Mini 7 Racing Club & TCR UK Silverstone 12th & 13th October 2024
Mini Miglia - JUBILANT JEFF SMITH SEALS MAIDEN MIGLIA MILESTONE
Qualifying: An impressive entry of 28 Miglias and Libre class cars set out to qualify for the final pair of races of the 2024 season. Rain had moistened the track surface in the lead-up to the opening qualifying session and the threat of further rain meant time was of the essence to set a fast lap time. Fortunately, the rain didn’t arrive and Jeff Smith’s last-gasp flyer placed the championship leader on pole position by over a second as scores of late improvements were made. Andrew Jordan, the double winner last time out at Castle Combe, had held the top spot for half of the session and lined up alongside his former BTCC teammate on the front row with a time 1.064 seconds slower. Third fastest Ben Colburn has been due a big result for a while and formed row two with outgoing title holder Aaron Smith, with less than a tenth of a second splitting them. Former champions Rupert Deeth and Ian Curley started alongside each other on the third row, with three-time crowned Deeth just 0.044 seconds down on Smith’s time. Former motorbike racer Jody Lees impressed with seventh as he narrowly trailed Curley by 0.061 seconds to qualify ahead of Phil Bullen-Brown in eighth and the pair had a slim 0.041 seconds separating them. Mini 7 Racing Club commercial manager Colin Peacock headed the fifth row and 2011 Miglia champion Endaf Owens put in one of his irregular appearances to round out the top ten despite being fastest at one point.
Qualifying: An impressive entry of 28 Miglias and Libre class cars set out to qualify for the final pair of races of the 2024 season. Rain had moistened the track surface in the lead-up to the opening qualifying session and the threat of further rain meant time was of the essence to set a fast lap time. Fortunately, the rain didn’t arrive and Jeff Smith’s last-gasp flyer placed the championship leader on pole position by over a second as scores of late improvements were made. Andrew Jordan, the double winner last time out at Castle Combe, had held the top spot for half of the session and lined up alongside his former BTCC teammate on the front row with a time 1.064 seconds slower. Third fastest Ben Colburn has been due a big result for a while and formed row two with outgoing title holder Aaron Smith, with less than a tenth of a second splitting them. Former champions Rupert Deeth and Ian Curley started alongside each other on the third row, with three-time crowned Deeth just 0.044 seconds down on Smith’s time. Former motorbike racer Jody Lees impressed with seventh as he narrowly trailed Curley by 0.061 seconds to qualify ahead of Phil Bullen-Brown in eighth and the pair had a slim 0.041 seconds separating them. Mini 7 Racing Club commercial manager Colin Peacock headed the fifth row and 2011 Miglia champion Endaf Owens put in one of his irregular appearances to round out the top ten despite being fastest at one point.
Cadwell Park Replacement Race: The rained-off Sunday races from Cadwell Park at the end of April were fitted into the schedule on day one at Silverstone, with all the Mini 7 Racing Club’s categories forming up on the grid. Saturday winner in Lincolnshire Jeff Smith also led the championship by eleven points at the start of the weekend and took up pole position for the Miglias alongside Kane Astin on the front row, with runner-up in Lincolnshire Ben Colburn and Rupert Deeth. Jeff Smith's nearest challenger on the championship table Aaron Smith lined up fifth. Josh Evans and Richard Colburn started at the front of the Libre class after the pair had a bruising final-lap battle at Cadwell Park. More rain had fallen in the hour prior to the encounter, leaving the surface extremely slippery. Kane Astin led off the line before the poleman started to challenge at Village and held the lead into the Vale/Club complex for the first time. However, Aaron Smith got alongside onto the pit straight and led over the line by just 0.006 seconds to lead the pack into Abbey in what became a four-car breakaway. The slipstreaming contest for the lead became three-strong when Jeff Smith had a misfire develop mid-race and then dropped to two when Astin fell away. Rupert Deeth slid wide at Stowe for the penultimate time to hand the lead to Aaron Smith, which he would hold to the end to take an important win for the championship chaser by 0.389 seconds. The temporarily struggling Jeff Smith clawed back the deficit with the fastest lap to take third place away from Astin after muscling through at Village with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. Saturday runner-up Ben Colburn fell away from the lead scrap throughout to come home in fifth and held a two-and-a-half-second advantage from Colin Peacock in sixth. Two-time Miglia champion Ian Curley was a retirement before half-distance after scrapping with Colburn over fifth place when a touch with the back of Matthew Ayres' S-Class car during lappery caused Curley's mount to slow. Richard Colburn was dominant in the Libre class to win from Julian Proctor and Josh Evans.
Silverstone Race One: The track surface had dried out during Saturday afternoon but a dark cloud loomed overhead and steady light rain fell as the grid formed to add to the uncertainty before a sudden cloudburst just as the race was due to start. The downpour only lasted a couple of minutes and the field was given an extra green flag lap, which allowed the precipitation to clear. Andrew Jordan leapt into the lead off the line and drove an outstanding first lap to break the tow to the group falling over themselves for second but his efforts counted for nothing as the race was red-flagged on lap two after Colin Peacock spun exiting Club for the first time and Mark Sims slammed into the pit wall as the pack slowed in front of him, fortunately without injury. The sun was shining for the second attempt and the clock started when the field set off on another green flag lap in the original grid order. The clock showed sixteen minutes remained when the race got underway and Jordan got the holeshot once more before opening a slight lead around the first lap but the 2021 champion couldn’t escape this time. Ben Colburn was his earliest challenger before Aaron and Jeff Smith joined them, the front-row man had slipped behind the pair away from the grid but when the Smiths leaned on each other along Vale for the first time, it allowed Colburn to skate around the outside into second at Club. Endaf Owens also joined the pack after squirming away from Ian Curley, Rupert Deeth and Kane Astin. Jordan showed his defensive prowess as he continued to hold the train of cars off into Stowe until Colburn swapped ends at the Vale left-hander when threatening Jordan with eleven minutes to go. Aaron Smith pounced to take the lead from Jordan, the incident delayed Jeff Smith as well as Colburn and both fell behind Owens, Curley and Astin. Smith's tenure of the lead only lasted as far as Abbey when Jordan slid through and the opportunistic Owens also went by. The Welshman ended the lap back in third after Aaron Smith reclaimed second place into the Vale left-hander. The same corner a lap later was the scene of Owens moving to the front after the trio came out of Stowe three-wide but Jordan almost immediately took the lead back with a great run out of Club, Aaron Smith tried replicating Owens' trick from a couple of laps earlier to grab second but the preparation expert wouldn't relinquish the spot at Village. Their fighting had allowed Jeff Smith and Colburn to join back up with the group and the championship leader also took a turn in the lead a couple of laps later after draughting past Jordan and Owens down the Hangar Straight with just under six minutes left, whilst Colburn shifted Aaron Smith to the back of the quintet at Club. The order had changed again within a lap as Owens returned to the head of the queue from Jeff Smith and Colburn, with Jordan slipping back to fourth. The 2013 BTCC champion wasted little time in taking back third place and Aaron Smith followed him through at Village with a little over three-and-a-half minutes remaining. Jeff Smith led onto the Hangar Straight and held off Owens into Stowe as Jordan latched back onto the pair. The top five were as one down to Stowe next time around as Owens and Jordan both breezed by Jeff Smith and Ben Colburn demoted Aaron Smith as time for two more laps was all that was left. Jordan sped into the lead down the Hangar Straight and Colburn went from fourth to second before an incident at Club removed the Smiths and Owens from the battle for victory, after Aaron Smith clattered into the side of Owens whilst side-by-side with Jeff Smith, so the fight for glory boiled down to a straight fight between Jordan and Colburn on the final lap. Jordan forced Colburn to the outside into Stowe and held on through Vale and Club to take the victory by 0.349 seconds. Jeff Smith completed the podium, whilst Aaron Smith crossed the line in fourth but was penalised one position for the Club incident with Owens so was classified fifth behind the Welshman. Rupert Deeth defeated fellow former champion Kane Astin by just 0.183 seconds in sixth and seventh, whilst Phil Bullen-Brown fended off another previous title holder for eighth place as he fended off Ian Curley by just under half a second. Ryan Taylor's orange machine was the tenth finisher home. Huw Turner led home the two title rivals for the Libre class win, ahead of championship leader Josh Evans and his nearest pursuer Richard Colburn.
