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Motor Sport Events 2023

BTCC Thruxton Circuit 2023

BTCC Thruxton 3rd – 4th June 2023

NAPA RACING’S DAY IN THE SUN

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship held rounds 10, 11 and 12 in glorious weather at the extremely fast Thruxton circuit over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of June. Coming into the weekend as championship leader after a highly successful last meeting at Snetterton a couple of weeks previously, Ash Sutton continued his hot form to set pole position. Reigning champion and Snetterton race three winner Tom Ingram flung his Excelr8 Hyundai round to join Sutton on the front row, 0.210 seconds down. Thruxtonmeister Josh Cook belied his recent struggles to go fastest in each of the two free practice sessions in his One Motorsport Honda and the Civic was sat atop the times after the first qualifying runs, the ten-time winner in Hampshire would ultimately start from third. A star of qualifying was Mikey Doble, the BTCC rookie lining up fourth in his Power Maxed Astra as all three PMR Vauxhalls made it into the top ten. Of the WSR BMW hordes, Jake Hill’s satellite Laser Tools MB Motorsport car fared best in qualifying to head an all-BMW third row with Colin Turkington alongside. An even getaway from the first two rows of race one saw Sutton maintain first place into Allard but Hill’s BMW from the third row bursts through between Doble and Cook to challenge for third. Ingram tailed the leading Focus into the Complex for the first time from the tussling Hill and Cook, Hill has his nose in front into Cobb but Cook hangs on around the outside to take back third at Seagrave. Colin Turkington dives inside Doble too for fifth. Sutton’s Napa Racing UK teammate Dan Cammish finishes a good first lap by going the long way around Doble into the Club Chicane to end the opening lap in sixth from starting ninth. Sutton was quickly into his stride, opening up a small gap out front to sit just under a second clear after one lap and the margin would continue to grow as he sped to a dominant victory. The top four cars became spread out throughout the race, Sutton victorious by 2.513 seconds from Ingram, who rode plenty of early pressure from Cook as the Hyundai was forced to defend the inside at the chicane for the third time. A small consolation for Cook was setting a new lap record on his way to third. Hill’s BMW took fourth whilst Cammish moved up to fifth when he took advantage of a much better run through Church to take the place from Turkington on lap two but the BMW kept him honest thereafter. Race two was a virtual action replay of race one as Sutton was again away superbly at the start to lead Ingram off the line, Cook and Hill mirrored race one by going side by side through the Complex and the Honda holds third once more at Seagrave before closing in on Ingram. Sutton soon began going away from the field, just as in the opening encounter, so Sutton took his 33rd BTCC win but not by quite the same margin as race one, 2.234 seconds. Ingram sealed second and was edging towards the victorious Focus throughout the second half without being able to mount a challenge, Cook kept at arm’s length from the Hyundai in third. Top BMW driver Hill took fourth despite being closed on by Cammish in the closing stages, the Napa Ford taking a few laps to clear the fast-starting Toyota of Rory Butcher. Colin Turkington also bested Butcher on the penultimate lap for sixth, having lost out to the Toyota in a sketchy moment at Noble for the first time which also cost the BMW another place to Cammish. The reversed grid draw for race three saw double-winner Sutton shoot himself in the foot as he pulled out ball twelve from the pot which placed WSR’s Adam Morgan on pole with Aiden Moffat alongside. Ricky Collard’s Toyota would go from third with Aron Taylor-Smith next up. Napa Racing’s Daniel Rowbottom was handed a three-place grid penalty after contact at the Complex with Nathan Pearson in race two so lined up fifth, the Ford having made good progress after starting 24th to finish an on-the-road eleventh. Morgan used the BMW’s traction to take the lead off the line with Moffat and Collard maintaining second and third. Rowbottom’s Ford made a great start and was up to fourth at the Complex with Turkington further demoting Aron Taylor-Smith for fifth. Just behind them were Hill, Ingram, Cook and Sutton all squabbling over ninth as the field headed out into the country for the first time, double-winner Sutton passing Cook towards Church. Showing great speed in the early stages, Rowbottom uses his favoured move at Seagrave to take Collard’s third place on lap two as a train of cars forms behind a stubborn Moffat’s Honda. In the battle at the foot of the top ten, Cook speeds by Sutton at Church after the Ford tags Ingram at the Complex. Keen to keep the leading Morgan BMW in sight, Rowbottom tried his Seagrave manoeuvre on Moffat on lap three but doesn’t make it stick and the lost momentum sees Collard charging back into third on the outside of Noble. A twitch for Collard at Village allows Rowbottom to retake the place by Church and Turkington follows the Ford through racing up to the chicane. Rowbottom finally breaches Moffat’s defence at the Complex on lap five, the Focus going around the outside of Campbell as the Honda hugged the inside and made the spot his own at Cobb. Morgan had marched into a two and a half seconds lead by now but using the Focus’s superior pace, Rowbottom soon starts reeling in the leading BMW and makes the decisive pass bravely on the inside into Church for the tenth time. Immediately pulling a gap to Morgan, Rowbottom completes a Napa Racing UK clean sweep of victories by 2.733 seconds from Morgan. Moffat fights a rear guard action to keep Colin Turkington and Ricky Collard at bay for his first podium of the year in third. Taylor-Smith’s Astra comes home sixth from Butcher’s Toyota whilst Cammish, Ingram, Hill, Cook and Sutton all finish in a line from eighth to twelfth, Ingram passing Hill around the outside at Goodwood on the penultimate lap as the BMW’s attempt at passing Cammish through Noble fails. Sutton now leads the championship by fourteen points from Ingram leaving Hampshire having bagged two wins at each of the last three meetings, Turkington sits third 41 points in arrears. The Mini 7 Racing Club’s Se7en and Miglia challenges were a popular addition to the support package as the race victories all went to members of the Jordan family, father Mike taking the two Se7en bouts despite the close attention of Connor O’Brien and Ross Billison in race one and two respectively – perfect car placement up Woodham Hill allowed him to hold his challengers at bay each time. Son Andrew took the two Miglia wins after some epic slipstream battling, besting Aaron Smith towards the Club Chicane for the last time in race one as a train of nine cars fought for the win and then shrugging off Jeff Smith’s best efforts in race two. The BTCC now moves on to rounds 13, 14 and 15 at Oulton Park in Cheshire on the 17th and 18th of June.Pics and Words Stephen Carpenter EDP Photo News.

