Author: Chris Ashby

How to Watch: Twice around the clock for BARC

Strategy, teamwork, precision and performance – the key ingredients for endurance racing and we have that in spades this weekend. The British Automobile Racing Club long haul weekend and there is lots to talk about. The 2CV 24 Hours is the longest event on the calendar and is one of the most sought after wins in British motorsport.

New for the weekend is the Caterham Grand Prix – a completely new event for the BARC and Caterham. The Grand Prix is a non-championship race and will feature cars from the Roadsport, Seven 270R, or Seven 310R classes.

Three mandatory pit stops and class-specific minimum times will level the playing field – setting up a grandstand finish! You don’t want to miss the moobob Caterham Academy race – with the class of 2025 putting on a show wherever they go this season.

Sit tight, grab the coffee or energy drink – it’s the most demanding event of the summer. Are you ready?

When is the next BARC weekend?
This weekend – 22-24 August

Where are the events being held?

Snetterton
Address: Snetterton Circuit, Norwich, Norfolk, NR16 2JU

What is racing this weekend?

Out on track this weekend: moobob Caterham Academy race kick starts the weekend, followed by the first-ever two-hour Caterham Grand Prix and then the big one
 the 2CV 24 Hours with the Classic 2CV Racing Club.

How can I watch?

A rare sight in UK circuit racing – racing at night. The spirit of endurance, the fight against the elements, each other and the clock. Caterham and 2CV racing is super close and super exciting – you might want to come and experience it for yourself!

Tickets can be purchased here: www.snetterton.co.uk/2025/august/2cv-24hr

If I can’t get to Snetterton or I am outside of the UK?

We have you covered, the Caterham races and 24 Hour 2CV race will streamed LIVE and for free on the BARC Youtube channel – www.youtube.com/@britishautomobileracingclub

Please note coverage will be reduced during the overnight hours – but you will still be able to keep up with the action with live timing and tracking – as you follow your favourite teams.

What time are things happening on track?

Free Practice and Night Qualifying for the 2CVs gets us underway on Friday evening from 18:25 until 21:55. A busy Super Saturday starts at 09:00 with Qualifying for the Caterham Academy, Caterham Grand Prix and 2CV brigade. Racing begins at 11:45 and the 2CV 24 Hours starts at 16:00. Racing continues through the night until 16:00 on Sunday afternoon – where the winners will be crowned.

Do you have any more information?

We have a few other handy links that might be useful to help you enjoy your weekend. Wherever you are!

Live Timing: https://www.tsl-timing.com/event/253421
Timetable*: https://www.barc.net/event/barc-race-meeting-snetterton-200-august-22-24/
Live Coverage: www.youtube.com/@britishautomobileracingclub
2CV Information: https://2cvracing.org.uk
Caterham Motorsport Information: https://caterhamcars.com/en/motorsport

* Subject to adjustments prior and during the race meeting

Are you fueled-up for a full-on weekend of racing?

24 Hours of Deux Chevaux

The big one! When people think of 24 hour events they might think, Le Mans, Daytona, Group C, Hypercars and the like. One of the highlights in the British Automobile Racing Club calendar – the Classic 2CV Racing Club – 2CV 24 Hour. Yes you heard that right!

One of the most demanding and complex race weekends of the year – is also one of excitement, and has a real charm and character about it – the spirit of endurance and mystique of racing into the night. This weekend – 22nd-24th August the BARC and Classic 2CV Racing Club will descend upon Snetterton in Norfolk for the 35th running of this endurance racing classic
 or should we say ‘classique’.

The Classic 2CV Racing Club first held races in 1989 with the first meeting at Mallory Park, and a year later the mad, crazy idea for a 24 hour race was hatched at Mondello Park in Ireland for the 2CV or tin snail as it is affectionately known. It has been held at Mondelo, Anglesey and most recently Snetterton. We caught up with Andrew Bull from the organising team to find out a little bit more about what we can expect this weekend.

“It’s the pinnacle of our calender,” enthused Bull. We have around 20 2CVs ready to take to the start and we will also be joined by guest series from the Citroen C1 and Mini Coopers to swell the grid as well.

“We like to make it a special weekend as well as a real cost effective one. To do the 24 Hour weekend is £3,500 split between the drivers and you get a lot of track time for that. As well as the race, we have Free Practice, Qualifying, Night Qualifying and a Warm-Up to get drivers used to cars and teams, work on set-up and get used to the Snetterton 200 layout.”

