The Student Motorsport Challenge Powered by Pitlane Development and Driven Minds, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, returns to Cadwell Park on August the 10th and 11th for the first time since its inaugural season in 2022.
Two years ago, Cadwell Park represented a breakthrough for the Challenge, the world’s premier student-focused real-world motorsport series, when three of its entries finished inside the overall top ten in Round 13. On that day, East Surrey College’s Andy Burgess finished in 4th overall followed by Ben Creanor in #77 Barracksport Citroen in 6th and Richard Jepp, at the wheel of the MET Motorsport (now re-named Team Northbrook Racing) Peugeot 107 in 8th overall.
Fast-forward to 2024 and 13 Challenge entries will on the grid for three rounds of CityCar Cup action on Lincolnshire’s ‘mini-Nürburgring.”
The Student Motorsport Challenge will be supported at Cadwell Park by Pitlane Development and Driven Minds.
Founded in 2022 by Ollie Walsh, whose CV includes roles at McLaren Honda F1, Williams F1, McLaren GT and Aguri FE, Pitlane Development is on a mission to bridge the gap between education and starting a career within the motorsport industry. Ollie and his team work to make something that seems an unachievable goal a reality.
Pitlane Development specialises in working with aspiring mechanics, engineers and marketing professionals but helps anyone looking for career advice. They offer 1-2-1 online career development sessions, work experience with race teams, school/college and university guest talks and free career advice. Ollie will be speaking to students on Saturday afternoon August the 10th to introduce Pitlane Development and talk about developing their motorsport careers.
Ollie Walsh, Founder of Pitlane Development – “Pitlane Development are looking forward to supporting all the students and teams competing within the Student Motorsport Championship. The championship aligns perfectly with our goal of bridging the gap between education and full time employment within the Industry.”
Driven Minds, founded and led by Katie and Nick Ramsay-Gough, is a community interest company focused on mental health within the motorsport and automotive communities. Driven Minds was initially formed in 2021 and its mission is to promote the importance of good mental health, and a healthy mindset, to those within the UK motorsport and automotive industry and provide accessible routes to support and information to improve mental health.
Driven Minds will be speaking with the Challenge teams ahead of hosting a ‘Walk and Talk’ track walk after racing has finished on the Saturday, and will be joining the Student Motorsport Challenge community for a paddock BBQ later that evening.
Katie Ramsay-Gough, Director of Marketing, HR & Compliance – “Maintaining good mental health and wellbeing is easiest when we develop techniques from a young age, so we believe it’s important to share knowledge and how to get help with those just starting out on their motorsport journey, whether that’s a career behind the wheel or a career under the bonnet…and every role in between! We first provided support to the Student Motorsport Challenge last season and we were welcomed with open arms to speak to teams about handling stress and the importance of defining success to help us overcome set backs. This weekend at Cadwell Park we are so pleased to have the support from the Challenge on our second Trackwalk & Talk, as well as the opportunity to speak with teams again at their Team BBQ, including talking about ways in which the students can get involved with Driven Minds”.
Rounds 8 & 9 of the 2024 Student Motorsport Challenge at Snetterton saw West Suffolk College’s Brady Pollock drive the #12 WSC ME Toyota Aygo to two victories in class and two overall CityCar Cup podium finishes. Pollock’s breakthrough victories saw WSC ME entry close the gap to Team Northbrook Racing 1, driven by Richard Jepp, by one point to 11 points.
Can Alan Barrett’s West Suffolk College squad challenge the double series-winning Team Northbrook Racing for the 2024 title? With eight rounds remaining this season, they’re certainly going to try!
Team Northbrook Racing:
Rounds 8 & 9 at Snetterton in July was a weekend of frustration for Emma Norton’s squad. The #65 TNR1 Peugeot 107 driven by Richard Jepp was down on power and the South-Coast-based double Student Motorsport Challenge champion had to be content with 4th and 2nd-place finishes in class in the Norfolk sunshine. Having taken class wins in the six of the previous seven rounds, to finish out of the podium positions in Round 8 meant that the #12 West Suffolk College ME Toyota Aygo driven by Brady Pollock closed the gap by two points to TNR.
Following an engine change, Team Northbrook Race 1 will be looking to recover their winning momentum as the series visits Cadwell Park for the season’s second triple-header.
Two 8th-place finishes at Snetterton sees the #87 TNR2 entry driven by Ari Barker in 10th place in the Challenge standings after dropped scores and on equal points with West Suffolk College’s Andrew Payne. Barker will be working hard in Lincolnshire to see if he can leapfrog the WSC ME2 car and move up the table as we approach the final rounds of the 2024 season.
West Suffolk College:
The word ‘sensational’ is often over-used in sports journalism but Brady Pollock’s performance in the #12 West Suffolk College was nothing less than a sensation in Norfolk. Two Challenge victories and a brace of overall podiums shows how effective Alan Barrett’s team, and the advice and motivation of Andrew Payne, driver of the WSC ME2 entry, has been in giving Pollock both the car and the confidence to challenge for overall victories in his debut season.