Silverstone Race Two: The fastest lap from Race One put Jeff Smith onto pole position for the final twenty-minute bout of the championship season from Ben Colburn on the front row, Mini wizard Endaf Owens and outgoing champion Aaron Smith lined up on row two, with Kane Astin and birthday boy Rupert Deeth on the third row. There would no first-race winner Andrew Jordan after he chose to withdraw and was due to have started sixth. Jeff Smith made a great start to lead the field into Abbey from Colburn and Owens, who swapped places at Village, but the Welshman draughted past the poleman down to Stowe for the first time to lead at the end of lap one. The lead wouldn't last long as the Smiths double-teamed Owens at Village, with Jeff skating up the inside and Aaron taking the long way round to move into second, with Deeth also taking fourth from Colburn. Owens got back to the front at Stowe and immediately tried to make a break as the Smith pair and Deeth argued over second at Vale. The plan worked initially but Aaron Smith was the first to reach the Welshman before the lead pack grew to six cars at quarter-distance and then to nine cars by half distance! Ian Curley had also played himself into the mix and momentarily took third into Abbey as the chase of Owens began, he would grab third again at Stowe from Jeff Smith later in the lap before yellow flags at Village after four minutes precluded any passing there for a few laps. Jeff Smith reclaimed third from Curley at Stowe for the fifth time, with Colburn also getting ahead of the two-time champion through the Vale/Club complex. The leading four cars were abreast down to Stowe next time around but Owens couldn't be shifted from the top spot as Jeff Smith and Colburn demoted Aaron Smith to fourth but the championship leader managed to prize open the door into Vale to lead for the first time since lap two. However, Owens used the cutback through the following right-hander to lead again at the line but the move had slowed the pair down and it was three-wide again for the lead up to Abbey, where Owens held on from Jeff Smith and Colburn. The trio were at it again down the Hangar Straight as Colburn slotted into second behind Owens at Stowe, with Aaron Smith also passing namesake Jeff for third. The Smiths switched again at Stowe next time around and Jeff Smith braked very late to go around the outside of Colburn at Vale for second at the end of lap eight. Second quickly became the lead by Village just after half-distance had passed but the wily Welshman was back ahead into Stowe as the top seven cars spread out across the circuit, with Curley. Colburn and Deeth contesting third place through the following Vale/Club sequence. Curley took third with a brave dive into the Vale left-hander for the tenth time that carried him past both Deeth and Colburn. Jeff Smith made Owens defend his lead at Abbey starting lap eleven and his greater momentum carried him through to the lead by Village but the preparation ace would be back in front at Stowe with a ragged-edge move on the outside. Curley also got ahead of the championship leader through Club to start lap twelve in second place. Aaron Smith pounced to take fourth from the abreast Colburn and Deeth, with Kane Astin also moving forward to relegate Colburn to seventh with five minutes left. Curley got his nose ahead of Owens exiting Stowe for the twelfth time but couldn't make the move stick on the outside of Vale and eventually lost second to Jeff Smith at Abbey as they started the following lap. With enough time for three more laps, Jeff Smith got a run on Owens past the pits but Curley was gaining on the pair of them before wisely backing out of the move as Smith got sideways and forced Owens wide before conceding the lead at Village. The Welshman didn't take long to regain the lead and would be back ahead by Stowe. Owens hadn’t slipped outside of the top two once he'd been caught by the pack and led onto the final lap, fending off Jeff Smith into Stowe to win a thrilling race by 0.721 seconds. The preparation expert bookended the season with victory, having prevailed in the season opener at Donington Park on Good Friday and, amazingly, the lap chart showed that he led every lap over the timing line. Jeff Smith wrapped up the title with second overall from rival Aaron Smith, his first Miglia crown but his fourth title with the club after scoring a Mini Se7en hat-trick in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Aaron Smith had been shuffled back as far as sixth place before mounting a late charge back to third. 2015 champion Kane Astin took fourth ahead of three-time title holder Deeth after the pair had swapped places twice through the final sequence of corners. Deeth had to make a late-race pass of Phil Bullen-Brown at Abbey to reach the back of Astin as 1.681 seconds covered the first seven cars home, with Colin Peacock on the back of the train. As it had during the Cadwell Park replacement race, Ian Curley’s mount appeared to switch off after tapping the back of Jeff Smith when looking to take second place into Club for the last time and the twice-champion frustratingly failed to make it over the finish line and the group also lost Colburn when he pitted with four minutes left. Josh Evans celebrated winning the Libre class championship with a win ahead of Richard Colburn and first-race victor Huw Turner.
