2024 TCR UK SILVERSTONE NATIONAL RACE WEEKEND

We’re getting to the business end of the 2024 TCR UK Touring Car Championship, and the first of two visits to the home of British motorsport is up next. Silverstone’s short but fast National circuit awaits the touring cars and a strong support package, as the BRSCC prepares for one of its final race meetings of the summer. Temperatures look set to be warm once again, meaning an extra test for cars, drivers and tyres.

Croft proved to be a real turning point in the TCR UK title battle as the fight at the head of the field has gone from a duel to a three way dance. A pair of wins in less than ideal conditions in North Yorkshire helped catapult Callum Newsham straight into contention, the Hyundai driver third in the standings on dropped scores, but the gap has been significantly slashed. With defending champion Carl Boardley also taking a win last time out, it has left the top three covered by just seven points.

This was also thanks to championship leader Adam Shepherd having a nightmare meeting, at one stage even looking to be out of the weekend before it even started. The best he could salvage was a fourth place, but the points lost mean his previously sizeable lead has been severely cut down. These three will be the main contenders to watch this weekend on a grid that’s expected to be well supported this weekend. Other front runners to watch will include Darron Lewis and Brad Hutchinson fighting over fourth while further back, Silverstone marks the second appearance of the Lynk & Co 03 TCR this year, this time in the hands of Owen Hillman.

It’ll be a busy weekend for the Milltek Sport Civic Cup at Silverstone, as they’ll be contesting no less than four races across both days. Not only is this weekend a scheduled triple header, but the timetable also accommodates the lost race from Oulton Park a couple of months ago. That means it’s likely to be hot work and a long weekend in the seat for all the drivers, especially those at the head of the table. 

Championship leader Max Edmundson’s Croft weekend was a tale of two sides – victory in race one was followed by an off in race two in inclement weather conditions and when the music stopped due to a red flag, Alistair Camp was left the winner. Nevertheless, Edmundson still carries a 26 point lead heading to Silverstone over Area Motorsport teammate Josh Files, with Camp heading up the fight for third between himself and Lewis Kent. Spencer Stevenson currently completes the top five with Harvey Caton, Liam McGill, Will Redford and also snapping at their heels.

Over in the other TCR UK support series, the Audi TT Cup Racing Championship has attracted another strong entry of more than 30 cars to Silverstone this weekend, which means the latest en vogue tin top club racing series continues to look as attractive and strong as ever. Croft saw a breakthrough pair of wins for Bradley Burns, which in turn have helped him jump right into contention for the title on dropped scores. They’ve helped him hold third place, while it’s getting closer between the top two.

Carl Swift found some form again after his Oulton Park nightmare and picked up two podiums, as did his current key rival Matt Luff. On dropped scores, there’s seven points between the pair but still in Swift’s favour, while Burns is only another six back and waiting in the wings if he can outscore them both again. Others such as Will Stacey, Andrew Dyer, Sean Smith, Ross Makar, Paul Luti, Charlie Budd and Steve Foden will all be hoping Silverstone is kind to them on the TT Cup’s first visit to the home of British motorsport. With such a well populated field, expect plenty of scraps up and down the grid.

Out in front in the AIRTEC Motorsport Fiesta ST240 Championship, Alastair Kellett continues to quest towards the titles he’s so narrowly missed out on the previous three seasons. Victorious again at Croft, he has a commanding lead both on total and dropped scores with a near 50 point gap on the latter, and Silverstone will be another chance for him to extend that further. He’ll especially want to redeem himself after a disappointing visit to the National circuit last year. 

The battle for second and third is also looking tight on dropped scores between Simon Horrobin and Zach Lucas with just four points between them at this stage with three meetings left to run. Their potential squabbles could allow Kellett to escape out front, so they’ll have to pick their battles carefully. Gary Miller, Lucas Hayden, Connor Blackburn, John Cooper and co will also be in the mix too in Pro class, while James Pope will hope to maintain his Am class lead against Daniel James, Henry Howarth, Archie Johnson and co.