Motor Sport Events 2022

Castl Combe Countdown Race Meeting 29th August 2022

Castle Combe Countdown Race Meeting 29th August 2022

BTCC Thruxton Circuit 28th August 2022

FORDS FEAST AT THRUXTON AS COOK SERVES UP RACE THREE

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship paid its second visit of the 2022 season to the sweeping Thruxton circuit over the August bank holiday weekend for rounds 22, 23 and 24. Scoring his first pole position in a Ford Focus, Dan Cammish headed current Thruxton maestro Josh Cook by 0.017 seconds. Championship hopefuls Jake Hill and Ashley Sutton made up the second row whilst series leader Colin Turkington languished in 15th, two spots behind closest title rival Tom Ingram. Cammish held the lead at the start of race one whilst Cook came under fire from Sutton, Hill and Gordon Shedden at the Complex. Neither Cook or Sutton were willing to give in at Seagrave, the resulting contact sending Cook sideways and plummeting down the order. Shedden took advantage of Sutton’s loss of momentum to move ahead and the pair settled into second and third places behind Cammish, who had been gifted a big lead by the skirmishes. The Ford man managed the gap over the remainder of the 16 laps to take his first win for Napa Racing, Shedden coming home in second from Sutton and Hill. Championship chasers Ingram and Turkington scored with ninth and tenth place finishes as Cook salvaged three points for thirteenth but had eyes for so much more. Cammish again converted pole into the race lead at the start of race two whilst a great launch from teammate Sutton got him alongside Shedden for second, making the place his own at the Complex. Just behind, Rory Butcher had a run at Jake Hill for fourth but Hill bravely held on around the outside of Noble. Sutton started to pressurise Cammish for the lead on lap two, setting the fastest lap in the process, but Cammish clung on and soon stretched out a small margin until, on lap 13, he was instructed to cede the win to title contender Sutton, pulling aside at Allard. Shedden took his second podium finish of the day with third and Cook regained more of his lost race one positions with eighth. An all-WSR BMW front row formed up for race three, Stephen Jelley and Turkington benefitting from the reversed grid draw which saw ball number 11 drawn, Michael Crees and Cook made up the second row with Cook looking to grab a top result after his race one contact. The two BMs led the way off the line but Cook was in determined mood, outdragging Crees when the lights went out before usurping Turkington for second at Village and then taking a good look at Jelley’s lead into the Club Chicane. Cook made the move stick the next time round and set off towards his third victory at the circuit this year. Turkington soon passed his teammate Jelley for second, which is how they finished. Jelley was reeled in by the squabbling pair Rory Butcher and Sutton in the closing laps but held on, Sutton having charged through from eleventh on the grid. Turkington now leads the points table by six points from Sutton as the championship heads to Silverstone for rounds 25, 26 and 27 on the 24th/25th September. words and Pics Stephen Carpenter EDP Photo News.

BTCC Croft 25th-26th June 2022

LLOYD’S DREAM DOUBLE DELIGHT

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship made the journey up the A1 to Croft, near Darlington, over the weekend of the 25th/26th June for rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the 2022 season. The venue has traditionally favoured the rear-wheel-drive cars and that tradition was maintained as the WSR BMW of Colin Turkington sped to pole position by 0.027 seconds from the Team Dynamics Honda Civic of Daniel Rowbottom. Making up the second row were Excelr8 Hyundai i30 pairing Daniel Lloyd and Tom Ingram as 0.076 seconds covered the top four, a remarkable turnaround for Turkington and Lloyd after their car-wrecking incident at Oulton Park just a couple of weeks ago. Meanwhile, championship leader Josh Cook languished down in 20th position, bemoaning a lack of straightline speed. As expected, Turkington held the lead off the line of race one whilst a great getaway from Lloyd placed him second into the first corner. The BMW’s vulnerability on cold tyres showed as Lloyd pounced on Turkington at Tower for the first time, challenging around the outside then cutting inside to make the move stick on the run to the Jim Clark Esses. Lloyd survived two safety car restarts and withstood huge pressure from Turkington on the last lap to take a fairytale victory. Rowbottom completed the podium after resisting multiple attacks from Ingram on the second restart. Cook salvaged a point with 15th but Ingram cut his championship lead to just two points. The reduction of Hybrid usage for Lloyd made little difference to the Yorkshireman in race two as another peach of a start saw him lead the pack away. Lloyd’s dream day continued as he held the lead throughout to grab the win despite intense scrutiny from teammate Ingram and Turkington. Ingram, having jumped Rowbottom at the start, passed the BMW on the opening lap through the Jim Clark Esses, striking before Turkington’s tyres came up to temperature. Cook gained four spots from his grid position to come home in 11th but lost the championship lead to Ingram. The draw for race three saw ball number 12 pulled out of the bag so Gordon Shedden was handed pole position for the last race of the day with Cook completing the front row, Stephen Jelley and Tom Chilton making up row two. The front row starting Hondas held off the BMW of Jelley into Clervaux with Shedden ahead, the Team Dynamics man gapping the field to win his 52nd BTCC race by 2.5 seconds and cap his recovery from a race one DNF. Cook seeing off a train of cars for second ahead of Rory Butcher, Jelley, Jake Hill, Turkington and Ingram. Ingram leads the championship by 3 points from Cook heading to Knockhill after the championship’s summer break on the 30th/31st July.Words and Pics Stephen Carpenter EDP Photo News.

Summer Spectacular 11 – 12 June 2022

Summer Spectacular Castle Combe Circuit 11 – 12 June 2022

BTCC Thruxton 28th – 29th May 2022

A WINNING RECIPE FOR COOK

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship made its first of two visits in 2022 to the high-speed Thruxton circuit over the weekend of the 28th/29th May. Bath racer Josh Cook hustled his BTC Racing prepared Honda Civic to pole position from the BMW 330e of Jake Hill, with the Ford Focus of Dan Cammish starting from third – 0.081 seconds covering the trio. The rear-wheel-drive traction advantage off the line from his BMW allowed Hill to edge ahead of Cook on the run to the Complex at the start of race one but Cook muscled past when they got there and wasn’t to be headed for the remainder of the 16 laps, Hill keeping him honest to finish 0.9 seconds behind. Race two followed a similar pattern with Hill again outdragging Cook when the lights went out but this time Hill’s grasp of the lead lasted until the Club Chicane when Cook hung it out around the outside to grab back a lead he wasn’t to lose, heading Hill home by a narrow 0.487 seconds. The reversed grid draw for race three saw Cook starting from seventh, his BTC Racing teammate Jason Plato sat on pole alongside the Ciceley BMW of Adam Morgan. Plato slipped back at the start as a pair of BMWs headed the field, Morgan resisting race-long pressure from 4-time BTCC champion Colin Turkington to take the win by 0.599 seconds. Third in all three races was reigning champion Ashley Sutton aboard a Ford Focus, who finished right with the lead pair in race three, his consistent scoring moving him up to second in the championship table behind new leader Cook – who has now won four of the last six races. The series moves on to Oulton Park on the 11th/12th June and returns to Thruxton on the 27/28th August.Words and Pics Stephen Carpenter EDP Photo News.

2022 Summer Spectacular Castle Combe Circuit Sat and Sun 11th 12th June

May Madness 2nd May 2022

“MayDay Madness” The Competition Hots Up at Castle Combe Circuit 2nd May 2022

Howards’s Day Castle Combe Circuit 18th April 2022

“Howard’s Day” The Season Opener Castle Combe Circuit 18th April 2022

Motorsport Events 2019

Goodwood Revival 2019

GOODWOOD REVIVES GLORIOUS PAST

The 22nd Goodwood Revival Meeting took place in superb late summer weather over the weekend of the 13th – 15th September recreating the ambience of the 1950s and 1960s where period dress is actively encouraged with many displays and fine detail touches making the event feel like a real step back in time. The former RAF Westhampnett airfield opened its gates for motor racing in 1948 and for the next eighteen years the high speed circuit played host to many of the sports more famous and infamous moments such as Aston Martin’s 1959 RAC TT victory after a pit lane fire with which they won the world championship and Sir Stirling Moss’ horrific accident in 1962, parades to commemorate Aston’s win and Sir Stirling’s upcoming 90th birthday were held over the weekend along with the Mini’s 60th anniversary and also a tribute to the Cooper Car Company which saw Sir Jackie Stewart take the wheel of his 1964 Cooper T72 formula three car. After the last competitive meeting in August 1966 racing stopped until in 1998 the then Earl of March decided to restore the circuit to its former glory recreating the era of his grandfather the 9th Duke of Richmond, the brainchild behind the circuit, and the Revival was born with the first hugely popular meeting taking place 50 years to the day from the very first event in 1948 and is now one of the jewels in the crown of the historic racing scene.words Stephen Carpenter EDP Photo News.facebook.com/edpphotonews

SUMMERTIME CLASSIC AT SILVERSTONE

The annual Silverstone Classic festival of historic racing took place over the weekend of 26th – 28th July utilising the newly resurfaced Grand Prix circuit where mixed conditions greeted the competitors with qualifying day on Friday taking place in dry conditions and the two race days both starting out wet before drying out later on for the twenty one race card. Various manufacturers and models are celebrating milestone birthdays this year with numerous displays and parades taking place in commemoration including luxury brand Bentley’s centenary, Italian sports car maker De Tomaso marking 60 years of existence, Ford’s Capri model reaching its 50th birthday and also the quintessentially British Mini’s 60th anniversary of production for which two special races were organized Words Stephen EDP.

Silverstone Classic 26/27/28 July 2019

Bath Motor Club Rally Preparations Services Autocross 1st – 2nd June 201

Bath Motor Club Rally Preparations Services Autocross 1st – 2nd June 2019

BMC Autocross Saturday 1st June…View Galleries

BMC Autocross Sunday 2nd June….View Galleries

Castle Combe Circuit 27th May 2019

“Cooper Conquers”

Double win for Luke Cooper in the CC FF1600 Championship races he also picked up Driver of the Day.

Media Enquiries EDP Photo News

Brands Hatch Masters Festival 25th May 2019

Media Enquires EDP Photo News

Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship Thruxton 18-19 May 2019

JUBILANT JORDAN AT THE DOUBLE AS THRUXTON COOKS UP A THRILLER

BMW Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan took two wins as the Kwik Fit BTCC made its first of two visits to Thruxton in 2019 over the weekend of the 18th and 19th May. Starting from the second row in a freshly straightened BMW 3 Series after his heavy Donington Park accident Jordan leapt up to 2nd at the start of race 1 as top qualifier Sam Tordoff converted pole into the race lead which he held on to until the 13th lap when an electrical issue with his Honda Civic cost Tordoff his power steering making him run wide through Church allowing Jordan to tow past on the run to the Club Chicane and take the win with Tordoff holding on to 2nd from Dan Cammish in 3rd. A great start to race 2 saw Jordan take the lead from the start, a lead he wouldn’t relinquish leading home West Surrey Racing team mate Colin Turkington with Honda’s Cammish again completing the podium. Race 3 was drawn with the top 11 finishers in race 2 to be reversed which put championship leader coming into the weekend Ashley Sutton on pole with Bath’s Josh Cook sharing the front row. With spots of rain starting to fall Sutton held the lead through Allard but Cook was able to draw alongside on the run to the Complex taking the lead on the inside and controlling the race thereafter to take the flag surviving two safety car periods on the way. New joint championship leader Rory Butcher took second with Sutton in third. Ably supporting the BTCC in a one-off appearance this weekend were the Mini Se7en and Mini Miglia Challenges with four epic slipstreaming battles making the crowd cheer seeing Darren Thomas take both Mini Se7en victories as Chris Morgan and Nick Padmore split the wins in the Mini Miglias. The BTCC now moves to Croft in North Yorkshire over the weekend of the 15th and 16th June: Words Stephen EDP