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
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

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
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
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
Brands Hatch Masters Festival 25th May 2019
Media Enquires EDP Photo News

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