Boston College Racing returns for its second year in the Student Motorsport Challenge, the premier UK track-based series for schools, colleges, and universities, that nests within the BRSCC CityCar Cup with an expanded two-car line-up. Liam Browning will continue to drive for the Lincolnshire-based team and will be joined for 2024 by Rory Pickles who will be making his circuit-racing debut.
Boston College Racing (BCR) will be embarking on its first full season in the SMo Challenge after having joined the series in June 2023 at Anglesey for rounds 7, 8 and 9. Liam Browning, who has considerable experience in the BRSCC CityCar Cup Championship after having competed in it since its inception in 2021, piloted the BCR Citroen C1 to 6th in the Challenge standings after a season that saw the Horsham-based driver finish on the podium six times, including a memorable brace of victories at Donington in September.
Rory Pickles, who will celebrate his 16th birthday just days before the opening weekend of the new season, was introduced to motorsport when his parents bought him a kart in 2022. During his first outing in the new machine, Pickles’ driving talent was spotted by a team owner who recognised the ability of the then 14-year-old and encouraged him to compete. Pickles was victorious in his first race and went on to continue to develop his driving skills, firstly in his kart and then behind the wheel of a Clio RS 200 under the tutelage of Marc Kemp at Blyton Park Driving Centre.
During discussions with Boston College, as Rory Pickles was making his further education decisions, conversations with Senior Learning Lead – Motor Sport and BCR Team Principal Lee Crisp (seen 2nd form right in the image below) led to Pickles being offered the opportunity to drive the team’s second entry for the 2024 season. The opening race of the 2024 season will be the young driver’s first experience of circuit racing.
“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to compete with Boston College Racing this year,” he said. “It is a huge step up for me and I have a lot to learn but I believe I am in the best position to do this with BCR. Both Lee and Liam have a wealth of experience and knowledge that I hope I will benefit from over the coming year.
“After a very successful year in 2023 for BCR I look forward to chasing Liam and hope eventually to get on the pace with him. I will be studying motorsport at Boston College from September this year after my GCSEs this summer so I look forward to meeting my colleagues and working closely alongside them.”
Warrantywise, the UK’s trusted provider of extended car warranties, and CSY Retail Systems, the Nottingham-based Electronic Point-of-Sale (EPOS) systems specialist, will be supporting Rory Pickles in his debut circuit-racing season.
After a late season start led to regular class podium finishes last year, Liam Browning is focused on competing for the Challenge title in 2024.
“I’m feeling relaxed and ready to battle for the Student Motorsport Challenge title in 2024 after the promising results we managed in our partial season last year as the new team to the series,” said Liam Browning.
“Lee and the BCR team have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to build a fresh car for this season. If it goes as well as it looks, I think we’ll achieve great things together this year. I owe it to all the team to leave no stone unturned and give it my all.
“I’m looking forward to having Rory as a teammate so we can help each other and, as a team, succeed this season. See you all at Snetterton!”
Team Principal Lee Crisp is looking forward to BCR’s first full-season Challenge campaign with the expanded 2024 line-up.
“One of the many good things with Rory joining us this season is that not only will he be driving, he will also be studying for our Level 2 Motorsport course starting in September,” said Lee Crisp. “This means that he will be combining his growing knowledge about the car as we’re racing with the mechanical aspects and knowledge when he starts his course. It’s fantastic to be supporting him with the next phase of his motorsport career as he takes his first steps into circuit racing.”
Lee Crisp believes that Liam Browning’s experience will play a key part in giving young Rory Pickles the skills he needs to compete within the Student Motorsport Challenge.
“We’ve got a very good lead driver in Liam who’s got a lot of knowledge and who will also play a key supportive part in taking Rory forward, especially as Rory is taking the next step into circuit racing.
“We’ve built a brand-new car for the 2024 season. It was a road car that the learners had stripped back to a bare shell. They’ve been involved with all the fabrication and building of structural safety elements. They are very excited to see the new car on track, knowing that they’ve played a part in not only running it but building it.
“I never thought that competing in the Student Motorsport Challenge would create the experiences for the learners that it has. We’ve got a great lead driver in Liam. He’s determined and he’s fast but not only that, he’s going to be setting the pace for young Rory to latch on to.”
The 2024 Student Motorsport Challenge, an inter-series within the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, gets underway at Snetterton on April 6th and 7th.