Given the same level of confidence and assertiveness at Cadwell Park, there is every chance that WSC could join TNR and become the second team to stand on the top step of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup podium in 2024.
Andrew Payne enjoyed a solid weekend at Snetterton and currently sits 9th in Challenge standings after dropped scores, nine points behind Barracksport’s James Reilly. With Reilly unable to compete at Cadwell, Payne will be looking move up the table in Lincolnshire.
Barracksport:
After sustaining damage in Round 9 at Snetterton, the #11 Barracksport Citroen C1 will not be racing at Cadwell Park. Driver James Reilly and team, led by Harry O’Donoghue, are currently working hard to get the car back out for the penultimate weekend of the 2024 season at Silverstone.
The #49 Barracksport GSR Citroen returns for the Cadwell Park rounds after missing the Snetterton weekend. Regular driver James Smith had previously announced that he would competing in selected Challenge rounds this season and team member Matty Prance will be taking over driving duties for the #49 entry at Cadwell Park. Prance is a Barracksport team member and will be making his second Challenge appearance in 2024 after taking two 8th-place finishes in class at Oulton Park in May. The #49 Barracksport GSR entry is currently 11th in the Challenge standings.
East Surrey College:
After finishing 2nd in class in Round 8, his best 2024 Challenge result and 4th overall, followed by a 4th place finish in class in Round 9, East Surrey College’s Jack Wheeler was handed a 6-point penalty for contact in the first race. As a result, the East Surrey College entry now sits on 85 points after dropped scores and lies 4th in the Challenge standings, tied on 85 points with City College Norwich 1.
East Surrey College have proved their competitiveness repeatedly this season and will be looking, as a minimum, for podium finishes in class, if not Challenge victories, when the series visits Cadwell Park.
QE Motorsports:
After standing on the Challenge podium at Donington in June, Haydn Payne’s 9th and 5th-place finishes in class would not have matched the young driver’s objectives for Snetterton in July. The #72 QE Motorsports Citroen is currently 6th in the Challenge standings on 84 points, one point behind ESC’s Jack Wheeler and City College Norwich 1’s Elliot Lettis. Good results at Cadwell Park could see Payne joining his teammate Joshua Jackson near the top of the table.
Driver of the #27 QE Motorsports 2 car, Joshua Jackson, took his first podium finish last time out at Snetterton since the opening weekend. Jackson is a quick driver and if he can get to grips with the sharp changes in gradient and challenging corners at the “Mini Nürburgring”, we could see QEM2 back on the podium and, with only eight points between Jackson and Pollock, a top two place in the standings.
Boston College Racing:
Lee Crisp’s Boston College Racing squad were represented by a single entry last time at Snetterton. For Cadwell Park’s triple-header, Liam Browning, a previous Challenge class winner, takes over the BCR1 entry and will be looking to make his mark on the class grid. Horsham-based Browning had two DNFs when he last raced in the Challenge at Donington in June so will be looking to get the BCR1 car well up on the class grid in Lincolnshire.
Browning’s teammate Rory Pickles, driver of the #52 BCR2 Citroen, has had a remarkable season so far in 2024. Unable to complete only one round of the Challenge, the 16-year-old has never finished outside the top seven in class. Pickles is 7th in the Challenge standings and, with the confidence of racing at his ‘home’ circuit, will be looking to build on his consistency in Lincolnshire.
City College Norwich:
After Team Principal Leon Wilde’s selfless decision to step back from driving and recruit 2023 CityCar Cup champion Elliot Lettis, the team has gone on record three podium finishes for the #3 CCN1 Peugeot. The team has hugely benefited from Lettis’s feedback and set-up knowledge and that, combined with extensive experience around the 2.2 miles of Cadwell Park, means that we can expect to see the smartly liveried #3 car challenging for class honours over the three rounds.
Teammate Glenn Bee, driver of the #19 entry, continues to grow in experience and it cannot be long before we see the CCN2 Citroen challenging the mid-pack. Bee currently sits 13th in the Challenge standings on 40 points after dropped scores.
Sussex Motorsports:
If enthusiasm and sheer hard work were sufficient on their own to win championships, Shiv Bhagnari and Nathan Lee’s Brighton-based squad would be a top contender for Challenge honours in 2024.
As it is, the team travel to Cadwell Park for just their 4th outing in the 2024 Challenge. Driver Colin Dunn has finished all six rounds the team has competed in with a best finish of 5th at Donington in June. With team’s confidence and experience growing for every race, could Cadwell Park be the weekend they compete for podium honours?
Student Motorsport Challenge track action, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, gets underway at Cadwell Park with qualifying at 11:45 on Saturday August the 10th and the lights going out for Race One at 16:45.
Races Two starts at 12:15 on Sunday August the 11th with the final race getting underway at 16:10.