QE Motorsports enjoys double-podium finish in Race Three
The 2024 Student Motorsport Challenge, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, experienced a historic weekend at the home of British motorsport when Challenge competitors took overall victories in races two and three on the Silverstone National Circuit. East Surrey College’s Jack Wheeler took the chequered flag to win Race Two on Saturday, September the 28th followed by City College Norwich’s Elliot Lettis repeating the feat in Race Three on Sunday.
Challenge entries had only taken overall wins on two previous occasions, the first being when Barracksport’s Ben Creanor won at Croft in 2022. Creanor’s win was followed by Richard Jepp, driver of the Team Northbrook Racing 1 Peugeot 107, winning at Oulton Park in May of this year. Wheeler and Lettis’s victories now double the Challenge class’s overall wins to four.
History was also made at Silverstone when QE Motorsports’ drivers Joshua Jackson and Haydn Payne took the first double podium finish for a Challenge team with second and third-place Challenge finishes in Race Three on Sunday.
The Silverstone rounds of the Student Motorsport Challenge were supported by Rocked-IT, the motorsport luggage, branded merchandise, bespoke racewear and helmet supplier and retailer. Owned by father-and-son team Keith and Nick Underwood, Rocked-IT displayed their current product range outside the Challenge Media Centre and Nick Underwood was interviewed for a forthcoming video feature on the series’ YouTube channel. Rocked-IT was born out of the global pandemic and the company has enjoyed rapid growth with its products now stocked by Demon Tweaks. Discussions are underway regarding Rocked-IT extending its support of the Challenge into the 2025 season.
Qualifying
Qualifying for Round 13 got underway in almost perfect, albeit chilly, conditions when, after days of wet weather, the Northamptonshire circuit was bathed in early autumn sunshine.
Brady Pollock, at the wheel of the #12 West Suffolk College ME Toyota Aygo, set the early qualifying pace with a 1:30.071 on his second lap before Richard Jepp in the #65 Team Northbrook Racing 1 Peugeot 107 lapped below 1:20 with a 1:19.975 and then went quicker again with a 1:19.034 on his 5th lap to take provisional pole in class and a provisional second place on the overall grid. Times were dropping, however, and when the chequered flag was shown at the end of the 15-minute session, Jack Wheeler in the #57 East Surrey College Citroen C1 had taken the Challenge pole with a 1:18.960 on his final lap.
Qualifying second in class was WSC ME’s Brady Pollock who put in a 1:19.031 followed by Richard Jepp in third with a 1:19.150, his earlier lap time disallowed due to a track limit infringement.
Fourth in class was Haydn Payne in the #72 QE Motorsport 1 Citroen, followed by City College Norwich’s Elliot Lettis and Payne’s teammate Joshua Jackson. Chris Parkes, sitting in for Andrew Payne in the #73 WSC ME 2 Peugeot was seventh in class, just .113 seconds quicker than TNR2’s Ari Barker.
The Challenge grid for Race One was completed by Sussex Motorsports’ Colin Dunn, Boston College Racing 2’s Rory Pickles, Barracksport GSR’s James Smith and City College Norwich’s Glenn Bee.
Race 1
There was drama at the start of the first race when the Safety Car was called out in the opening minute to allow for the safe removal of a stranded vehicle. TNR1’s Richard Jepp passed WSC ME’s Brady Pollock after QEM’s Haydn Payne ground to a halt with a faulty fuel pump.
Racing resumed with 11 minutes remaining with Jack Wheeler less than half a second behind leader Stuart Bliss. Jepp held on to 4th overall and second in class.
CCN’s Elliot Lettis made up ground on the overall field and after six laps was 6th overall and 4th in class. At the front, meanwhile, Wheeler had closed the gap to Bliss to less than half a second but with only three minutes remaining it looked as if the chance for an overall win was slipping away. Wheeler did find a way past Bliss when the latter missed a gear going on the back straight but the move was short-lived with Bliss passing the ESC driver as the pair entered the start line straight.
At the chequered flag, it was a class win for ESC’s Jack Wheeler, his second of the season, with TNR1’s Richard Jepp in second and, completing the Challenge podium places, WSC ME’s Brady Pollock.
CCN’s Lettis finished 4th in class followed by WSC ME2’s Parkes, BCR’s Pickles, TNR2’s Barker and SMS’s Dunn. QEM’s Joshua Jackson finished in 27th overall and 9th in class with the Challenge finishers completed by Barracksport GSR’s James Smith and CCN’s Glenn Bee.
“The second place overall may have looked straightforward but it really wasn’t,” said Jack Wheeler. Stuart and I got off to a good start and we managed to pull away a bit but Max Finn (in the #15 Citroen) came up behind quite quickly. I thought the position in the Challenge class was safe but I didn’t want to lose the overall position.
“I think Stuart Bliss missed a gear coming on to the back straight which allowed me to get past him quite nicely but then coming on to the start-finish straight he drove back past me again as I didn’t get the best exit from the corner. I’m pleased with the first-place finish in the Challenge class and second overall.”
Race 2
Race Two got underway late on Saturday afternoon with Wheeler again on class pole, ahead of Richard Jepp in the #65 TNR1 car who started on the second row of the grid. There was disappointment for Emma Norton’s team, however, when a faulty fuel pump, the second of the weekend for the Challenge teams, caused Jepp’s car to come to halt on the green flag lap.
