The Student Motorsport Challenge, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, returns to Silverstone with a 12-car grid for the penultimate weekend of the 2024 season with rounds 13, 14 and 15.
Rocked-It Ltd, owned by father-and-son Keith and Nick Underwood, have announced that they will be supporting the Student Motorsport Challenge for the Silverstone triple-header weekend. Formed during the global pandemic, Rocked-It Luggage has grown into a leading retailer of bespoke motorsport luggage, branded merchandise, racewear and helmets. Stocked by Demon Tweeks, one of the largest retailers of motorsport products in the world, Rocked-It Luggage has ambitious plans to develop its business and is currently reviewing options to increase its support of the Challenge as it moves into its fourth year of competition in 2025.
Previous visits to the home of British motorsport in 2022 and 2023 have seen the Challenge grid based in the Formula 1 garages and competing on the International circuit. For 2024, the CityCar Cup Championship will race on the National circuit and will work out of awnings near the old pit complex on the National Pit Straight. The 1.64 miles of the National circuit should see exciting racing including, as it does, famous corners such as Copse, Maggots, Beckets and Woodcote.
After a double-header at Cadwell Park, the #65 Team Northbrook Racing 1 Peugeot 107 driven by Richard Jepp leads the standings with a 15-point advantage after dropped sores over the second-placed #12 West Suffolk College ME Toyota Aygo piloted by Brady Pollock. Currently third in the standings allowing for dropped scores is the #57 East Surrey College Citroen C1 driven by Jack Wheeler. Jepp and the TNR1 crew could wrap up the 2024 Challenge title at Silverstone but fierce competition across the Student Motorsport Challenge grid makes this highly unlikely and for the second time in its three-year history, we should see the title decided at the season finale at Brands Hatch in October.
Team Northbrook Racing:
Emma Norton’s Team Northbrook racing squad has seen the highs and lows of motorsport in 2024. Double Challenge title winner Richard Jepp, at the wheel of the team’s #65 entry, has taken seven victories in class and finished on the podium on a further three occasions. The Harwin-backed driver overcame a mid-season engine issue to take the Challenge win in race three at Cadwell Park last time out, but Jepp knows he is facing tough competition from West Suffolk College’s Brady Pollock. Wrapping up the title at Silverstone is a possibility but Jepp is very aware of how quickly things can change and will be fully focused on getting the best from his Peugeot 107 over the penultimate Challenge weekend.
Jepp’s teammate, Ari Barker in the #87 TNR2 entry made his debut in car racing this season and would be higher up the Challenge standings were it not for an incident and a non-points scoring weekend at Oulton Park. A penalty at Cadwell Park last time out further hampered Barker but the Harwin-backed pilot is a determined driver and will be looking for a strong finish to the season over the final two weekends.
West Suffolk College:
West Suffolk College, under the management of Alan Barrett, has enjoyed its best season in the Challenge in 2024 and the combination of youthful ambition and mature experience in their drivers has put the team in a strong position to compete for the title.
Brady Pollock, who incredibly is only in his first season of car racing, has driven the #12 West Suffolk College ME Toyota Aygo to four Challenge wins and a further six podium finishes. Pollock clearly has a bright future ahead of him if he chooses to continue his racing career and wins over the remaining five rounds combined with some bad luck for Richard Jepp could see Pollock secure the Challenge title in his first year.
Andrew Payne, who has piloted the team’s WSC ME2 #73 Peugeot 107 since the start of the season will not be competing in the Challenge at Silverstone and his seat will be taken over by experienced club racer and Silverlake C1 Racing Series competitor Chris Parkes.
Barracksport:
Harry O’Donoghue and Ben Latham’s Barracksport returns to Silverstone with a single entry for the Northamptonshire triple-header. James Reilly, driver of the #11 Citroen C1, has decided to not compete in the final two weekends after repairs took longer than expected, resulting in the team being unable to enter the car at Cadwell Park in August.
In the sister #49 Barracksport GSR Citroen, Welsh tech entrepreneur James Smith takes over the driving duties from team member Matty Prance who drove the #49 car to three top-ten finishes in class in Lincolnshire. Sitting 9th in class, Smith will be looking for a solid finish to the 2024 season, only his second year in cars, and has been spending time in the simulator learning the Silverstone National circuit.