Regarding multiple drivers – that’s something we don’t see in the usual BARC calendar – How does it all work if you have multiple drivers in one car?

“Drivers share the driving, depending on the experience. Quicker drivers or more confident drivers go at the start as there is a lot of close racing, while younger ones might do the night stints as their eyesight is better! Each driver can only do two hours in the car and one hour off in a three hour period. Drivers can do a maximum of 14 hours, with no minimum seat time. If a car goes off or has a mechanical failure it can be recovered, but the team will receive an additional three laps, plus the time they lose recovering and fixing things. With one hour to go we take that safety net away, making things very tense for the teams.

“We have 3-4 drivers per car and importantly the car scores the points – so if two championship rivals were in the same car – the race result would give them both the same amount of points. However if you personally set the fastest lap or pole position – those points only go to the driver and that could make the difference come the end of the year.

Something Bull is chasing this year is his first outright title. Andrew has been involved since 1998 – running or preparing cars – but it has only been the last three or four years or so he has got behind the wheel himself. Having won the rookie championship in 2022 – the Crisis @ Tete Rouge driver would love a successful trip to Norfolk when the clock strikes zero on Sunday afternoon.

As well as the tantalising dynamic of the team work and driver stints – what other little things we should be looking out for at Snetterton?

“We have a Pole Position award which is quite special for us. The Graham Harper Trophy is in honour of Graham who was heavily involved in the 2CV racing scene and the trophy is made up with parts from his cars.The winner from the previous year has to fill it up with a gin and tonic of their choice and we do a presentation on the circuit as the award is handed over for the next team to enjoy the trophy and the drink as well!

“We also have a Spirit of the Meeting, Class Awards and UK 2CV Top Six awards and we award them on the podium at Snetterton.

“We also really involve the marshals too. The racing is really close which keeps things interesting for them as well as us. As well as goodie bags, we also buddy all of them up into racing teams so they get to go in team photos, added to WhatsApp channels and all sorts – we want them to feel a part of the meeting as without them it couldn’t happen. In fact our event is like a training ground for marshals as many have done the event to get a signature on their licence to say they have done a 24 hour meeting – enabling them to go on and do Le Mans in France for example.

It’s not just marshals that go onto great things – some famous names have driven in the series on the way up including F1 star George Russell, Triple W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick, Sports car driver Ben Barnicoat as well as famous names such as Mike Lindup from music group Level 42 and BTCC series director Alan Gow, who have all raced in the series in previous years.

It has a real electric atmospheric feel about the place, with everyone welcome to enjoy the event. We don’t get too many night time events in the UK. The paddock is very accessible with the public able to explore the garages and talk to team members and drivers. Although
you might not want to do that when they are changing an engine for example. Although you would only have to wait 10-15 minutes from the car coming in to leaving again! It really is special from start to finish.

If you want to experience some closely fought twice around the clock action? Look no further than the 2CV race on Saturday and Sunday. For more information on the race head to the Classic 2CV Racing Club – www.2cvracing.org.uk/about-the-2cv-24-hour-race/.

Dates announced for 83rd Goodwood Members’ Meeting

Goodwood has announced that the 83rd Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport will take place on April 18-19 next year.

The 2026 date continues the trend of the Members’ Meeting being the first big event of the year at West Sussex venue, with the Festival of Speed and Revival following in the preceding months.

Tickets for Goodwood Road & Racing Club Fellowship Members are scheduled to go on sale on August 28.

For more information about the 83rd Members’ Meeting, head to https://www.goodwood.com/motorsport/members-meeting/tickets-and-packages.

Jake Hill and Tom Ingram fly high as BTCC stars in Scotland

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship set pulses racing in Scotland this past weekend (August 16/17) as Jake Hill and Tom Ingram scorched their way to the top step of the podium at Knockhill.

Making the annual pilgrimage north of the border for the seventh meeting of the season, the UK’s premier motorsport series delivered a stunning three races in Fife which resulted in two title winners enjoying a share of the spoils.

West Surrey Racing proved to be the cream of the crop during Saturday’s qualifying session as they claimed a remarkable 1-2-3 finish, with Charles Rainford beating Daryl DeLeon and reigning champion Hill to pole position.

