of the McFie brothers to deal with, as Simon and Chris bring out their pair of Fiat Punto Abarths once again. While there’s only one Modified class car, it’s a notable one at that – former champion Graham Seager and his great GTV make their first appearance of the season and have to be an overwhelming favourite for victory in both races.
Also at Silverstone weekend will be the Track Attack Race Club, as once again their Nippon Challenge, Tricolore Trophy and Multi Marques contests combine into one grid. Their entry is set to feature a full 40 car grid plus a handful of reserves, meaning this will be one of the busiest races of the weekend. The main duels will be between the array of French and Japanese cars that will be on track together, as Peugeots and Renault Clios will take on a mass of Hondas, Protons and Mazdas. With all three divisions covering 11 classes in total, the Track Attack Race Club will undoubtedly provide a full circuit for every competitor to contend with.
