Jepp takes Team Northbrook Racing\’s first overall win in CityCar Cup and wins SMo Challenge Race One

Richard Jepp, at the wheel of the #65 Team Northbrook Racing Peugeot 107, took the chequered flag at the end of the first race of the Student Motor Challenge double-header at Oulton Park, part of the NRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, to take the team\’s first overall victory in the series that they first entered in 2022.

Jepp finished less than a second ahead of Joe Moss in the #23 Citroen and over six seconds ahead of West Suffolk College\’s Brady Pollock who finished second in the Challenge class.

Completing the Challenge class podium was Elliot Lettis, driver of the #3 City College Norwich Peugeot, to take the first podium finish for Leon Wilde\’s team in their debut season in the Challenge. 

Richard Jepp started from overall pole position with Brady Pollock second in class and fourth overall. City College Norwich\’s Elliot Lettis got off to a blistering start and was up to third overall and second in class after the first lap.

Jepp, meanwhile, was extending his lead and after two laps was over two seconds of the #23 Citroen driven by Moss.

After three laps, Brady Pollock was still on the tail of Elliot Lettis and was less than half a second back from the 2023 CityCar Cup Champion.

As the race entered the final four minutes, the gap at the front came down to under two seconds as Jepp, hearing a noise from the #65 car that he thought may be a failing wheel, bearing, caused the south coast-based driver to ease off to ensure a finish. Meanwhile, Pollock found his way past Lettis to retake second in class. As the 15-minute contest drew to close, Challenge entries held on to 5th down to 8th overall with less than three-tenths of a second separating QE Motorsports\’ Haydn Payne and East Surrey College\’s Jack Wheeler.

Jepp\’s advantage continued to narrow as he nursed the #65 car to the chequered flag but the TNR pilot had the race under control and crossed the line to take his first overall victory and his third win in class of the 2024 season.

The result was in sharp contrast to the team\’s first appearance in the Challenge at Oulton Park when contact with the barrier caused considerable damage to the TNR entry, then named MET Motorsport, resulting in the team withdrawing from the meeting.

Team Northbrook Racing Team Principal Emma Norton was delighted that the team had taken its first overall victory.

\”I am just so pleased for Richard and the team,\” said Emma Norton. \”It’s incredible. It\’s been quite a journey for us since we entered the Challenge but it feels like redemption for Richard and his brilliant driving. We\’ve come a long way. The team\’s amazing, Richard\’s amazing and we move forward.
Emma praised the evolution of the team since its first early steps in the Challenge.

\”We\’ve got more students, we\’re more organised and I think we enjoy it more. We feel much more comfortable in the way we do things and the students are enjoying it. It\’s such an experience for them and it’s the best thing that could have happened for so many young people.\”

Richard Jepp was delighted to take his first overall win and was pleased to reward the team after the unfortunate incident when TNR first visited Oulton Park in 2022.

\”The car has felt great all weekend,\” said Richard Jepp. \”I had a good start and I could see a few people battling behind me so it was a good chance to pull away. I started hearing a noise about halfway through the race and I thought it was wheel bearing on its way out but actually it was our air intake rubbing against the pulleys. As a result, I backed off and managed the gap a little bit and brought it home.

\”It\’s a great result for the team. We’ve been working hard towards this and it\’s been a long time coming. This is pay-back for the damage I caused in the first race back here in 2022!\”

West Suffolk College\’s Brady Pollock was confident that he could get a good result for the team after a solid qualifying effort.

\”I\’m very happy because it was a hard-fought P2,\” said Pollock. \”I was battling with Lettis but we deserved it. We’ve shown our pace today and in practice and I made the right moves in Race One. The car worked so well in the first race that I can’t wait for the second race later this afternoon.\”

QE Motorsports\’ Haydn Payne finished 4th in class, followed by ESC\’s Jack Wheeler and BCR\’s Rory Pickles. 

QE Motorsports\’ Joshua Jackson finished 7th in class with Barracksport GSR\’s Matty Prance in 8th and Sussex Motorsports\’ Colin Dunn in 9th. WSC\’s Andrew Payne, BCR\’s Nick Abbott and CCN\’s Glenn Bee completed the Challenge finishers.

Race Two for the Student Motorsport Challenge, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup, gets underway at 4.20pm on Saturday May the 25th.