After missing the previous round at Croft on medical grounds, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport’s Hill enjoyed the perfect return to tin top action as he claimed a commanding victory in the first of Sunday’s three races.

Both Rainford and DeLeon enjoyed moments out front however it was Hill that stamped his authority on proceedings as he dispatched both drivers in quick succession and then cruised to a second win of the season.

Pole sitter Rainford was able to maintain his pace up front to clinch second place whilst Team VERTU’s Ingram – who had opted to run the medium tyres – passed team-mate Senna Proctor on the run to the chequered flag.

That pre-planned position switch set up Ingram to claim a sublime victory in race two. Utilising the faster soft tyre, while the BMW pairing of Hill and Rainford were on the medium compound, Ingram charged into the lead in the opening laps and then cleared off into the distance.

As the Hyundai i30 N racer romped to a fourth victory of the year, the NAPA Racing UK duo of Dan Cammish and Ash Sutton battled their way up the order to move into second and third respectively.

While Ingram ticked down the laps out front, Sutton spent the final nine laps chipping away at the gap to Cammish. Then, just as Proctor did for Ingram in race one, the Yorkshireman moved over on the run to the finish line to allow Sutton to claim the extra points for second place.

The BTCC then brought the curtain down in Scotland with another captivating contest and just as he had done at the start of the day, Hill ended it standing on the top step of the podium – this being the seventh time in his career he had done so around Knockhill.

Hill started from the front row alongside DeLeon and by the second lap he had slipped down the inside of his team-mate upon entry into Duffus Dip. That would be the last anyone saw of the rear-wheel-drive ace then as he cruised to victory.

Behind him, Cammish elevated himself up to second place and then once again played the team game to allow Sutton – who had come out on top of an almighty duel with Ingram – to finish ahead of him on the run to the line.

However, due to the yellow flags being waved for the stricken BMW of DeLeon, officials reversed the positions post-race after it was deemed that Sutton took the position from Cammish under yellow flag conditions.

That position swap means that Ingram heads back down south with a 17-point lead at the top of the BTCC Drivers’ Championship. Elsewhere, Alliance Racing/Ford and NAPA Racing UK lead the BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship and BTCC Teams’ Championship respectively.

Three wins from three races for Chris Smiley means he and Restart Racing are out front in the Independents Championship whilst DeLeon holds a slender one-point lead over Rainford in the Jack Sears Trophy.

Adding to the Knockhill spectacle over the course of the weekend were a number of full-throttle races on the TOCA support bill.

Fionn McLaughlin, Adam Al Azhari and Rowan Campbell-Pilling each claimed a win apiece in the Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA while Will Martin and Sebastian Hopkins were victorious in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain.

Over in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain, Jacob Tofts and Tom Bradshaw were the big winners whilst Nathan Edwards, Josh Porter and Max Edmundson reigned supreme in the VERTU MINI CHALLENGE JCW.

To view the full classification of results from all sessions at Knockhill, CLICK HERE.

Croft readies itself for annual Battle of Britain meeting

Croft Circuit welcomes back Darlington and District Motor Club (DDMC) and its annual Battle of Britain race meeting next weekend (23/24 August).

The popular two-day event will showcase a wide variety of racing with sports cars, single seaters and sidecars set to be in action across the North Yorkshire track.

The meeting will host rounds 11 and 12 of the well-supported Northern Saloon and Sports Car Championship (NSSCC), which is run by the local motor club and boasts bumper entries.

The series, which is designed for saloon or sports cars pits the likes of Lotus Elises, Subaru Impreza WRX STIs, Honda Civic Type Rs and Mazda MX5s against each other across the 2.1-mile circuit fresh from the previous rounds at Cadwell Park earlier this month with over 40 cars expected to line up on the grid.

Heading to Croft, Stevie McNabb leads the championship in the Honda Civic followed by Stephen Reece and Alex Prentice as they race twice over 15 minutes.

Round six of the highly competitive Focus Cup Championship will also be contested at the same meeting on the Saturday. Drivers will battle it out in either a Ford Focus Mk2.5 or Mk3.5 which are the vehicles of choice for the competitive series and is sure to offer some close racing.

A strong Scottish contingent of championships will head south of the border to compete over the weekend. The Scottish Legends Car Championships will be in action while the Scottish Classic Sports and Saloon Championship and Modsports also take to the circuit twice on Sunday.