Silverstone Race One: The track surface had dried out during Saturday afternoon but a dark cloud loomed overhead and steady light rain fell as the grid formed to add to the uncertainty before a sudden cloudburst just as the race was due to start. The downpour only lasted a couple of minutes and the field was given an extra green flag lap, which allowed the precipitation to clear. Andrew Jordan leapt into the lead off the line and drove an outstanding first lap to break the tow to the group falling over themselves for second but his efforts counted for nothing as the race was red-flagged on lap two after Colin Peacock spun exiting Club for the first time and Mark Sims slammed into the pit wall as the pack slowed in front of him, fortunately without injury. The sun was shining for the second attempt and the clock started when the field set off on another green flag lap in the original grid order. The clock showed sixteen minutes remained when the race got underway and Jordan got the holeshot once more before opening a slight lead around the first lap but the 2021 champion couldn’t escape this time. Ben Colburn was his earliest challenger before Aaron and Jeff Smith joined them, the front-row man had slipped behind the pair away from the grid but when the Smiths leaned on each other along Vale for the first time, it allowed Colburn to skate around the outside into second at Club. Endaf Owens also joined the pack after squirming away from Ian Curley, Rupert Deeth and Kane Astin. Jordan showed his defensive prowess as he continued to hold the train of cars off into Stowe until Colburn swapped ends at the Vale left-hander when threatening Jordan with eleven minutes to go. Aaron Smith pounced to take the lead from Jordan, the incident delayed Jeff Smith as well as Colburn and both fell behind Owens, Curley and Astin. Smith's tenure of the lead only lasted as far as Abbey when Jordan slid through and the opportunistic Owens also went by. The Welshman ended the lap back in third after Aaron Smith reclaimed second place into the Vale left-hander. The same corner a lap later was the scene of Owens moving to the front after the trio came out of Stowe three-wide but Jordan almost immediately took the lead back with a great run out of Club, Aaron Smith tried replicating Owens' trick from a couple of laps earlier to grab second but the preparation expert wouldn't relinquish the spot at Village. Their fighting had allowed Jeff Smith and Colburn to join back up with the group and the championship leader also took a turn in the lead a couple of laps later after draughting past Jordan and Owens down the Hangar Straight with just under six minutes left, whilst Colburn shifted Aaron Smith to the back of the quintet at Club. The order had changed again within a lap as Owens returned to the head of the queue from Jeff Smith and Colburn, with Jordan slipping back to fourth. The 2013 BTCC champion wasted little time in taking back third place and Aaron Smith followed him through at Village with a little over three-and-a-half minutes remaining. Jeff Smith led onto the Hangar Straight and held off Owens into Stowe as Jordan latched back onto the pair. The top five were as one down to Stowe next time around as Owens and Jordan both breezed by Jeff Smith and Ben Colburn demoted Aaron Smith as time for two more laps was all that was left. Jordan sped into the lead down the Hangar Straight and Colburn went from fourth to second before an incident at Club removed the Smiths and Owens from the battle for victory, after Aaron Smith clattered into the side of Owens whilst side-by-side with Jeff Smith, so the fight for glory boiled down to a straight fight between Jordan and Colburn on the final lap. Jordan forced Colburn to the outside into Stowe and held on through Vale and Club to take the victory by 0.349 seconds. Jeff Smith completed the podium, whilst Aaron Smith crossed the line in fourth but was penalised one position for the Club incident with Owens so was classified fifth behind the Welshman. Rupert Deeth defeated fellow former champion Kane Astin by just 0.183 seconds in sixth and seventh, whilst Phil Bullen-Brown fended off another previous title holder for eighth place as he fended off Ian Curley by just under half a second. Ryan Taylor's orange machine was the tenth finisher home. Huw Turner led home the two title rivals for the Libre class win, ahead of championship leader Josh Evans and his nearest pursuer Richard Colburn.
Silverstone Race Two: The fastest lap from Race One put Jeff Smith onto pole position for the final twenty-minute bout of the championship season from Ben Colburn on the front row, Mini wizard Endaf Owens and outgoing champion Aaron Smith lined up on row two, with Kane Astin and birthday boy Rupert Deeth on the third row. There would no first-race winner Andrew Jordan after he chose to withdraw and was due to have started sixth. Jeff Smith made a great start to lead the field into Abbey from Colburn and Owens, who swapped places at Village, but the Welshman draughted past the poleman down to Stowe for the first time to lead at the end of lap one. The lead wouldn't last long as the Smiths double-teamed Owens at Village, with Jeff skating up the inside and Aaron taking the long way round to move into second, with Deeth also taking fourth from Colburn. Owens got back to the front at Stowe and immediately tried to make a break as the Smith pair and Deeth argued over second at Vale. The plan worked initially but Aaron Smith was the first to reach the Welshman before the lead pack grew to six cars at quarter-distance and then to nine cars by half distance! Ian Curley had also played himself into the mix and momentarily took third into Abbey as the chase of Owens began, he would grab third again at Stowe from Jeff Smith later in the lap before yellow flags at Village after four minutes precluded any passing there for a few laps. Jeff Smith reclaimed third from Curley at Stowe for the fifth time, with Colburn also getting ahead of the two-time champion through the Vale/Club complex. The leading four cars were abreast down to Stowe next time around but Owens couldn't be shifted from the top spot as Jeff Smith and Colburn demoted Aaron Smith to fourth but the championship leader managed to prize open the door into Vale to lead for the first time since lap two. However, Owens used the cutback through the following right-hander to lead again at the line but the move had slowed the pair down and it was three-wide again for the lead up to Abbey, where Owens held on from Jeff Smith and Colburn. The trio were at it again down the Hangar Straight as Colburn slotted into second behind Owens at Stowe, with Aaron Smith also passing namesake Jeff for third. The Smiths switched again at Stowe next time around and Jeff Smith braked very late to go around the outside of Colburn at Vale for second at the end of lap eight. Second quickly became the lead by Village just after half-distance had passed but the wily Welshman was back ahead into Stowe as the top seven cars spread out across the circuit, with Curley. Colburn and Deeth contesting third place through the following Vale/Club sequence. Curley took third with a brave dive into the Vale left-hander for the tenth time that carried him past both Deeth and Colburn. Jeff Smith made Owens defend his lead at Abbey starting lap eleven and his greater momentum carried him through to the lead by Village but the preparation ace would be back in front at Stowe with a ragged-edge move on the outside. Curley also got ahead of the championship leader through Club to start lap twelve in second place. Aaron Smith pounced to take fourth from the abreast Colburn and Deeth, with Kane Astin also moving forward to relegate Colburn to seventh with five minutes left. Curley got his nose ahead of Owens exiting Stowe for the twelfth time but couldn't make the move stick on the outside of Vale and eventually lost second to Jeff Smith at Abbey as they started the following lap. With enough time for three more laps, Jeff Smith got a run on Owens past the pits but Curley was gaining on the pair of them before wisely backing out of the move as Smith got sideways and forced Owens wide before conceding the lead at Village. The Welshman didn't take long to regain the lead and would be back ahead by Stowe. Owens hadn’t slipped outside of the top two once he'd been caught by the pack and led onto the final lap, fending off Jeff Smith into Stowe to win a thrilling race by 0.721 seconds. The preparation expert bookended the season with victory, having prevailed in the season opener at Donington Park on Good Friday and, amazingly, the lap chart showed that he led every lap over the timing line. Jeff Smith wrapped up the title with second overall from rival Aaron Smith, his first Miglia crown but his fourth title with the club after scoring a Mini Se7en hat-trick in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Aaron Smith had been shuffled back as far as sixth place before mounting a late charge back to third. 2015 champion Kane Astin took fourth ahead of three-time title holder Deeth after the pair had swapped places twice through the final sequence of corners. Deeth had to make a late-race pass of Phil Bullen-Brown at Abbey to reach the back of Astin as 1.681 seconds covered the first seven cars home, with Colin Peacock on the back of the train. As it had during the Cadwell Park replacement race, Ian Curley’s mount appeared to switch off after tapping the back of Jeff Smith when looking to take second place into Club for the last time and the twice-champion frustratingly failed to make it over the finish line and the group also lost Colburn when he pitted with four minutes left. Josh Evans celebrated winning the Libre class championship with a win ahead of Richard Colburn and first-race victor Huw Turner.
Mini Se7en & S-Class - TERRIFIC THOMPSON'S TIMELY TITLE TRIUMPH
Qualifying: It had brightened up a little for the Mini Se7ens' qualifying session that took place immediately after the Miglias' outing. The scheduled fifteen-minute spell was red-flagged twice, the second time after Nigel Davies' Se7en went off at the exit of Stowe to truncate the session with five minutes remaining. Still in with an outside chance of the crown, Damien Harrington got his weekend off to a great start and set pole position from fellow championship challenger Joe Thompson by 0.889 seconds. Departing title holder Mike Jordan headed row two from ‘ringer’ Kane Astin in Thompson’s spare car, which was Paul Thompson’s Miglia title-winning chassis in 2010. The chief protagonist in the standings on points scored, Ross Billison would start from the third row but it was Thompson who held the upper hand on dropped scores with five wins to Billison’s two. Starting alongside the championship leader would be Dan Bell in sixth, the son of the much-missed former champion Steve was at the helm of Graeme Davis’ usual mount. 2022 champion Connor O’Brien had a rare outing and would line up in seventh beside Steven Hopper. Glen Woodbridge used his father Paul's regular machine to qualify ninth and Darren Thomas completed the top ten. Among the ever-competitive S-Class cars, Matthew Ayres scored a dominant pair of victories last time out in Wiltshire to wrap up the title and his hot form continued as he topped a packed S-Class field to seal pole position by 0.106 seconds from Oliver Birkett. Former champion Michael Winkworth set the third fastest time and was joined on the second row by the returning Matthew Page. Joel Wren belied his relative lack of experience in the class to line up fifth, just 0.002 seconds ahead of Arnold Duncan’s chocolate brown machine. The 2023 category champion Jonathan Page would hand over the mantle during the weekend after contesting very few rounds in 2024 and lined up seventh ahead of another driver with not so much experience in the form of Alfie Glenie. Philip Anning was contesting just his second event with the club and lined up ninth, with Jack Vanner rounding out the top ten starters.
Qualifying: It had brightened up a little for the Mini Se7ens' qualifying session that took place immediately after the Miglias' outing. The scheduled fifteen-minute spell was red-flagged twice, the second time after Nigel Davies' Se7en went off at the exit of Stowe to truncate the session with five minutes remaining. Still in with an outside chance of the crown, Damien Harrington got his weekend off to a great start and set pole position from fellow championship challenger Joe Thompson by 0.889 seconds. Departing title holder Mike Jordan headed row two from ‘ringer’ Kane Astin in Thompson’s spare car, which was Paul Thompson’s Miglia title-winning chassis in 2010. The chief protagonist in the standings on points scored, Ross Billison would start from the third row but it was Thompson who held the upper hand on dropped scores with five wins to Billison’s two. Starting alongside the championship leader would be Dan Bell in sixth, the son of the much-missed former champion Steve was at the helm of Graeme Davis’ usual mount. 2022 champion Connor O’Brien had a rare outing and would line up in seventh beside Steven Hopper. Glen Woodbridge used his father Paul's regular machine to qualify ninth and Darren Thomas completed the top ten. Among the ever-competitive S-Class cars, Matthew Ayres scored a dominant pair of victories last time out in Wiltshire to wrap up the title and his hot form continued as he topped a packed S-Class field to seal pole position by 0.106 seconds from Oliver Birkett. Former champion Michael Winkworth set the third fastest time and was joined on the second row by the returning Matthew Page. Joel Wren belied his relative lack of experience in the class to line up fifth, just 0.002 seconds ahead of Arnold Duncan’s chocolate brown machine. The 2023 category champion Jonathan Page would hand over the mantle during the weekend after contesting very few rounds in 2024 and lined up seventh ahead of another driver with not so much experience in the form of Alfie Glenie. Philip Anning was contesting just his second event with the club and lined up ninth, with Jack Vanner rounding out the top ten starters.
Cadwell Park Replacement Race: The Mini Se7ens and S-Class didn’t get to race at all in April but did hold the first of their replacement bouts at Snetterton in May, the fastest laps from which would decide the grid here. The victorious Ross Billison and third-placed Damien Harrington started at the head of the Se7ens from Cadwell Park top qualifier Joe Thompson on the second row, after the 2022 S-Class champion posted a faster lap time during the Norfolk encounter. Similarly, the S-Class would be led away by winner Matthew Ayres and podium finisher Michael Winkworth as runner-up Andrew Hack went from third using his son Frazer's car for the weekend. Initial leaders Damien Harrington and Joe Thompson got away at the head of the Se7ens but a second-lap moment for the early frontman when he slid wide into the gravel at Club left Thompson in the clear until he was caught later on by leading S-Class cars of Michael Winkworth and category champion Matthew Ayres, along with the recovering Harrington. Winkworth hit the front through Abbey and again at Vale inside the last four minutes but Thompson went back ahead down the Hangar Straight to take the win and his maiden championship after Ross Billison ended up in the Club gravel at around two-thirds-distance. Dropped scores meant that Billison couldn’t match Thompson’s total even if he won the two remaining races and Thompson failed to finish either of them. Harrington was a last-lap retirement so Darren Thomas took second among the Se7ens after a close battle with Billison before his excursion. Glen Woodbridge was the last remaining Se7en behind Thomas so took the final podium spot. Winkworth just failed to beat Thompson to the line but fended off Ayres to take the S-Class spoils by 0.835 seconds, with Andrew Hack leading home a three-way contest with Callum Perfect and Oliver Birkett for third. Bertie Woollard and Dave Rees completed the finishers in sixth and seventh.
Silverstone Race One: The opening Silverstone race for the Se7ens and the S-Class took place first thing on Sunday morning on a fully dry circuit. Joe Thompson beat poleman Damien Harrington to Abbey from the inside of the front row to take the early lead, with Kane Astin, Mike Jordan and Ross Billison arriving three abreast behind them before settling into third, fourth and fifth in that order. Jordan drove around the outside of Astin at Village to take third onto The Link for the first time, whilst Harrington went up the inside of Thompson into Stowe to end lap one in the lead from the erstwhile leader and Jordan, with Billison, Connor O'Brien and Darren Thomas further demoting Astin through Stowe and Club. Thompson and Jordan both draughted past Harrington down the Hangar Straight for the second time as championship leader Billison towed up to the trio. Jordan took his first turn at the front on lap three down to Stowe and Harrington tried to follow him past but Thompson held him off into the Vale left-hander. The leading three were abreast down the Hangar Straight for the fourth time as Thompson went to the outside and Harrington to the inside of Jordan, with the mint green car briefly hitting the front before Thompson's tighter line through Stowe took him past the pair of them. Title race leader Billison got involved in the tussle a lap later when he followed Jordan past Harrington down to Stowe for the fifth time. On the following tour, Harrington momentarily retook third place but Billison scooted back ahead when the poleman had a snap of oversteer through Stowe. Jordan went back to the top spot into Abbey starting lap seven, whilst Thompson's teammate Astin had got back past the squabbling O'Brien and Thomas as early as lap two to join what became a five-car scrap for the lead just before half-distance. Jordan continued to lead with yellow flags at Vale for Tony Perfect's stranded S-Class car and got a break with three minutes left as Thompson and Harrington fought among themselves but personal best laptimes brought the other two back onto the leader’s tail. Harrington led onto the last lap after moving from third to first at Stowe, with the top three running abreast through Stowe and Vale for the final time. Jordan and Harrington leant on each other along Vale before contact at Club between the pair saw both spin and Thompson delayed, peeling back his nearside-front wing on Harrington's car, so Billison nipped past to take a last-gasp victory from Astin as Jordan rescued third from Thompson. 2022 champion O’Brien came through for fifth from the held-up Harrington. Dan Bell was seventh after Thomas retired halfway through. There was a messy beginning to the S-Class action as ex-JSCC and Fiesta Junior driver Joel Wren jumped the start on the third row when he reacted to the Se7ens getting underway and was rear-ended by another former Fiesta Junior driver, Alfie Glenie, from the row behind when he stopped. Matthew Ayres led a five-car group at the end of the opening lap that comprised Michael Winkworth, Oliver Birkett, Matthew Page and Arnold Duncan, with youngsters Glenie and Wren just off the back of them. Birkett and Ayres crossed the start/finish line side-by-side going onto lap three but Matthew Page sped past the pair of them as they went into Abbey three-wide. Winkworth lost momentum when he stuck his nose in too and slipped behind Duncan, with Wren also looking at further demoting the 2021 S-Class title winner. After repassing Page, Ayres and Birkett repeated their antics of the previous lap past the pits but this time Ayres held onto the lead as Birkett just staved off Page, with Wren moving up to fifth at Duncan's expense behind. The bunfight for honours had grown to ten cars by the end of the fourth lap with Ayres somehow still leading from Birkett, Page and Wren. Birkett took the lead from Ayres into Stowe on lap five as the battling behind gave them a temporary break, with Wren taking third from Page at the same spot. Defending champion Jonathon Page had been part of the group but he spun out of the fight at the end of Vale on lap six. Wren found his way to the front of the class at an increasingly slippery Vale left-hander on lap seven, with himself and Ayres building a gap to the rest when the group encountered the rear of the Se7en field. The pair consistently swapped the lead between them and Wren came through to win on-the-road superbly in eighth overall on just his second race weekend in the class, having made his debut at the Brands Hatch Mini Festival in August, just ahead of Ayres but Wren was penalised ten seconds for his startline misdemeanour so was classified seventh of the S-Class finishers. Ayres was declared the winner from Winkworth and Matthew Page in the top three, whilst Birkett, Duncan and Philip Anning completed the top six after Wren’s punishment.
