CROFT AUTUMN RACE WEEKEND

The British Racing & Sports Car Club prepares to head north to Yorkshire and the superb Croft circuit for its second visit of the 2023 season. The weekend’s timetable is set mostly to be dominated by tin-tops, with single seaters also adding to the flavour to the event as championship battles continue to close up and head towards their climax.

AIRTEC MOTORSPORT FIESTA ST240 CHAMPIONSHIP
As the end of this year’s AIRTEC Motorsport Fiesta ST240 Championship hones into view, the paddock now heads from sunny Silverstone and ventures north to Croft Circuit in Yorkshire for the penultimate weekend of 2023. Both the Pro and Club class title are up for grabs at this stage and with just five races remaining to settle which way they fall, it’s set to be an intense conclusion to the year.

Silverstone proved to be a weekend of contrasting fortunes for the two Pro and overall class title contenders – Alastair Kellett and Albert Webster. For Kellett, he took victory in the first race before a mechanical issue put him out of race two and then spinning across the nose of Joe Knight’s car left him clambering back to seventh by the flag of race three. In comparison, Webster had a near perfect weekend with second place before a pair of race wins to help him close the gap to just eight points.

Croft will be the last weekend of the year in which drivers will be able to use any of the rounds as dropped scores if necessary, as both of the races at the Silverstone International finale must count towards the final totals. That means that while both Alastair and Albert can’t really afford any tough results at this late stage, they could gain back points if required should fortunes not fall their way.

John Cooper’s had a great turn of fortune to help him rise up the points table to third on dropped scores, almost twenty points ahead of Matt Luff in fourth and almost thirty ahead of Joseph Knight in fifth. John’s managed a win and three podiums from the last six races, which has helped him be one of the more consistent drivers in recent times. Matt has a win under his belt from Knockhill and has been getting to grips with the Fiesta all throughout the season. Now his form is looking strong at this stage and more podiums must be on the way. Joseph too has also shown flashes of good pace all the way and will be hoping to just keep the consistency up as much as possible at this point.

Club class is still headed by the two fast females of the ST240 paddock – Morgan Kidd and Caitlin May. Morgan was able to add another class win to her tally at Silverstone and currently enjoys a lead of just over fourty points over Caitlin, who has made substantial progress across 2023 and has continued to prove her pace time and time again. It essentially appears as though the battle will be down to these two drivers, but the rest will certainly try and close them down.

That includes Connor Blackburn and Archie Johnson, both of which took wins at Silverstone too and Blackburn even managed to lead the race overall in race three that weekend courtesy of the reverse grid. Both young drivers have really been showing their skills recently, especially Archie given his shaky start to this season. Both will want to be on the pace from the outset this time, so keep an eye on them both.

Other regular names to expect to do well include Simon Horrobin, Gary Miller, and a return from William Kellett, son of points leader Alastair, who will be wishing to do well on another cameo appearance as well as providing support for his father on track too.

VINYL DETAIL FIESTA ST150 CHALLENGE
It’s getting down to a crucial point in this year’s Vinyl Detail Fiesta ST150 Challenge as with just five races left to go, there’s still at least three drivers in contention as the championship touches down at Croft this weekend. With twenty three points between the top three at this stage, it’s looking like that this battle will go right down to the wire.

The three drivers in question are Sam Beckett, Thomas Ikin and Matthew Pimlott. In a season that’s had multiple different winners throughout, Sam has managed to score two wins at Oulton Park and Knockhill and in the last three race meetings has been able to finish on the podium at least in every single one. That’s eight consecutive top three finishes, ensuring that Sam’s form remains a beacon of consistency.

Thomas Ikin is his closest challenger twenty points behind the leader and just three ahead of third placed Matthew Pimlott. Both drivers have had very similar trajectories and fortunes over the course of the season so far, with each taking just one win to date and six podiums apiece too. Where it closes up is Thomas’ non-finish at Oulton Park and non-start in Cadwell Park’s third race, meaning he could be much closer to the top spot had fortunes been better. Both will need to keep the pressure on Sam out in front if they want to take this title fight to Silverstone.

Dan Robinson heads to Croft in fourth place off the back of taking his first win of the year at Cadwell, something that’s been a long time coming up to this point. He may had started the season a little tentatively, but he’s been finding confidence everywhere he goes. Right now, he’ll head to Yorkshire seven points ahead of defending champion Mike Blackburn, who’s had to endure a rather character building year. Cadwell was certainly a high point which provided him with two wins and a second place, but prior to that he’s had plenty of ups and downs. Now looking to end the year on a general high, Croft will be another chance to score well.

Oulton winner Paul Dobson will be back on the grid to challenge towards the front again, as will the likes of Chris Flynn, Antony Sullivan and Alec Townley, while Ron Loffstadt, Lee Bowron and Greg Speight are old favourites in the paddock that are wheeling out their Fiestas once again to join the grid this weekend too.