The series will see a variety of classic motors built before the end of 1989 go wheel to wheel for the honours, while the Scottish Mini Cooper Cup will also compete twice on Sunday.

Sidecars will once again take to the track at Croft when the FRSA F2 British Sidecar and FSRA Pre Injection British Sidecar Championships compete over both days. It will be their second visit of the season to the track after they opened their campaign at the circuit back in March and the penultimate rounds of the year for them.

The British Clubman’s Register Championship – celebrating its 60th anniversary – will race three times over the weekend bringing their range of single-seater machines to display for fans.

The headline Battle of Britain Trophy Race will take place at 5.30pm on Sunday and will see drivers from across a range of disciplines go head-to-head in a 15-minute race for the honours. It is only open to drivers who have already competed at the event and follows a tradition going back to the 1960s.

On track action gets underway at 9.30am on Saturday with a series of practice and qualifying events before race one at 11.40am starting with the Focus Cup. Sunday’s racing starts at 9.50am.

Ticket prices are ÂŁ17 for adults with children aged 15 and under admitted FREE, there is FREE car parking and FREE paddock access. For further information, please contact Croft Circuit on 01325 721815 or you can book your tickets online now at: www.croftcircuit.co.uk.

How to Watch: BTCC Rollercoaster ride comes to Knockhill

The annual visit to Scotland is here – the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship heads to Knockhill for the short sharp – white knuckle ride of a lap. The picturesque and undulating layout is a favourite for drivers and the passionate Scottish fans – who travel in their droves to see Britain’s premier racing series and supports in action.

All eyes will be on the front duo of Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram who are fighting tooth and nail for the title this season. Sutton is looking for his record breaking fifth crown while Ingram is hoping to double up on his 2022 title success. Other drivers will be hoping to claw back some points in Scotland to keep them in with a chance of the title come Brands Hatch with hard chargers Dan Rowbottom and Dan Cammish leading the pack.

The passionate crowd will be cheering for their home heroes too, with Aiden Moffat, Dexter Patterson and Gordeon Shedden set to receive the biggest support come race day. Triple BTCC champion Shedden has four victories on home soil and would dearly love to add another to his tally for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK this weekend – while Moffat and Patterson will be eyeing their first win in Scotland.

Motorsport eyes from around the world will be on the Power Maxed Racing squad this weekend. The West Midlands based firm received the heart-breaking news that their facility was engulfed with flames last Saturday – with the race transporters the only thing remaining from the unstoppable blaze. Thanks to the incredible support of the BTCC community, the team along with drivers Mikey Dobale and Nick Halstead are set to role out in Cupra Leons provided by other teams. No matter which team fans support – everyone will be willing the PMR team to success at Knockhill after everything they have been through.

When is the next BARC weekend?
This weekend – 16-17 August

Where are the events being held?

Knockhill Circuit
Address: Saline, Dunfermline KY12 9TF

What is racing this weekend?

Out on track this weekend: Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Wera Tools F4 British Championship, the VERTU MINI CHALLENGE and the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain

How can I watch?

Wanting to soak up the on-track action in person at Knockhill? Tickets are available on the day or on the Knockhill website from ÂŁ31 for a Saturday ticket or ÂŁ42 for a Sunday ticket – with weekend options available from ÂŁ60. Children under 12 go free with discounts for teens and Seniors.

Tickets can be purchased here: www.knockhill.com/events/british-touring-car-championship

Summer with a Supercat!

We have all done it. Summer holidays
 we are asked to look after cats while our parents, children, friends or neighbours go away on holiday. Some people get to look after cats of a different kind! Big Cats! Britcar Endurance Championship Technical Director David Hornsey was invited to drive the monstrous TWR built Jaguar XJS V12 Supercat during the circuit racing summer break. The event in question was the British Automobile Racing Club supported Goodwood Festival of Speed where David got the chance to make the big cat purrrr!

Ian Waterhouse on BARC TV caught up with the Britcar official at the recent round at Donington Park.

“I worked with TWR [Tom Walkinshaw Racing] for about a year, 18 months – working on chassis development for the Supercat and it was my honour to drive it at the Goodwood for its dynamic launch. The car I drove was the American press car and was the first finished car built and was back in the UK for some media and photography work as well as some events and that was the first time the public saw the car moving.”