Silverstone Race Two: The earlier result meant that Joe Thompson headed the standings on total scores by six points going into the deciding final race but Ross Billison's greater consistency meant he had a larger amount to drop, which gave the table-topper an even stronger position. The fastest laps from the morning race arranged the start order and placed the Thompson twins on the front row, with Thompson heading his able assistant Kane Astin. Title challenger Billison lined up on the second row and was joined by Connor O’Brien in fourth, whilst Darren Thomas and Damien Harrington completed the top six. There would be no Mike Jordan after he elected to sit this race out. The front row got away evenly as Thompson grabbed the early lead by Village from Astin, Billison and O'Brien. The championship leader pulled away once in the lead, whilst Astin slipped behind Billison on lap two at Abbey after holding him off into Stowe for the first time. Damien Harrington escaped from an early tussle with Darren Thomas and Dan Bell to also get ahead of Astin on the fourth lap down the Hangar Straight before catching Billison for second, moving ahead at Village for the seventh time. The following lap, dropped fluid caused a multiple-collision at Vale that began with Nigel Davies' Se7en careering down the grass into Andrew King before a number of the S-Class cars became involved. The slippery surface also caught out the second-placed Harrington as he too would spin the next time around just in front of Billison and dropped behind Astin and O’Brien as a result to fifth before the Safety Car was deployed. The race would eventually be red-flagged after fourteen minutes and wouldn't be restarted. The ecstatic Thompson duly took the championship crown with victory and intends to move into the Miglias for 2025 now he has claimed the Mini Se7en title. The vanquished Billison was second from Thompson's stablemate Astin, himself a former champion. The 2022 king Connor O'Brien was fourth ahead of the chastened Harrington, whilst Bell bested Thomas in their scrap for sixth. The slipstream effect from the opening race on Sunday morning had mixed up the S-Class starting order a little for Race Two, with Oliver Birkett on pole position from Michael Winkworth. Arnold Duncan and on-the-road victor Joel Wren formed the second row, whilst actual winner Matthew Ayres shared the third row with the father of defending champion Jonathon Page as Giles Page completed the top six. Duncan would miss the start after pitting on the out lap to the grid. Winkworth, Birkett and Wren made the early running before Ayres came through to join them. Birkett towed along the outside of Winkworth starting lap two but Ayres and Wren took the chance to demote the polesitter at Village, with Giles and Matthew Page passing Birkett too on The Link. Winkworth and Ayres looked likely to become embroiled in their own private battle for the lead when Wren’s hopes for a good result after his earlier disappointment were dashed as the car stuttered at Stowe and ground to a halt on the inside of Club on lap two but Matthew Page would soon catch the pair. The trio went at it hammer-and-tongs and Page took second into Stowe for the third time after Ayres oversteered wide before grabbing the class lead a lap later at the same spot. Ayres quickly displaced Winkworth too for second at Village for the fifth time but the early leader went back ahead at Stowe. Ayres briefly took second from Winkworth at Village on lap six, with the 2021 champion sliding inside Page at Stowe but the erstwhile leader would be back in front before the lap was complete. Winkworth had moved ahead again on lap seven before they became entangled with the Mini Se7en tailenders, with Winkworth able to break away from Page, Ayres and Birkett after chaos reigned on dropped fluid at the Vale left-hander on lap eight and caused three separate collisions. The multiple collisions started with Nigel Davies' Se7en sliding down the grass approaching the corner in battle with Birkett and clattered into the side of Andrew King. Ayres had nowhere to go and hit Davies' spun car and then Giles Page spun and was collected by Philip Anning in a separate incident. Louis Perfect also had a half spin but continued as the Safety Car was called before the eventual red flag. Winkworth was declared as the winner from Page but Ayres pulled off behind the Safety Car and wouldn't be classified in the results so Birkett took third place after catching the lead fight just ahead of the stoppage and taking Abbey three-wide with Page and Ayres. Outgoing champion Jonathon Page was fourth from former Miglia title holder Andrew Hack in fifth and Bertie Wollard made up the top six.