NANKANG TYRE BMW COMPACT CUP
While the 2023 Nankang Tyre BMW Compact Cup is set to crown an all-new champion this season, the question still remains as to who said champion will eventually be. At the moment, Gareth Claydon is the man in control, but now he has to try and keep that momentum going as the championship visits Croft this weekend.

Gareth’s weekend at Cadwell Park was a successful one by his standards, picking up a win, a second place and a new qualifying lap record to boot, too. This helped him increase his lead in the standings on dropped scores to 36 points as Croft approaches this weekend. His aim will be to simply have a strong and solid trio of races and at least maintain the gap at the top.

Even though they haven’t yet won a race this season (and probably won’t thank us for reminding them!), both Rudi Macmillan and Matt Flowers have done superbly well to hold second and third on dropped scores. Both have shown their speed on more than on occasion, but it’s the sheer consistency and keeping out of trouble that’s got them to this point, especially taking advantage of others having misfortune or simply being off form.

The Dobles, Mike and Joseph, are back on the grid this weekend after missing the previous rounds at Cadwell Park due to supporting 2022 champion Mikey at the BTCC’s Knockhill round, and Mike has a great chance to climb back as high as second if he can outscore Rudi and Matt enough to leapfrog them on points. Thomas Middleton has also looked pretty strong of late and Croft will be a great chance for him to make further progress towards a first Compact Cup win. Also keep an eye on race winner Guy Davis, who will almost certainly be giving Claydon and co the run-around all weekend too.

Jim Barratt, Matt Millson, Matt Kendall and Richard Sutherland are all present this weekend once again as well, all of them hoping to continue the battle for supremacy within the bottom half of the top ten.

AUDI TT CUP RACING SERIES
We’re getting close to the conclusion of the very first season of racing for the Audi TT Cup Racing series, and it’s safe to say it’s been a success to date so far. With more interested parties looking ahead to 2024, especially with the news that it will be joining the TCR support package from next season full time. Croft marks the next chapter in its inaugural campaign and many of the regulars are back again for more.

Favourites for victory will certainly be both Andrew Dyer and Scott Parkin. Scott comes fresh from winning last weekend’s ClubSport Trophy race and will be raring to go once more in a car that’s clearly serving him well. As for Andrew, he’s proven to be quick any time he heads out on track this season, be it in TTCR or in CityCar Cup. He’s battled on more than one occasion for victory in this series and the same is to be expected this time.

Others who are certain to be in the mix include Donington Park victor Harry Yardley-Rose and Knockhill winner Richard Forber, two drivers who have also proven that the Audi TTCR is a car that experienced drivers can get to grips with quickly. They will wish to challenge at the front from the outset. Also expect to see Luke Handley and Paul Maguire in the leading group too, two more names that haven’t needed long to be quick in one of these new cars.

Former MINI ace Morgan Wroot continues his TTCR odyssey, as ex-Civic Cup racer David Buky who appears to be enjoying himself at the wheel of his new Audi. Make sure to also look out for the likes of Tim Evas, Paul Savage, David Robb and Ryan Edgecumbe, the latter making a welcome return to the grid after he made his debut in the very first rounds at Brands Hatch. Plus keep an eye out for Jonathan Williams who becomes the latest new drivers to try their hand in the series. He’ll be wishing to get up to speed quickly and learn on the fly this weekend at Croft.

BRSCC EVOLUTION TROPHY
Across all of the competing series, it’s been fascinating to watch the BRSCC Evolution Trophy become the optimal proving ground for new series and projects to compete together on track amongst each other. As the end of its inaugural season hones into view, the Evolution Trophy collective moves on to Croft in North Yorkshire to continue its development further..

The Classic VW Cup once again brings the biggest contingent of cars to the grid, with eight cars ready to turn out for Yorkshire. There’s plenty of the regular runners lining up again, including Adam Marshall’s Team HARD-prepared Golf, Simon Tomlinson’s ex-VW Cup spec Golf, the Mk1 Golfs of Tim Moll and Donald Dewar and Ken Lark’s rapid Corrado. Also keep an eye out for Dawn Butcher, Steven Watson and Nick Sanderson’s SEAT who complete the set.

In the Cooksport Renault Cup, initial favourites here have to be Tony Hunter’s Clio 182, Richard Clarke’s ex-Clio Cup Gen 4 machine, as well as another Clio 182, Philip Barwick’s Clio 200 and the Clio 197 of Graeme Farrington. Each car will be running to different specs, so expect plenty of back and forth battles between the five cars as they scrap for series honours.