88 of the exciting cars will be built to celebrate the 1988 Le Mans win that TWR masterminded with the Jaguar XJR-9 during the Group C era. Hornsey brings us up to speed with the stats and spec of this thunderous car!

“It is a Jaguar XJS underneath – they are all developed from an original car. It keeps some of the original chassis and keeps the original V12 block which has been bored out to 5.6 litres with a supercharger strapped on. Everything else is bespoke and new – other than the door handles! It’s such an experience to drive – for the show they put straight pipes on it to make it louder, but that’s the noise the road car makes, just at a more acceptable volume. Being in that car with 100,000 people watching with flames belching out the exhaust and noise reverberating off the flint wall was incredible. I had Radzi [Chinyanganya] one of the Goodwood presenters, alongside me on one run, and I think it fried his brain as halfway up he stopped talking as he was speechless!”

Going up the famous hill can be quite daunting – what was the weekend like in the car? We heard the car got ushered into the Shootout?

“We started the weekend just doing demo runs and I have been fortunate enough to have done lots of runs up the hill for different manufacturers over the years – so you drive at 70% and show off a bit but you make sure the car is safe. On Saturday morning Goodwood approached us as the car was creating such a buzz on social media they wanted the car to go up the hill more – but the only session available was the timed runs. I had to beg, borrow and steal some overalls, boots and off we went! It’s a lot narrower when you are pushing!”

Did you have a target then of what the car could do or what you wanted it to do?

“Before we went up, I had no idea what time we could get and didn’t really want to know as I wanted to drive it and see what would happen. We got a 58 second run on the first go and that put us fourth or fifth in the road car class which was ok. I thought if than go a little quicker in a few areas I could knock a second or two off and we ended up doing a 55 second run – third in class and beat the Ferrari and Lister Storm GT1 which I was quite pleased with. 11th overall was a really great result out of 20 something cars. It was the most intense minute I have ever had in motorsport!”

BARC enjoys fun in the sun at Convoy in the Park

Big crowds, scorching temperatures and breathtaking wheel-to-wheel action played its part in ensuring the British Automobile Racing Club delivered a sublime weekend of entertainment at this year’s Convoy in the Park.

Regarded as one of the biggest events on the national motorsport calendar, the two-day spectacle saw a number of different championships take centre stage on-track while countless attractions – including show trucks and live music – starred around the venue.

Headlining the on-track entertainment were five colossal contests from the British Tuck Racing Championship, with the super-sized series reaching the midpoint of the 2025 season with its typical dose of thrill and spills.

The battle for supremacy in Division 1 remains as fierce as ever with four different drivers standing on the top step of the podium in Leicestershire. Michael Oliver was the first to strike as he claimed a commanding lights-to-flag victory in race one, having secured pole position in qualifying.

David Jenkins then became the ninth different winner of the season in race two before David Smith and reigning champion Ryan Smith each made their mark, claiming a win apiece. The weekend finished in the same way that it had began, with Oliver cruising to a superb win in a frenetic finale.

Over in Division 2, Jake Evans bounced back from engine troubles at Thruxton to reignite his championship challenge. The MAN TGX driver won four out of five races and could well have made it a clean sweep had it not been for Sami Ojanen tallying his first win of the season.

That wasn’t to be the only truck racing that took place though during the weekend as the coveted International Truck Prix made a welcome return to the schedule for a third successive year.

Boasting an entry list that was packed with high-profile names such as Isle of Man TT legend John McGuinness MBE, spoils were ultimately shared between former BTRC competitors Mark Taylor, Jamie Anderson and Simon Reid.

Elsewhere, the Britcar Endurance Championship wrote the latest chapter of its season with an astonishing 90-minute race that was decided on the very last lap of the race – between team-mates no less.

AmSpeed and their Porsche 991 Cup cars proved to be the class of the field throughout the 65 lap contest with the pairing of Ash Muldoon and James Kellett going head-to-head with their stablemates Dom Malone and Adam Smalley.

With almost the entire field being lapped by the two cars, Muldoon and Kellett ultimately managed to hold off Malone and Smalley to triumph by a little over two seconds at the chequered flag. Completing the podium was the Raceworks Motorsport duo of Chris Bingham and Michael Lyons.

