Thruxton serves up scorching weekend of BARC championship action

The British Automobile Racing Club served up a scorching two days of racing around the fastest circuit in the UK, Thruxton, this past weekend (June 29/30) as a host of championships took centre stage in Hampshire.

Basking in the searing sun, spectators that lined the bankings across both days were treated to a feast of entertainment as temperatures continued to rise both on and off the track.

Headlining the weekend were no less than seven races from the MV Commercial BTRA Championship, all of which delivered exhilarating thrills and spills.

Division 1 of the heavyweight behemoths saw Ryan Smith serve up a perfect performance as he clinched pole position and then all four race wins. David Jenkins was to be Smith’s closest challenger but the former champion could do nothing to stop the MAN driver.

Luke Garrett came close to doing the same in Division 2 as he secured a hat-trick of race wins around the high-speed venue. Clinching pole position, Garrett won the opener and then a further two races on Sunday, with Steve Powell the only driver able to knock him off the top step of the podium.

Having thrown up plenty of unpredictability leading into the event, the Pickup Truck Racing Championship continued to deliver a nail-biting battle towards the sharp end of the grid – with Mark Willis and Michael Smith sharing the spoils.

The Luna Logistics Classic Formula Ford 1600 Championship produced a spectacular pair of races, rolling back the years in emphatic style. Tim Harvey enjoyed a near perfect weekend around the ultra-fast venue to take the lead in the overall standings.

Triumphing in the opening encounter, the former BTCC champion narrowly missed out on a second win by 0.187 as Rick Morris bounced back from a frustrating race one to round out the weekend on the top step of the podium.

There was plenty of drama in the Mighty Minis Championship as those in attendance were treated to a raft of slipstreaming thrills and spills. Just 0.024 separated Stuart Coombs and Greg Jenkins in race one, with Coombs getting the better of his rival to score a hard-earned win.

Jenkins would strike back in the second race of the weekend as he fended off a swarm of challengers to narrowly pip Neven Kirkpatrick to the chequered flag.

Elsewhere, the BARC Clubmans Sports Prototype Championship in association with King Henry’s Taverns provided plenty of entertainment with Clive Wood in dominant mood as he swept his way to a hard-earned hat-trick of wins.

In the Kumho BMW Championship, Garrie Whittaker continued his winning streak with a dominant performance, extending his unbeaten run in 2019 as well. Arriving as the man to beat in the single manufacturer category, the E36 M3 driver exerted his status as the man to beat by scoring wins in both races by more than 30 seconds.

Rounding out the weekend’s action at Thruxton was a pair of races from the Carbon8 Hyundai Coupe Cup. Wayne Rockett recorded his fifth win on the bounce in the opener but saw his winning streak come an end later in the day as Nick Moore struck to notch his first win of the year.

To view the full classification of results from all sessions across each championship, click here.

Thruxton’s next major event of the year takes place on August 2/3/4 in the shape of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli.