​Mini 7 Racing Club Thruxton 25th & 26th July 2026

MANIC MINI MAGIC AT BTCC’S THRUXTON THRILLER
The ever-popular Mini 7 Racing Club’s two grids were a welcome addition to the BTCC support bill at Thruxton once more on the 25th and 26th of July, with more than 60 cars entered across the two fields as the club celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The diminutive racers have guested at the meeting on and off since 2019 and last did so in 2024.

Goodyear Mini Challenge supported by Mini Spares - Miglia and Libre

​​Qualifying: The Goodyear Mini Miglia Challenge supported by Mini Spares pulled a brilliant entry of 22 Miglias and six Libre cars for their pair of races. Four-time champion Aaron Smith was only two points away from claiming his fifth title in 2025 and narrowly clinched pole position in a closely fought session by 0.042 seconds from impressive S-Class graduate Matt Ayres. Two-time Mini Miglia champion Ian Curley was right in the mix with third, just 0.063 seconds off Ayres. Triple Mini Se7en title holder and 2024 Miglia king Jeff Smith missed a good chunk of 2025 with injury but won on his return in a fantastic race at Silverstone last October and trailed Curley by a slim 0.031 seconds as the top four were covered by less than a tenth of a second. Joe Ferguson has proven very rapid in a historic Mini Cooper S and set the fifth quickest time as he headed current championship leader Kane Astin on the third row. Rupert Deeth claimed the 2025 crown by a single point from Curley after a four-way contest at the final round and was within a tenth of the 2015 Mini Miglia champion in seventh, whilst 0.052 seconds was all that separated the quadruple champion from club stalwart Colin Peacock in eighth. Versatile historic ace and previous Thruxton BTCC support race winner Nick Padmore won the opener at the last meeting at Silverstone in June but qualified in a lower than expected ninth, a slender 0.040 seconds up on Phil Bullen-Brown at the foot of the top ten but the slipstreaming nature of the races meant that any of them could still win. Peter Hills was a hefty 1.695 seconds clear at the head of the Libre class times from Julian Proctor, with title chase leader Huw Turner a tenth further away in third.

Race One: The first Mini Miglia encounter took place late on Saturday afternoon. Aaron Smith led off the grid but Ian Curley headed the field after the opening lap. The double Miglia champion led the majority of the bout under extreme pressure from the polesitter. Smith got through again and pulled a slight gap but the powerful slipstream brought Curley and Joe Ferguson back to him. Ferguson got between the more experienced Miglia men but slowed heading up Woodham Hill as his engine began cutting out with fuel starvation and he lasted another lap before pitting when he was swamped by the pack towards the chicane. Curley led onto the last lap from the poleman and a grandstand finish looked likely until a red flag denied Smith the chance of attempting a pass but Curley had opened a slight lead beforehand anyway. The race was stopped after reigning champion Rupert Deeth suffered a huge off out in the country as he departed from the battle for third with Kane Astin, Jeff Smith and Nick Padmore. The stoppage was Ferguson’s saviour and he regained third on countback from Padmore, Jeff Smith and Astin. Matt Ayres was part of the leading group before being forced to retire after an air scoop came loose and fell behind the offside front wheel, badly affecting his ability to steer. In the Libre category, Huw Turner held off Peter Hills by four tenths of a second to triumph in the class.

Race Two: The second encounter took place in front of a packed house following the second race for the BTCC on Sunday and was shown live on ITV4. The fastest race laps from the opening bout arranged the starting order for Sunday and Nick Padmore took the honour of starting from pole position. The strong slipstream effect jumbled the laptimes in comparison to the first race result and seventh-placed finisher Colin Peacock would start from the outside of the front row next to Padmore, who’d crossed the line fourth the day before. Joe Ferguson hoped his fuelling issues had been solved as he lined up third and West Country racer Sam Summerhayes formed up next to the Saturday podium finisher after being classified in a delayed 20th. Phil Bullen-Brown headed the third row from opening race runner-up Aaron Smith. Rupert Deeth had set the seventh-best time but would obviously miss this outing after the car-wrecking crash late in Saturday’s stanza, with Matt Ayres starting alone on the outside of row four. Jeff Smith started ninth and was joined by championship leader Kane Astin on the fifth row. Jo Polley had made a one-off return at the weekend after hiring one of Endaf Owens’ machines and she went from 11th, whilst the opening race winner Ian Curley could only set the 12th-fastest time after performing much of the heavy lifting at the head of the field. Padmore made a woeful start from pole to fall to sixth through Allard and was down to eighth exiting the Complex, whilst fellow front row starter Peacock led as far as Woodham Hill with Summerhayes on his bootlid. However, Aaron Smith had towed into the lead from Ferguson, Bullen-Brown and Jeff Smith by the chicane as Peacock dropped to fifth, with Summerhayes going to the back of the group after a tight exit from Church. The Safety Car was called on lap two with Ferguson now in the lead, after sliding under Smith into Campbell, but the race was red-flagged with tyre wall damage at Allard, the Libre class car of Julian Proctor having gone hard into the barriers backwards. The new race was set to take place over ten minutes and would start from behind the Safety Car in the current order, with the clock beginning to tick down when the field set off behind the officials’ vehicle. Ferguson led namesakes Aaron and Jeff Smith in the queue from Ayres and Bullen-Brown. The race got going with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining, with Ferguson and Aaron Smith breaking away on the first lap and Smith grabbed the lead towards the chicane for the second time. The four-time champion controlled the race towards its conclusion, despite Ferguson following in his wheeltracks, before his challenger fell back in the closing stages when his fuelling issues from Saturday returned. Ferguson recovered from the first splutter and was able to threaten for the lead again until the problem struck once more up Woodham Hill for the final time but Ferguson still clinched second. Jeff Smith had sat In third from the restart until a moment at Noble for the first time saw him mugged by Ayres and Bullen-Brown at Goodwood before the former BTCC racer slingshotted back into the podium position by the chicane but the tow from the top two had already gone. Ayres, Bullen-Brown and Peacock all breezed by Smith before lap three as Padmore and Astin joined in. Peacock went from the back of the six-car bun fight inside a lap to hold third going onto the last lap but Bullen-Brown led Peacock, Astin and Padmore out of Church but it would be Jeff Smith from Ayres, Peacock and Bullen-Brown over the line after they arrived at the final chicane braking area almost five abreast but all escaped without any contact being made. Saturday winner Curley spent much of the race chasing down the group fighting for third after losing ground with a missed gear on the opening lap and caught them on the final tour to finish right on the tail of Astin and Padmore in ninth as Summerhayes completed the top ten. Huw Turner and Peter Hills battled closely for Libre glory, with Turner leading the early going before Hills took over but ultimately Turner came back through to win the class for the second time over the weekend.

Kane Astin still leads the Miglia championship standings leaving Hampshire but his advantage has been cut to ten points from Aaron Smith, whilst Huw Turner’s double victory only added to his margin at the top in the Libres over Phil Harvey.

Goodyear Mini Challenge supported by Mini Spares - Se7en and S Class

​Qualifying: A fantastic field of 34 Goodyear Mini Se7en Challenge supported by Mini Spares cars would go into battle in Hampshire, with the entry split down the middle as 17 Se7ens and 17 S-Class contenders lined up to qualify. 2025 Winter Series winner Ross Billison carried the zero door plate to pole position by a healthy 0.243 seconds. Round Two winner Daniel Munro has been a consistently quick package this season and joined his stablemate on the front row. Current Mini Se7en title holder Damien Harrington just missed out on a front row slot by 0.102 seconds after dominating the last two meetings and Glen Woodbridge was another 0.106 seconds back in fourth. Darren Thomas was a double race winner when the Mini 7 Racing Club first took up the guest slot on the BTCC support package at Thruxton in 2019 and sealed a place on the third row, whilst Spencer Wanstall is always there or thereabouts as he trailed the Roonspeed machine by just 0.059 seconds to complete the top six. The budget 1275cc S-Class was topped by 0.459 seconds as 2021 category champion Michael Winkworth set the seventh fastest time overall for pole position on the split grid. George Welch was second to the man who took a pair of wins at the Donington Park season opener and was 0.054 seconds faster than James May, who was twice victorious in the division at Snetterton earlier this season. There has been a trend for double winners this year and Bertie Woollard was the latest to take out both races at the most recent event at Silverstone, he would qualify within 0.049 seconds of rowmate May in fourth. Billy Ferguson is the younger brother of Mini Miglia contender Joe Ferguson and showed that speed runs in the family with the fifth fastest time, a second or so ahead of sixth-placed Jack Vanner.