The Junior Saloon Car Championship is poised for a spectacular title run-in over the coming months as Josh Selvadorai enjoyed a near-perfect weekend under the flightpath of East Midlands airport.

Arriving at Donington Park with ground to make up on points leader Wilf Butler, Selvadorai delivered a mesmerising performance behind the wheel to win races one and two. The talented teenager came oh-so close to making it a hat-trick too, however Oliver Kerr managed to hang on.

Simon Allaway’s monstrous Lotus Esprit V8 was the talk of the town as the CNC Heads Sports/Saloon Car Championship arrived at Donington Park and it remained a topic of conversation throughout the meeting as Allaway dominated proceedings.

Allaway swept aside the opposition to snare pole position in qualifying and he then drove off into the distance to win both races by more than 20 seconds – underlining the superiority of his machine.

Over in the Track Action Racing Club, Paul Roddison continued his fine run of form to win twice in his Skoda Octavia whilst Ben Wilkinson narrowly pipped Nathan Williams to victory in the solitary OT Publishing Coupe Cup with Toyo Tires contest.

To view the full classification of results from all sessions at Donington Park, CLICK HERE.

Every lap from the two-day event is also available to watch on demand via the British Automobile Racing Club YouTube channel HERE.

Nathan Williams: Racing for a good cause

Wirral rising star racing driver Nathan Williams is in a campaign to sign up more stem cell donors, after his Dad’s shock leukaemia diagnosis. Nathan, 17, has won five races in the OT Coupe Cup with Toyo Tires series in a car promoting blood cancer charity DKMS and finished on the podium in every race.

On the surface, it seems that Nathan Williams, aged 17 from the Wirral, has been living the dream for the past couple of years. The sixth form student rose up the ranks in sim racing, winning several Perfect Acceleration Sim Racing (PASR) series which were streamed on YouTube. He then graduated to ‘real world’ driving, and remarkably he won his first ever race at Oulton Park in April, and then went on to win both races in the OT Coupe Cup at Thruxton in May.

But behind the scenes, Nathan’s father Andy has been having chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia. Andy, who works in cyber security, first fell ill with flu-like symptoms whilst taking Nathan to a scholarship race in Doncaster, and was diagnosed in February 2024. He spent most of the year in hospital in Liverpool – where one comfort was being able to watch Nathan racing via YouTube.

“The leukaemia diagnosis was a nightmare – we are a close family and I had to tell the boys alone,” remembers Sarah, Nathan’s mum. With support from the racing community, the Williams family, which also includes Nathan’s 14 year old younger brother Zach, pulled together. Andy initially went into remission, but unfortunately relapsed earlier this year. Now, doctors have said that he needs a stem cell transplant, which is planned for September. Only a third of patients will find a stem cell donor within their family. Unfortunately, none of the Williams’ are a match, so Andy will need to rely on a stranger who has joined the stem cell register to give him a second chance. He had only one 100% match out of the 43 million people on the register.

Now the family are working with blood cancer charity, DKMS to encourage more people to join the stem cell register. By registering as a stem cell donor, you could potentially save the life of someone like Andy. Anyone aged 17-55 and in general good health can sign up with DKMS, it just requires a few quick mouth swabs.

The family hope this movement will act as a conversation-starter that will encourage people in the racing community and beyond to sign up as potential stem cell donors. Every year in the UK, approximately 2,000 people will be waiting for a stem cell transplant, just like Nathan’s dad.The family are also working with DKMS to hold a stem cell donor drive event on Sunday 10 August 2025 at Convoy in the Park, in Donington Park. Nathan will be racing in the next stage of the OT Coupe series, and DKMS will be on site helping people to join the stem cell register. From 9am-5pm, attendees can visit the DKMS stand to collect their swabs and join the register.

“I first heard about DKMS when my dad was having his initial treatment – my Mum had signed up to the register as she wanted to be able to support other people going through what we were as a family. Prior to this we never knew that 9 times out of 10 donating stem cells is a similar process to giving blood.” explains Nathan. “When I was given the chance to race in the OT Coupe Cup and was able to put my own design on the car we decided that we could use it as an opportunity to raise awareness of DKMS and encourage other people to sign up as potential stem cell donors. I hope that promoting DKMS on my car will help my dad and others who’ve been diagnosed with a blood cancer or other blood disorders, to find their stem cell match. This is my way of giving back for all the treatment and care that my dad, who is my biggest supporter, has received. Now that I’m 17, I’m finally eligible to join the stem cell register myself. I’ll be joining the register at Donington Park on 10 August, and I hope as many people as possible will do the same”.