Bruce Hadfield will represent the Mazda MX-5 Mk4 Trophy this weekend and will hope to get amongst the rest of the entry, while Croft sees the Evolution Trophy debut of the BMW 1 Series SuperCup with PBS Brakes’ very own Chris Coomer wheeling it out on this occasion. Since its original launch last year, the 1 Series SuperCup car has been undergoing further development in private and is now ready to reappear on track as as well as debut in the series. How it stacks  up against the rest of the Evolution Trophy contenders remains to be seen.

SUPER CLASSIC PRE ‘99 FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP
The Super Classic Pre ‘99 Formula Ford Championship enjoyed a superb outing at Silverstone last time out on the TCR UK support package with excellent racing all round, as class points battles continued to progress and strengthen. Now as we approach the climax of the 2023 season, the next stop on its travels is Croft in North Yorkshire.

The field may be a little smaller than typically found on a Super Classic Formula Ford grid this weekend, but that doesn’t mean it’s short on quality. Super Classic A has no less than five representatives on the grid this time, led by current class points leader Morgan Dempsey who will wish to carry on extending his lead in the standings. He’s joined in class by Paul Mason’s Swift, Neil Hunt’s Mondiale and two more Van Diemens piloted by Richard Freye and guest driver Callum Grant. The latter will be hoping to challenge Morgan for outright victory, so expect a battle between these two.

Doug Crosbie makes his first appearance of 2023 on the grid, this time in Super Classic B at the wheel of a 1989 Van Diemen and will be hoping that he can showcase his skills against the younger SCA class cars out on track.

While there are no cars in Super Classic C, there is a representative for Super Classic D on the grid this weekend for good measure. Scott Rawlinson can certainly take one more big step towards becoming the champion of the class if he can keep his head and finish both races. That may mean he could be uncatchable come the final rounds at Oulton Park in October.

MINI 7 RACING CLUB MIGLIAS

We’re delighted to be joined for the second time this season on a BRSCC timetable by the ever brilliant Mini 7 Racing Club and their evergreen pair of action packed championships. A much-anticipated return to Croft should guarantee thrilling track action from the ever-green Minis, with the power-packed Miglias and Libres sharing a pair of races

Competition for top honours in the 1.3-litre Miglia class has never been as fierce, with half a dozen or more aces all capable of winning on raceday. Three-time champion Aaron Smith holds what looks like a clear advantage at the top of the standings but both Kane Astin and Rupert Deeth are also ex-class champions poised to close the gap should Smith falter, as is former BTCC title winner Andrew Jordan who has an outside chance despite missing a couple of meetings this season. Dropped scores come into play after this weekend’s double-header, and so the title chase could well head off to the Silverstone finale next month with overall placings decided by number of wins – Smith, Astin and Jordan currently have 3 apiece, while Deeth will be hoping he can unlock the winning combination from his all-new car.

Starting behind the Miglias is the M7RC’s category for alternative A-Series tuning, and leading the way is former S-Class champ Julian Proctor, one win and half a dozen other podium finishes giving him a 21-point advantage. However, reigning title holder Richard Colburn has been steadily closing the gap in his similar 5-porter with three wins on the trot, while Les Stanton, Phil Harvey and Peter Hills (16v) are all still in with a shout.

MINI 7 RACING CLUB SE7ENS
The longer established Se7ens are joined by the S-Class feeder series for their two events and will be in their element as they battle around the challenging north Yorkshire circuit

The highly experienced Mike Jordan is the man on form among the 1-litre frontrunners, eight victories taking him to within 6 points of series leader Joe Thompson who bagged a brace earlier in the season. However, Ross Billison has shown a decent turn of speed so far and with one win plus several runner-up finishes has moved up into 3rd overall just 8 points shy of Jordan. Similarly, in 4th Spencer Wanstall is not all that far off having also scored a single victory, as has the 2022 champion Connor O’Brien in 6th who looks to have finally overcome his early season reliability woes. These five are the most likely to be in the hunt this weekend, although Glen Woodbridge is edging ever closer to top spot, while Darren Thomas and Damien Harrington cannot be discounted from being on leading pace.

Heading into Croft, Jonathan Page tops the milder-tuned 1275cc S-Class category having racked up four class victories in the last half dozen starts, five fastest laps adding extra bonus points too. Add to that, he has had brother Matthew picking up points from his rivals including victory at Brands last month to make it a Page double. Chris Prior lies second overall however thanks to consistent scoring but has yet to repeat his debut victory of last season, while Frazer Hack in 3rd will be keen to get his title challenge back on track, his four wins so far tempered with a fifth DNF last time out in a first corner melée that also saw dad Andy in the gravel, Hack senior having won earlier in the season. Matt Ayres is the other title contender, his early season 3-win pace-setting blunted with a triple DNS at the overseas Zandvoort trip, although conversely this means he has no points to drop either so simply has to go all out for top scores from the four remaining rounds.

Scott Woodwiss & Richard Williamson (Mini 7 Racing Club)