Alongside their Student Motorsport Challenge duties, Barracksport will also be looking after the #40 Porsche 986 of James Harvey who is competing in rounds 9 & 10 of the WRDA Classic and Modern Motorsport series. The team are currently reviewing their options for 2025 and are considering the recently announced Amateur Touring Car Challenge.
QE Motorsports:
Helen Snuggs’ QE Motorsports, the only Challenge squad crewed by team members of school age, has enjoyed a solid season with drivers Haydn Payne and Joshua Jackson standing on the class podium on six occasions, including a Challenge win for Jackson in Round Three at Snetterton.
Jackson and Payne now lie 5th and 6th in the Student Motorsport Challenge standings and with five rounds remaining, the team will be looking to improve on their 4th place finish at the end of the 2023 season. With Jackson just two points behind City College Norwich’s Elliot Lettis and East Surrey College’s Jack Wheeler, and teammate Haydn Payne a further two points behind, we can expect some close competition at Silverstone.
City College Norwich:
With the experience of 2023 CityCar Cup Champions Elliot Lettis guiding Leon Wilde’s City College Norwich team, the team is confident that the south-coast driver will be adding to his points haul when the Student Motorsport Challenge visits Silverstone. Lettis has stood on the class podium six times since joining CCN at Oulton Park and a best-place finish of 2nd last time out will give the team the impetus to push for its first Challenge victory. Although a run at the 2024 title looks beyond the team currently, the runners-up spot could certainly be a possibility with a gap of 30 points to WSC’s Brady Pollock and five races remaining.
Glenn Bee, approaching the end of his first season racing cars, has shown great consistency throughout the year, finishing all 12 rounds with his best result being a 9th in class at Donington. Bee’s resilience and determination deserve a reward and a finish inside the top eight in class could well be achievable on the National circuit.
Boston College Racing:
Personal commitments will prevent BCR’s Liam Browning from competing at Silverstone but after a weekend of bad luck at Cadwell Park in August, Browning has his sights set on a return to the Challenge grid at Brands Hatch for the season finale.
Rory Pickles, the driver of the team’s #52 Citroen C1, has enjoyed a consistent season and has never finished outside the top seven in class with a season-best result so far last time out at Cadwell Park where he finished 5th. Pickles, who has now begun his studies at Boston College, has grown in maturity throughout the year and will be looking to maintain his momentum up the finishing order at Silverstone. The 16-year-old could prove tough competition for QE Motorsports’ Payne and Jackson in the battle for 4th in the 2024 Challenge standings.
Sussex Motorsports:
Shiv Bhagnari and Nathan Lee’s Sussex Motorsports will be entering their 5th weekend of Challenge competition at Silverstone. The weekend will have a certain poignancy as it was within the National garages that Bhagnari first considered forming his own team following a meeting with Challenge series organiser John Paul ‘JP’ Latham in late 2023.
Since joining the grid, driver Colin Dunn has consistently finished inside the top ten in class with his best result being a 5th in class at a scorching Donington in June. In addition to driving, Dunn is also an experienced motorsport marshal and will be marshalling bangers, stock cars and hot rods at Grimley Raceway in Worcester during September.
East Surrey College:
East Surrey College’s Jack Wheeler is currently 3rd in the Challenge title race and were it not for an unlucky weekend at Donington mid-season, the Ricardo engineer could well be in contention for the 2024 Student Motorsport Challenge title. Currently, a 45-point deficit to standings leader Team Northbrook Racing’s Richard Jepp may well be a step too far but Wheeler’s class victory at Cadwell Park and four further podium finishes demonstrate how competitive East Surrey College can be.
The Student Motorsport team is eagerly anticipating the return of our teams to Silverstone this weekend. Building on the success of previous rounds in the Challenge, our dedicated Media Team is excited to collaborate with talented students from Boston College, enhancing our coverage and engagement.
Throughout the race weekend, we will continue to emphasise the dynamic activities within our unique student-orientated paddock. Engaging discussions and insightful interviews with teams, tutors, guests, and drivers will showcase the multifaceted nature of the Challenge, revealing that it extends beyond the thrill of on-track racing.
We are also thrilled to present highlights from the weekend’s spotlight team, QE Motorsport.
Track action for the Student Motorsport Challenge, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship gets underway on the Silverstone National Circuit with qualifying at 9.25am on Saturday the 28th of September followed by two 15-minute contests at 11.50am and 5.25pm.
The lights go out for the final race of the Silverstone weekend at 11.40am on Sunday the 29th.
We look forward to an exhilarating event and can’t wait to see everyone there!