DKMS will be on site at Convoy in the Park registering new potential lifesavers, and they will be available if you have any questions. If you aren’t able to attend on the day, you can also visit the DKMS website – www.dkms.org.uk/register – and order a swab kit in the post.”

Donington Park beckons for CNC Heads Sports/Saloon Car Championship

It’s another capacity entry as the CNC Heads Sports/Saloons head for Donington Park this weekend, with Paul Rotheroe’s Citroen Xsara VTS still leading the points table after seven rounds. But Rotheroe recorded his first non-finish in the last round at Oulton after losing power to his ECU with a suspected alternator issue.

Simon Allaway’s Lotus Esprit V8 is proving almost unbeatable overall though. Second in the points, he has won every race apart from round three at Anglesey, when he damaged a wheel at the start after contact with Ric Wood’s Volvo. Carl Bennett’s BMW M3 E46 currently lies third and heads Class B, by just two points from Chris Roberts’ BMW M4. Bennett and Rotheroe have both played their double points joker too. Roberts won both races at Oulton at the start of the season, but has had some ongoing issues developing his new car, but his rivalry with Bennett is likely to be just as intense at Donington this weekend.

Fifth in the Championship and second in Class A behind Allaway is Garry Wardle. His TCR Audi A3 had it’s best overall finish at Oulton in the last round, finishing fourth overall. But Garry can often be seen playing catch up, as his car is not suited to standing starts. The closest rivals to Allaway and Wardle in Class A are Ryan Nelson and Ric Wood. Nelson switched from a JCW Mini to a Ginetta G56 GTA this season and was third overall in round six at Oulton. Championship sponsor Wood is due out in his Holden Commodore, but that could end up as any one of his fleet of cars on race day.

Thomas Frankland is due out again in his Renault 5GT Turbo, along with Phil White’s BMW 325 and Jason Hennefer’s Ford Fiesta ST180, while Billy Blockley takes over the family Ginetta G56 GTA from his Dad Richard and Zack Booth’s Renault Megane complete the Class line-up.

With Class B frontrunners Bod Buckby and Ben Roberts both absent this weekend, it gives former Champion Jamie Cryer and opportunity to close up in his Ginetta G20, after problems at Anglesey with broken suspension. But Cryer will have a stern challenge from two further returnees. Paul Masters returns with his Westfield after engine issues at the Oulton opener and former Champion Ian Bamber is back with his Ginetta G20 having missed the whole of last season. Andrew Armiger also becomes the fourth member of his family to race their Vauxhall Tigra in the Championship, while Mark Primett will hopefully have solved the plethora of issues that have plagued his Banks Lotus Europa.

Alek Modro’s Westfield Aero finally came good at Oulton too, finishing second to Allaway in round seven and could be on for another overall podium this weekend. Simon Hutt is in his Silhouette BMW Z4 and James Owen is in another Tigra, along with three Escort RSR’s for Daz Owen, Dave Owen and former BTCC and Pickup racer Lea Wood, while Baz Johnson’s Pontiac Coupe rounds off the Class.

There is just the one taker in Class C again, as John Edwards-Parton brings his Ford Fiesta XR2 out. But in Class D reigning Champion Steven Parker’s Fiesta will have a tough call to challenge the BMW’s of

Bennett and Roberts. Marshall Groves’ Vauxhall Vectra heads the rest, from Simon Graveley’s Golf Gti, Paul Goodlad’s Scirocco hopefully making its seasonal debut, Riccy Walker’s JCW Mini and John Madoc-Jones’ BMW E4 330.David Jones reclaims his Ford Focus Turbo from son Matthew after he raced it at Oulton, David Lawrence is due to debut in a Seat Leon Cupra and veterans Bob Claxton and Ralph Underwood are bringing their respective VW Golf GTi and TR7 V8.

Matthew Jones is re-united with his Ford Focus in Class E and as well as Championship leader Rotheroe, he will have Cavan Taylor’s Renault Clio, Louie Dobson’s Fiesta ST150 and Stuart Connolly’s Honda Civic to challenge him.