Race One: The 1000cc screamers first raced on mid-Saturday afternoon. Polesitter Ross Billison maintained the lead from the start as six cars drew away at the head of the field. A bit of contact at the chicane on lap five between Dan Munro, Damien Harrington and Glen Woodbridge removed the 2025 champion’s nearside headlight and a lap later Billison slowed the reigning champion exiting the chicane to build a gap. Undeterred, Harrington took the lead on lap ten and long-time leader Billison faded to third behind stablemate Munro with a misfire. Harrington forced Munro to the outside approaching the chicane for the final time and beat his challenger to the line by 0.384 seconds for victory, with polesitter Billison holding on to a podium placing. Woodbridge was another to fade with engine issues and was passed by both Graeme Davis and Nigel Davies late on for fourth and fifth. Top six contenders Darren Thomas and Spencer Wanstall failed to finish after the former’s engine went pop on lap two, whilst the latter disappeared a lap later also with an engine issue.  An early five car train at the head of the S-Class was whittled down to a battle between Bertie Woollard and Michael Winkworth for the win and the former was ecstatic to prevail in fifth overall by 1.352 seconds from the 2021 category champion. Third qualifier James May retired from the contest, with Billy Ferguson filling the final slot on the podium by just 0.093 seconds from Matthew Howard. George Welch and title race leader Patrick McArthy completed the top six, the former having crossed the line neck-and-neck with Ferguson and Howard but was penalised ten seconds for a false start.

Race Two: The second encounter took place following the opening BTCC race on Sunday and would be in front of the ITV4 cameras. The top two from Saturday’s opener formed the front row but runner-up Daniel Munro claimed pole position from victor Damien Harrington. The delayed Glen Woodbridge was fast enough to secure a spot on the second row and headed opening bout podium finisher Ross Billison. Spencer Wanstall managed to set a competitive lap time before his Race One exit and would line up fifth, the red machine joined on row three by long-time racer Graeme Davis. Munro led the field into the Complex on lap one and survived a four-wide charge up Woodham Hill to hold on in front, with Wanstall, Harrington and Woodbridge three abreast over the start/finish line for third. The battling behind allowed the KAD-powered twins Billison and Munro to steal a march on the chasing pack but only temporarily as the powerful slipstream grouped them all together again. Billison draughted into top spot approaching the chicane for the second time and headed a six-car train before Billison, Harrington and Munro pulled slightly clear into the second half. Their fighting allowed Woodbridge to latch back onto them before the other chasing cars made it a seven-car train again but the defending champion Harrington went out with six minutes left when his engine cried enough and the contest for the win boiled down to a scrap between teammates Billison and Munro. Billison’s stablemate grabbed the lead at Allard on the penultimate lap before the former just managed to squeeze in front ahead of a yellow flag section protecting the Club Chicane for the final time. However, Munro went through again in the yellow zone and took the flag first. The positions were later reversed due to the infringement by Munro so Billison was awarded the victory from his stablemate. Wanstall, Woodbridge, Davis and Darren Thomas were all in the scrap too, the last-named having gridded 15th after his early exit on Saturday. Wanstall made up for his day one retirement with third from Woodbridge and Davis as the third to sixth-placed cars were covered by just 1.005 seconds on-the-road before sixth finisher Thomas copped a five-second penalty for track limit liberties, which didn’t cost the Roonspeed car any positions. Bertie Woollard set the fastest lap as well as taking the S-Class victory on Saturday so would head the grid for Race Two from James May. Matthew Howard and George Welch made up the second row, whilst day one top three finishers Billy Ferguson and Michael Winkworth formed row three but in the opposite order of their finishing positions. Woollard got away early doors but was reeled by Winkworth and May, the former got around Welch at the Complex for the first time to be third behind Howard as May looked on in fifth. Welch towed his way back into second closing lap one as Howard missed the chicane. The Winkworth and May pair both got into the top three at the chicane on lap two before working together to chase down Woollard by lap four. May led the constantly place-swapping trio onto the last lap but a Se7en runner missed a gear just ahead of them at Seagrave. Woollard slipped up the inside of Winkworth at Goodwood before hitting the front down to Church and held on to win by 0.859 seconds after a breathless battle. Winkworth and May went door handle to door handle at the final chicane and the battle went all the way to the finish line before being settled in favour of the former by a solitary thousandth of a second! A tangle at the Club Chicane for the penultimate time removed four cars from contention in a multi-car scrap over fifth behind Welch, with Jack Vanner the catalyst after clipping the back of Dan Balster. The out-of-control pair took the category front-row starter Matthew Howard and ex-Miglia champion Andrew Hack off with them. Patrick McArthy beat Billy Ferguson to the line by 0.351 seconds to clinch fifth place.

A change of order at the head of the Se7en standings saw Daniel Munro take over by six points from Glen Woodbridge leaving Thruxton. Patrick McArthy continues to top the S-Class chart by 12 points from George Welch, despite falling to trouble the top three in the two races.

The Mini 7 Racing Club’s four categories head to a starring role at the Brands Hatch Mini Festival next on the 22nd and 23rd of August.