Silverstone Race One: The opening Silverstone race for the Se7ens and the S-Class took place first thing on Sunday morning on a fully dry circuit. Joe Thompson beat poleman Damien Harrington to Abbey from the inside of the front row to take the early lead, with Kane Astin, Mike Jordan and Ross Billison arriving three abreast behind them before settling into third, fourth and fifth in that order. Jordan drove around the outside of Astin at Village to take third onto The Link for the first time, whilst Harrington went up the inside of Thompson into Stowe to end lap one in the lead from the erstwhile leader and Jordan, with Billison, Connor O'Brien and Darren Thomas further demoting Astin through Stowe and Club. Thompson and Jordan both draughted past Harrington down the Hangar Straight for the second time as championship leader Billison towed up to the trio. Jordan took his first turn at the front on lap three down to Stowe and Harrington tried to follow him past but Thompson held him off into the Vale left-hander. The leading three were abreast down the Hangar Straight for the fourth time as Thompson went to the outside and Harrington to the inside of Jordan, with the mint green car briefly hitting the front before Thompson's tighter line through Stowe took him past the pair of them. Title race leader Billison got involved in the tussle a lap later when he followed Jordan past Harrington down to Stowe for the fifth time. On the following tour, Harrington momentarily retook third place but Billison scooted back ahead when the poleman had a snap of oversteer through Stowe. Jordan went back to the top spot into Abbey starting lap seven, whilst Thompson's teammate Astin had got back past the squabbling O'Brien and Thomas as early as lap two to join what became a five-car scrap for the lead just before half-distance. Jordan continued to lead with yellow flags at Vale for Tony Perfect's stranded S-Class car and got a break with three minutes left as Thompson and Harrington fought among themselves but personal best laptimes brought the other two back onto the leader’s tail. Harrington led onto the last lap after moving from third to first at Stowe, with the top three running abreast through Stowe and Vale for the final time. Jordan and Harrington leant on each other along Vale before contact at Club between the pair saw both spin and Thompson delayed, peeling back his nearside-front wing on Harrington's car, so Billison nipped past to take a last-gasp victory from Astin as Jordan rescued third from Thompson. 2022 champion O’Brien came through for fifth from the held-up Harrington. Dan Bell was seventh after Thomas retired halfway through. There was a messy beginning to the S-Class action as ex-JSCC and Fiesta Junior driver Joel Wren jumped the start on the third row when he reacted to the Se7ens getting underway and was rear-ended by another former Fiesta Junior driver, Alfie Glenie, from the row behind when he stopped. Matthew Ayres led a five-car group at the end of the opening lap that comprised Michael Winkworth, Oliver Birkett, Matthew Page and Arnold Duncan, with youngsters Glenie and Wren just off the back of them. Birkett and Ayres crossed the start/finish line side-by-side going onto lap three but Matthew Page sped past the pair of them as they went into Abbey three-wide. Winkworth lost momentum when he stuck his nose in too and slipped behind Duncan, with Wren also looking at further demoting the 2021 S-Class title winner. After repassing Page, Ayres and Birkett repeated their antics of the previous lap past the pits but this time Ayres held onto the lead as Birkett just staved off Page, with Wren moving up to fifth at Duncan's expense behind. The bunfight for honours had grown to ten cars by the end of the fourth lap with Ayres somehow still leading from Birkett, Page and Wren. Birkett took the lead from Ayres into Stowe on lap five as the battling behind gave them a temporary break, with Wren taking third from Page at the same spot. Defending champion Jonathon Page had been part of the group but he spun out of the fight at the end of Vale on lap six. Wren found his way to the front of the class at an increasingly slippery Vale left-hander on lap seven, with himself and Ayres building a gap to the rest when the group encountered the rear of the Se7en field. The pair consistently swapped the lead between them and Wren came through to win on-the-road superbly in eighth overall on just his second race weekend in the class, having made his debut at the Brands Hatch Mini Festival in August, just ahead of Ayres but Wren was penalised ten seconds for his startline misdemeanour so was classified seventh of the S-Class finishers. Ayres was declared the winner from Winkworth and Matthew Page in the top three, whilst Birkett, Duncan and Philip Anning completed the top six after Wren’s punishment.
Silverstone Race Two: The earlier result meant that Joe Thompson headed the standings on total scores by six points going into the deciding final race but Ross Billison's greater consistency meant he had a larger amount to drop, which gave the table-topper an even stronger position. The fastest laps from the morning race arranged the start order and placed the Thompson twins on the front row, with Thompson heading his able assistant Kane Astin. Title challenger Billison lined up on the second row and was joined by Connor O’Brien in fourth, whilst Darren Thomas and Damien Harrington completed the top six. There would be no Mike Jordan after he elected to sit this race out. The front row got away evenly as Thompson grabbed the early lead by Village from Astin, Billison and O'Brien. The championship leader pulled away once in the lead, whilst Astin slipped behind Billison on lap two at Abbey after holding him off into Stowe for the first time. Damien Harrington escaped from an early tussle with Darren Thomas and Dan Bell to also get ahead of Astin on the fourth lap down the Hangar Straight before catching Billison for second, moving ahead at Village for the seventh time. The following lap, dropped fluid caused a multiple-collision at Vale that began with Nigel Davies' Se7en careering down the grass into Andrew King before a number of the S-Class cars became involved. The slippery surface also caught out the second-placed Harrington as he too would spin the next time around just in front of Billison and dropped behind Astin and O’Brien as a result to fifth before the Safety Car was deployed. The race would eventually be red-flagged after fourteen minutes and wouldn't be restarted. The ecstatic Thompson duly took the championship crown with victory and intends to move into the Miglias for 2025 now he has claimed the Mini Se7en title. The vanquished Billison was second from Thompson's stablemate Astin, himself a former champion. The 2022 king Connor O'Brien was fourth ahead of the chastened Harrington, whilst Bell bested Thomas in their scrap for sixth. The slipstream effect from the opening race on Sunday morning had mixed up the S-Class starting order a little for Race Two, with Oliver Birkett on pole position from Michael Winkworth. Arnold Duncan and on-the-road victor Joel Wren formed the second row, whilst actual winner Matthew Ayres shared the third row with the father of defending champion Jonathon Page as Giles Page completed the top six. Duncan would miss the start after pitting on the out lap to the grid. Winkworth, Birkett and Wren made the early running before Ayres came through to join them. Birkett towed along the outside of Winkworth starting lap two but Ayres and Wren took the chance to demote the polesitter at Village, with Giles and Matthew Page passing Birkett too on The Link. Winkworth and Ayres looked likely to become embroiled in their own private battle for the lead when Wren’s hopes for a good result after his earlier disappointment were dashed as the car stuttered at Stowe and ground to a halt on the inside of Club on lap two but Matthew Page would soon catch the pair. The trio went at it hammer-and-tongs and Page took second into Stowe for the third time after Ayres oversteered wide before grabbing the class lead a lap later at the same spot. Ayres quickly displaced Winkworth too for second at Village for the fifth time but the early leader went back ahead at Stowe. Ayres briefly took second from Winkworth at Village on lap six, with the 2021 champion sliding inside Page at Stowe but the erstwhile leader would be back in front before the lap was complete. Winkworth had moved ahead again on lap seven before they became entangled with the Mini Se7en tailenders, with Winkworth able to break away from Page, Ayres and Birkett after chaos reigned on dropped fluid at the Vale left-hander on lap eight and caused three separate collisions. The multiple collisions started with Nigel Davies' Se7en sliding down the grass approaching the corner in battle with Birkett and clattered into the side of Andrew King. Ayres had nowhere to go and hit Davies' spun car and then Giles Page spun and was collected by Philip Anning in a separate incident. Louis Perfect also had a half spin but continued as the Safety Car was called before the eventual red flag. Winkworth was declared as the winner from Page but Ayres pulled off behind the Safety Car and wouldn't be classified in the results so Birkett took third place after catching the lead fight just ahead of the stoppage and taking Abbey three-wide with Page and Ayres. Outgoing champion Jonathon Page was fourth from former Miglia title holder Andrew Hack in fifth and Bertie Wollard made up the top six.
TCR UK Touring Car Championship - BOARDLEY GOES BACK-TO-BACK
The TCR UK Touring Car Championship came to Silverstone with three contenders in the running for the championship title, with Carl Boardley heading the standings by 46 points from Brad Hutchison, with Callum Newsham another nineteen points further behind. Boardley could tie up the championship after the opening race if he were to win it and Newsham or Hutchison finished outside of the top six. However, the possible dropped scores from Northamptonshire wouldn’t be counted so a poor result from Boardley and a very good one for either Hutchison or Newsham could bring them right back into the reckoning.