Three out of the four Class F entries have taken a win this season. Robert Wakelin won all three races at Anglesey before blowing up at Oulton, but Helen Allen’s Fiesta Zetec currently heads the way, with double Oulton winner Jonjo Lee’s Mini Cooper now back on the pace. Errol Taylor’s Toyota Yaris completes their class.

Finally 2022 Champion Jon Woolfitt is due to make a return too with his Spire GTR.

Qualifying is on Saturday morning at 11.05 for 20 minutes, with race one at 16.15. Sundays race is at 13.25 and both are over 20 minutes too.

Caterham Graduates Racing Club to leave BARC at the end of season

The British Automobile Racing Club can today (August 4) confirm that the Caterham Graduates Racing Club will move onto new pastures at the end of the 2025 season.

Ben Taylor, BARC Chief Executive, said: “We are naturally disappointed that Caterham Graduates have decided to leave BARC for next season.

“It has been a long and successful partnership between us and it seems a shame to bring that to an end when things are currently going really well.

“Nonetheless we wish the club every success in the future and look forward to ending this season on a high.”

BTCC battle resumes in spectacular fashion at Croft

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship resumed at Croft Circuit this past weekend (August 2/3) and it proved to be an event that will live long in the memory as Tom Ingram, Ash Sutton and Dan Rowbottom all triumphed.

Returning to action following its annual summer break, the UK’s premier motorsport series took centre stage in front of a capacity crowd in North Yorkshire – where the battle for title supremacy swung one way and then the other.

Saturday’s track action at the British Automobile Racing Club venue was dominated by Team VERTU’s Ingram as he topped the times in both practice sessions and then snared pole position in qualifying, smashing the existing lap record in the process.

Ingram led from start-to-finish in race one as he kept home heroes Dan Cammish and Senna Proctor at arm’s length throughout. Crucially, four-time champion Sutton encountered problems which resulted in him not scoring – handing Ingram the lead in the standings.

Race two saw NAPA Racing UK’s Rowbottom clinch his third win of the season as he made use of being the highest-placed soft tyre car on the starting grid. The Ford Focus ST driver went from fourth to first in a matter of laps and from that point on he didn’t look back.

Tom Chilton followed Rowbottom in the opening exchanges but was unable to mount a challenge. Instead, he settled for second place while the West Surrey Racing BMW of Daryl Deleon completed the podium in third.

Further back, many eyes were fixed on Sutton as he worked his way from the back of the field to finish fifth; crucially out-scoring Ingram by a handful of points.

One of the most captivating races in recent memory then closed out proceedings at Croft and the end result saw Sutton standing tall ahead of Ingram; with the pair having fought their way to the front to finish first and second.

Pole sitter Aiden Moffat defended valiantly in the opening exchanges however things soon kicked off, starting with Moffat’s team-mate Charles Rainford making contact with Cammish at the Complex which sent him skating into the side of Deleon and Chris Smiley.

Following a lengthy safety car period, the action resumed with Ingram and Sutton going side-by-side for second at the chicane. Ingram came out on top and then went after Moffat – however the Scotsman’s defence was resolute.

The defining – scarcely believable moment – at the front came later on that lap as Sutton went from third to first at the hairpin. Diving underneath the scrapping Moffat and Ingram, the NAPA Racing UK driver survived contact from Gordon Shedden and to come out in the lead and from there he went on to reign supreme.

Ingram would ultimately cross the line in second while Yorkshireman Proctor delivered one of the standout performances of the day as he went from the rear of the field to third. Remarkably the Hyundai driver made up 12 positions on the opening two laps alone.

Leaving Croft, Ingram holds an eight-point advantage over Sutton in the BTCC Drivers’ Championship whilst Rowbottom is a further 70 points in arrears back in third place.

It wasn’t just the BTCC that starred at Croft either as adding to the excitement were a host of races from the VERTU MINI CHALLENGE JCW, Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain and the Legends Cars Elite Cup.

Tom Ovenden and Nathan Edwards claimed a win apiece in the VERTU MINI CHALLENGE JCW while Will Martin and defending champion George Gamble did the same in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain.

In the Legends Cars Elite Cup, Tyler Read was provisionally crowned champion as he blasted his way to four wins from six races. Will Gibson and American ace Trevor Krouse picked up the remaining victories that were on offer.

To view the full classification of results from all sessions at Croft, CLICK HERE.