Over in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship, it’s close at the top in the overall table between Jenson O’Neill-Going and Finn Leslie, with just a ten point margin between them on dropped scores keeping it competitive with three meetings to go. This year’s Fiesta Junior grid has been especially competitive and provided exciting close racing wherever it’s appeared, so Silverstone’s National circuit is sure to produce more of the same.

O’Neill-Going has four wins to Leslie’s two, but the pair have had plenty of competition at the head of the field. Leading challengers include Jacob Hodgkiss, Jenson Mason, Jenson Mason, Alfie Garford, Archie Davies and Thomas Merritt to name just a few, but one driver who sadly won’t be present is Croft double injury Tommy Harfield as he’ll be sidelined this weekend with an injury suffered while testing a single seater recently (we wish Tommy a speed recovery!). Expect these young stars to put on another fine display of racing all weekend.

The SW Motorsports ClubSport Trophy is always a series that provides a packed out grid and as you’d expect, Silverstone this weekend is no exception. A near capacity entry of almost fourty cars is turning out on the National circuit, ready for more intense pit-stop multi-class racing over 45 minutes. Also in typical ClubSport fashion, the range of cars on the grid this weekend is varied, eclectic and intriguing.

If you’re a regular ClubSport Trophy fan, you’ll recognise some of the favourites in the top class from this season that are back out for more again this time. They include David May’s Nissan 370Z, Phiroze Bilimoria’s VW Scirocco, the VW Golfs of David Cox and Julian Daniel and Lee Reynolds’ Honda Integra. Alongside them, there’s the usual mix of BMWs, MINIs, Renault Clios, Honda Civics, Mazdas, Toyotas and more that make up a busy entry.

Speaking of busy entries, the same can be said for the ever well-supported Modified Ford Series which contests its final BRSCC race meeting of the season before moving onto the rest of their 2024 calendar, which includes a trip to Navarra in Spain in October. While it may be the last time we’ll see them on one of our race meetings this year, that doesn’t mean their grid is scrimping on either quantity or quality – quite the opposite, in fact!

At the time of writing, 36 cars are expected on the entry list for the pair of races on Sunday, and if you’re a fast Ford fan, they’re definitely not ones to be missed. The top class of Super A is looking especially exciting as it contains regular quick guys such as Tommy Field and Jack Gadd both in  Mk1 Escort RSR Turbos, Dave Cockell’s Escort Cosworth, Simon Light’s V8 powered Capri and Lloyd Jamieson’s Escort Maxi Cosworth. Also watch out for Stephen Scott-Dunwoodie’s Sierra RS500 and Tom Ovenden in another Escort Mk1 RSR as other potential race winners.

Ginetta Junior Championship – preview written by Simon Paice

The title battle is heating up in the Ginetta Junior Championship as a packed grid of talented teenagers prepare for their second visit of the season to Silverstone. Ethan Jeff Hall heads into the weekend with the championship lead to hand, having recorded five race wins so far in his rookie season including a stunning Anglesey hat-trick and a victory on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit back in May. Only 38 points adrift is Chase Fernandez, after he closed the gap with a brilliant treble win last time out at Snetterton, with the team-mates having played a key role in a current record-setting run of seven consecutive one-two race finishes for R Racing.

At least three more drivers head into the final nine races of the season still holding title aspirations. Charlie Hart leads the challenge for former champions Elite Motorsport, with impressive consistency seeing him be the only driver on the grid to finish all 16 races so far inside the top six, while Silverstone race-winners Henry Joslyn and Marcus Saeter are in the title mix too with Preptech UK and R Racing respectively. A hugely competitive grid features a number of potential contenders for race victories, including Oulton Park winner Isaac Phelps and fellow rookie class front-runners Archie Clark, Alfie Slater, Ruben Dan and Tom Ingram Hill.

Written by Scott Woodwiss & Simon Paice