The TCR UK Touring Car Championship came to Silverstone with three contenders in the running for the championship title, with Carl Boardley heading the standings by 46 points from Brad Hutchison, with Callum Newsham another nineteen points further behind. Boardley could tie up the championship after the opening race if he were to win it and Newsham or Hutchison finished outside of the top six. However, the possible dropped scores from Northamptonshire wouldn’t be counted so a poor result from Boardley and a very good one for either Hutchison or Newsham could bring them right back into the reckoning.
Qualifying: Callum Newsham’s team had worked day and night to get the Hyundai i30 fixed after its heavy shunt on the opening lap of Race Two at Thruxton and their toil was rewarded with pole position for the championship chaser by 0.204 seconds from Adam Shepherd. The Cupra had suffered a torrid meeting at Thruxton after losing some top results with fuel pressure issues and Shepherd hoped they had been licked for this weekend. Leading Civic Cup racer Alistair Camp raised eyebrows with third fastest in his Hyundai and was joined on the second row by the second of the title contenders, Brad Hutchison. The Motion Motorsport Lynk & Co of Ryan Bensley made an impressive debut in the TCR UK series to qualify fifth ahead of championship leader Carl Boardley’s Cupra, who was less than a tenth from the debutant. Darron Lewis headed the fourth row with his day-glo Hyundai from the Gen II Audi RS3 of Luke Sargeant. The latest-spec Cupra Leon VZ made its UK debut in the hands of the two Laidlaws and Steven Laidlaw set the ninth fastest time ahead of Matthew Wilson’s previous generation Cupra. The trio of Gen I Cup entries was headed by Rick Kerry in thirteenth overall behind the Hyundai of Andrew Dyer and the i30's former incumbent Sam Laidlaw but the pair of Laidlaws would automatically have to start from the rear of the grid as their new cars qualified as a change of engine.
Race One: Adam Shepherd outdragged polesitter Callum Newsham to Abbey at the start of Race One, whilst Carl Boardley made a storming getaway to vault ahead of Alistair Camp and Ryan Bensley off the line into fourth behind Brad Hutchison. The Cupra opened a one-second lead during the opening half of the twenty minutes before the Hyundai reeled the leader back in as his persistent misfire returned but Shepherd still led onto the final lap. However, a slip from Shepherd at Vale saw Newsham nip through at the last corner to steal a vital win. Hutchison kept his hopes alive with a distant third from Boardley, who had come under increasing pressure from the Lynk & Co of Ryan Bensley. The Chinese machine had slipped behind the Alistair Camp and Darron Lewis Hyundais during the opening lap after Bensley held on to a big slide on cold tyres but had repassed the pair by Village on lap two. Lewis made a bid to reclaim fifth in the same place one lap later that left a Hyundai-shaped indentation on the sill of the Lynk & Co before Bensley briefly stole away fourth from Boardley at Village for the last time but the championship leader was back ahead onto the Hangar Straight. Camp had fallen back as far as tenth place on lap three before mounting a fightback through to sixth overall, getting the better of Lewis on the last lap. The wheelchair-bound Cedric Bloch took the Gen I Cup win with his hand-controlled Audi RS3 after erstwhile leader Rick Kerry’s Cupra slowed late in the race with driveshaft woes.
Race Two: After his opening race victory, Newsham was now 47 points off Boardley and just six off Hutchison going into the second race of the weekend. A top-ten reversal of the Race One result sorted the grid for Race Two, leading to a busy early opening few laps. Matthew Wilson flew off the line to lead into the first corner as fellow front-row man Sam Laidlaw was slow away. Luke Sargeant, Darron Lewis and a quick-off-the-mark Ryan Bensley all outdragged the brand-new Cupra before Sargeant and Bensley rubbed shoulders through Abbey fighting over second, with the Audi briefly prevailing before the Lynk & Co went ahead at The Link. Championship leader Carl Boardley had also made a sluggish getaway and was down in ninth by Village. Callum Newsham and Adam Shepherd led the charge of the faster cars up the order to be fourth and fifth at the end of lap one after Brad Hutchison slid wide at Stowe to slip down to seventh. Showing great confidence on cold rubber, Bensley reeled in Wilson and got up the inside of the Cupra into Village as Newsham did likewise to Sargeant for third, with Shepherd following the Hyundai past along The Link and the pair of them would be ahead of Wilson too onto the Hangar Straight. Sargeant also put Wilson back another place after the Audi went around the outside into Stowe. The Safety Car was deployed on lap three after Andrew Dyer's Hyundai was stranded at Village with damaged rear suspension. The Jaguar XF pulled off at the end of lap four and Bensley made a decent fist of the restart but Newsham carried a lot more speed through Abbey to get up the inside of the Lynk & Co into Village, with Shepherd going with him. The Cupra struck quickly to take the lead from the Hyundai onto the Hangar Straight and the pair continued to trade blows all the way to Club before the move was finally completed. Yet again, however, Shepherd's fuel pressure problem intervened two laps later to leave the Hyundai clear to take a crushing second win of the weekend by 12.511 seconds and also took the extra point for the fastest lap. Once the lead pair got through, Bensley turned his attention to holding onto third place. Sargeant elbowed the Lynk & Co wide at Stowe for the sixth time and the Audi lost out to Lewis' Hyundai as Bensley just held onto the podium position through Club. Lewis lost momentum after smacking the inside kerb and lost out to Sargeant and Hutchison up to Abbey. Title contender Hutchison moved into third within a lap at Vale and took second after another circulation when he brushed aside Bensley’s Lynk & Co at The Link, which retired after bouncing across the gravel and into the barrier. A delighted Luke Sargeant took his Audi to a maiden podium finish with third. Boardley came home fourth after another failed move from Lewis through Club allowed the Cupra to breeze by up to Abbey and the championship leader saw his margin whittled down to 33 points from the tied Newsham and Hutchison going into the last race. Lewis’ Hyundai was fifth and Steven Laidlaw took his first top-six finish with the brand-new Cupra in sixth. Rick Kerry avenged his Race One retirement with the Gen I Cup victory from Cedric Bloch.
Race Three: Daylight was fading rapidly under leaden skies as the all-important title-deciding Race Three approached at the end of Sunday's timetable. With forty points plus an extra point for the fastest lap available, Carl Boardley had to finish at least eleventh to eclipse the total of either Callum Newsham or Brad Hutchison should either of them win the race with the bonus point. The grid was set by the field's second fastest qualifying times and Callum Newsham lined up on pole position from Adam Shepherd, as in Race One. Brad Hutchison and Alistair Camp swapped sides of the grid from Race One for the third race on row two, whilst Carl Boardley and Ryan Bensley did likewise as they made up the top six but the Lynk & Co wouldn't be on the grid for the start after its earlier damage. The Laidlaws were able to take their rightful qualifying places for the final races so Steven started from ninth and Sam from twelfth. History repeated itself once again as Shepherd escaped into a clear lead but it wouldn’t last as the dreaded misfire returned at half-distance to hand victory to Brad Hutchison and force the Cupra into retirement. The victory sealed second in the championship for the Bond It Cupra driver after going into the race with the same score as Newsham, who was a disastrous first-lap retirement after getting the drop on Shepherd as clutch problems ended his title-winning dreams. The fast-starting Steven Laidlaw held off the Hyundai of Alistair Camp all race for second in his brand new Cupra but the Hyundai was later hit with a ten-second penalty to drop the car to fifth after his mechanics stayed with the car on the grid for longer than allowed when his air jacks jammed. Carl Boardley took a safe fifth place on-the-road behind Luke Sargeant’s Audi to put the title to bed, his second consecutive crown, with a top-eleven result being the minimum requirement no matter what Hutchison and Newsham achieved. Camp’s relegation gave Sargeant his second podium of the weekend after passing Boardley at Stowe on lap three and the champion-elect also moved ahead of the Hyundai, which was reclassified fifth. Sam Laidlaw matched his father’s Race Two result with sixth. Darron Lewis had also passed the circumspect Boardley on lap three at Club to run in fifth before a broken driveshaft forced him out. The Gen I Cup had a third winner in three races as Mark Smith held off Cedric Bloch to triumph by 2.397 seconds.
