There are so many fascinating stories up and down the British Automobile Racing Club paddock — so many that we just don’t get to hear about or celebrate. Personal milestones rather than race wins; personal ambition and enjoyment perhaps over a title campaign.

New for 2026 will be the Beyond the Chequered Flag series, which will follow five drivers from different BARC disciplines — from single-seaters and sports cars to saloon cars and hillclimbing.

Throughout the season, the BARC team will check in with our five drivers, sharing their pre-season news, build-up preparations and race-weekend journeys across our social media channels, website, BARC LIVE streams, newsletters and, of course, our magazine Apex.

Let’s introduce our ‘famous five’ for 2026. Ladies first…

Daniella Sutton — British F4

Heading into single-seaters for the first time is 17-year-old Daniella Sutton, who will make the big jump from Fiestas into the Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA. Britain’s premier single-seater series will see a full-capacity grid in 2026, and Daniella will be driving one of the Chris Dittmann Racing machines.

The F4 rookie already has many accolades, including the Total Karting Zero UK North Championship title, the BRSCC Junior Scholarship Championship in 2024, as well as the British Women’s Racing Drivers Club Gold Star and BRDC Rising Star honours.

Despite living with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Daniella’s influence extends far beyond the racetrack. As a proud representative of the Juvenile Arthritis Research charity, she uses her platform to inspire others to overcome adversity, demonstrating that determination and resilience can help conquer even the toughest challenges when the season starts in April.

Sam Parker — Caterham

Sam Parker is a well-known face in the BARC paddocks, having been involved in the Caterham pathway for a number of years as well as on screen — presenting the live coverage for the past two seasons.

Sam started her lightweight sportscar journey, like many others, in the Caterham Academy class before stepping up into the Roadsport series in 2025. Her pace developed with each round, and at the season finale at Silverstone last October she took her first ever podium after an intense front-of-the-field scrap.

For 2026, Parker will take two steps forward as she prepares to harness the 310R version of the British machine — putting everything she has learned over the past two seasons into practice for the more powerful iteration in April.

Project 29:7 Racing — Britcar Endurance Championship

In the exciting Britcar Endurance Championship, BARC will be keeping tabs on one of the young, upcoming teams on the grid — Project 29:7 Racing. Led by Alex Miller and Paul O’Neill, the Northamptonshire-based outfit is set to field a two-driver line-up in its Ginetta G56 GTA. Balancing driver feedback, the stresses of first-time competition and running a race team will hopefully be offset by some season highlights and maybe even some class silverware. You never know!

The new team will field Carl Garnett and Alex Miller as their driver pairing in the eagerly anticipated multi-car Britcar series, which gets underway at Donington on 21 March.

Richard Andrews — British Hillclimb Championship

Perhaps the biggest championship in terms of driver registrations is the British Hillclimb Championship. The series travels the length and breadth of the British Isles and sees run-offs won or lost by just hundredths of a second. From standard road cars to single-seater hillclimb thoroughbreds, there is a class for almost everything.

This year we will be following Richard Andrews, who will be using his Porsche Cayman GT4 RS to tackle most of the mainland hills. A record holder at BARC’s very own Harewood, Richard will be looking to lower his personal bests while also putting the spotlight on this point-to-point motorsport discipline.

Ralphie-Joe Branscombe – Junior Saloon Car Championship

Our final driver brings great excitement… embarking on his first steps into car racing – Ralphie-Joe Branscombe.
Announced moments before APEX went to print – former British Kart Champion in the Honda Cadet class – Ralphie-Joe Branscombe will be the final driver the BARC follow in 2026.

The Junior Saloon Car Championship Scholarship selection process took place at Pembrey at the end of February, with the day consisting of competitors taking part in everything from driving assessments and media interviews to pit-stop challenges and fitness tests; all while an esteemed judging panel whittled down the contenders. As the competition entered its final stages, Branscombe established himself as one of the leading lights and was subsequently declared the winner of a fully-funded season with Orex Competition in the competitive hatchback category for young drivers.