Race One: Adam Shepherd outdragged polesitter Callum Newsham to Abbey at the start of Race One, whilst Carl Boardley made a storming getaway to vault ahead of Alistair Camp and Ryan Bensley off the line into fourth behind Brad Hutchison. The Cupra opened a one-second lead during the opening half of the twenty minutes before the Hyundai reeled the leader back in as his persistent misfire returned but Shepherd still led onto the final lap. However, a slip from Shepherd at Vale saw Newsham nip through at the last corner to steal a vital win. Hutchison kept his hopes alive with a distant third from Boardley, who had come under increasing pressure from the Lynk & Co of Ryan Bensley. The Chinese machine had slipped behind the Alistair Camp and Darron Lewis Hyundais during the opening lap after Bensley held on to a big slide on cold tyres but had repassed the pair by Village on lap two. Lewis made a bid to reclaim fifth in the same place one lap later that left a Hyundai-shaped indentation on the sill of the Lynk & Co before Bensley briefly stole away fourth from Boardley at Village for the last time but the championship leader was back ahead onto the Hangar Straight. Camp had fallen back as far as tenth place on lap three before mounting a fightback through to sixth overall, getting the better of Lewis on the last lap. The wheelchair-bound Cedric Bloch took the Gen I Cup win with his hand-controlled Audi RS3 after erstwhile leader Rick Kerry’s Cupra slowed late in the race with driveshaft woes.
Race Two: After his opening race victory, Newsham was now 47 points off Boardley and just six off Hutchison going into the second race of the weekend. A top-ten reversal of the Race One result sorted the grid for Race Two, leading to a busy early opening few laps. Matthew Wilson flew off the line to lead into the first corner as fellow front-row man Sam Laidlaw was slow away. Luke Sargeant, Darron Lewis and a quick-off-the-mark Ryan Bensley all outdragged the brand-new Cupra before Sargeant and Bensley rubbed shoulders through Abbey fighting over second, with the Audi briefly prevailing before the Lynk & Co went ahead at The Link. Championship leader Carl Boardley had also made a sluggish getaway and was down in ninth by Village. Callum Newsham and Adam Shepherd led the charge of the faster cars up the order to be fourth and fifth at the end of lap one after Brad Hutchison slid wide at Stowe to slip down to seventh. Showing great confidence on cold rubber, Bensley reeled in Wilson and got up the inside of the Cupra into Village as Newsham did likewise to Sargeant for third, with Shepherd following the Hyundai past along The Link and the pair of them would be ahead of Wilson too onto the Hangar Straight. Sargeant also put Wilson back another place after the Audi went around the outside into Stowe. The Safety Car was deployed on lap three after Andrew Dyer's Hyundai was stranded at Village with damaged rear suspension. The Jaguar XF pulled off at the end of lap four and Bensley made a decent fist of the restart but Newsham carried a lot more speed through Abbey to get up the inside of the Lynk & Co into Village, with Shepherd going with him. The Cupra struck quickly to take the lead from the Hyundai onto the Hangar Straight and the pair continued to trade blows all the way to Club before the move was finally completed. Yet again, however, Shepherd's fuel pressure problem intervened two laps later to leave the Hyundai clear to take a crushing second win of the weekend by 12.511 seconds and also took the extra point for the fastest lap. Once the lead pair got through, Bensley turned his attention to holding onto third place. Sargeant elbowed the Lynk & Co wide at Stowe for the sixth time and the Audi lost out to Lewis' Hyundai as Bensley just held onto the podium position through Club. Lewis lost momentum after smacking the inside kerb and lost out to Sargeant and Hutchison up to Abbey. Title contender Hutchison moved into third within a lap at Vale and took second after another circulation when he brushed aside Bensley’s Lynk & Co at The Link, which retired after bouncing across the gravel and into the barrier. A delighted Luke Sargeant took his Audi to a maiden podium finish with third. Boardley came home fourth after another failed move from Lewis through Club allowed the Cupra to breeze by up to Abbey and the championship leader saw his margin whittled down to 33 points from the tied Newsham and Hutchison going into the last race. Lewis’ Hyundai was fifth and Steven Laidlaw took his first top-six finish with the brand-new Cupra in sixth. Rick Kerry avenged his Race One retirement with the Gen I Cup victory from Cedric Bloch.
Race Three: Daylight was fading rapidly under leaden skies as the all-important title-deciding Race Three approached at the end of Sunday's timetable. With forty points plus an extra point for the fastest lap available, Carl Boardley had to finish at least eleventh to eclipse the total of either Callum Newsham or Brad Hutchison should either of them win the race with the bonus point. The grid was set by the field's second fastest qualifying times and Callum Newsham lined up on pole position from Adam Shepherd, as in Race One. Brad Hutchison and Alistair Camp swapped sides of the grid from Race One for the third race on row two, whilst Carl Boardley and Ryan Bensley did likewise as they made up the top six but the Lynk & Co wouldn't be on the grid for the start after its earlier damage. The Laidlaws were able to take their rightful qualifying places for the final races so Steven started from ninth and Sam from twelfth. History repeated itself once again as Shepherd escaped into a clear lead but it wouldn’t last as the dreaded misfire returned at half-distance to hand victory to Brad Hutchison and force the Cupra into retirement. The victory sealed second in the championship for the Bond It Cupra driver after going into the race with the same score as Newsham, who was a disastrous first-lap retirement after getting the drop on Shepherd as clutch problems ended his title-winning dreams. The fast-starting Steven Laidlaw held off the Hyundai of Alistair Camp all race for second in his brand new Cupra but the Hyundai was later hit with a ten-second penalty to drop the car to fifth after his mechanics stayed with the car on the grid for longer than allowed when his air jacks jammed. Carl Boardley took a safe fifth place on-the-road behind Luke Sargeant’s Audi to put the title to bed, his second consecutive crown, with a top-eleven result being the minimum requirement no matter what Hutchison and Newsham achieved. Camp’s relegation gave Sargeant his second podium of the weekend after passing Boardley at Stowe on lap three and the champion-elect also moved ahead of the Hyundai, which was reclassified fifth. Sam Laidlaw matched his father’s Race Two result with sixth. Darron Lewis had also passed the circumspect Boardley on lap three at Club to run in fifth before a broken driveshaft forced him out. The Gen I Cup had a third winner in three races as Mark Smith held off Cedric Bloch to triumph by 2.397 seconds.
The final rounds of the 2024 TCR UK season would also be the championship’s last meeting under the flag of the BRSCC before moving to their new organising club, the BARC, for 2025.