Wheeler took the overall lead at Becketts on the opening but struggled to pull out an advantage over Stuart Bliss in the #18 Toyota.
CCN’s Elliot Lettis moved into second in class but Brady Pollock was determined to not let Wheeler have an easy class win and the WSC ME driver passed Lettis who lost a further two positions overall after three laps.
Pollock was coming under pressure from Joe Moss in the #23 Citroen before the WSC ME driver started to slow on the Wellington Straight and fell down the order. Pollock admitted that he had missed a gear change and over-revved the engine, forcing Alan Barrett’s WSC team into an overnight engine change.
Haydn Payne, at the wheel of the #72 QEM 1 Citroen, had a remarkable race, passing 14 cars on the opening two laps alone to stage a heroic comeback from the last of the Challenge starters.
As the field crossed the finish line, Jack Wheeler took the third ever overall CityCar Cup victory for a Challenge team and East Surrey College’s third Challenge win of 2024. Elliot Lettis finished second in the Challenge class and 6th overall with Haydn Payne concluding his incredible recovery from last on the Challenge grid and 36th of the overall starters to finish 3rd on the Challenge podium and 8th overall.
4th in class was WSC ME2’s Chris Parkes followed by BCR’s Rory Pickles, QEM’s Joshua Jackson and TNR2’s Ari Barker. SMS’s Colin Dunn finished 8th in class and the Challenge finishers were completed by CCN2’s Glenn Bee and Barracksport GSR’s James Smith.
“I just had to go for it and I didn’t really care what happened in the race,” said Haydn Payne. “We had had the pace all weekend but I had made a few mistakes and I knew the pace would come through. You always know you’re going to get past people so I just worked my way through.
“I can use Race One as a dropped round so it won’t be too damaging on my title standings,” continued the QE Motorsports’ pilot. “For the final race, I’m just hoping for a good start and to get in the tow. I need to defend well and not make any mistakes.”
Race 3
The draw for the top ten starters for Race Three gave the Challenge class pole to Elliot Lettis in the #3 CCN1 car which was to start from 4th on the overall grid, followed by Haydn Payne in the #72 QEM2 car. Race Two winner Jack Wheeler was drawn to start 10th on the overall grid and 4th in class.
CCN’s Lettis led the field away from class pole and quickly moved into 2nd overall with Chris Parkes in the #73 WSC ME2 car moving up two places to 5th.
Richard Jepp had one of the best starts of the Challenge competitors and had moved up to 21st overall and 7th in class after two laps.
There was drama further down the field however when contact between Rory Pickles at the wheel of the #52 BCR2 Citroen C1 and Ari Barker driving the #87 TNR2 Peugeot 107 led to the unfortunate retirement of the #52 car. The incident was investigated post-race and the stewards declared it to be a racing incident and no action was taken against either driver.
With three laps completed, Jepp was behind Pollock as Lettis held on to the class lead. QEM’s Haydn Payne moved up to second in class and 7th overall with teammate Joshua Jackson close behind.
Lettis took the overall lead at Brooklands on Lap 7 as Jackson passed Payne to take second in class with Jack Wheeler unable to progress from 10th overall.
With five minutes remaining, the CCN1 pilot Lettis had extended his overall lead to .317 seconds as Joshua Jackson started to pull away from Haydn Payne.
As the chequered flag fell, it was Elliot Lettis, at the wheel of the #3 CCN1 Peugeot who took the second overall win of the weekend for the Student Motorsport Challenge class with the QE Motorsport teammates Joshua Jackson and Haydn Payne taking second and third in class respectively, securing the Challenge’s first ever team double podium.
Standings (Challenge Standings are always provisional until formally published by the BRSCC)
After Round 15, and with two rounds remaining, the #65 Team Northbrook Racing Peugeot 107 driven by Richard Jepp has extended its lead at the top of the Challenge standings. Emma Norton’s squad now has a 22-point advantage after dropped scores over the #12 West Suffolk College ME Citroen C1 piloted by Brady Pollock. East Surrey College, currently third in the standings, has closed the gap to second considerably and is now just 15 points behind West Suffolk College ME. City College Norwich remains in 4th and is now 5 points behind East Surrey College. QE Motorsport remains in 5th and 6th but the #72 QEM1 entry has now leap-frogged the #27 QEM2 car with Haydn Payne two points ahead of Joshua Jackson, currently on 171 points.
Predictions
With the 2024 season moving to a conclusion, the #65 TNR1 Peugeot 107 is on course to take its third Student Motorsport Challenge in as many years. Barring penalty points being served on Richard Jepp, Emma Norton’s squad will finish at the top of the Challenge standings by a minimum of three points, even if Pollock can take two class wins and the fastest laps.
It is a different matter, however, for the 2nd down to 6th in the Challenge table. With just 32 points separating 2nd place Brady Pollock in the #12 WSC ME Toyota and 6th place Joshua Jackson in the #27 QEM2 Citroen and eight class wins between the five drivers, competition will be fierce when the Challenge moves to the iconic Brands Hatch Indy circuit next month for the double-header season finale.
For series organiser and Student Motorsport Founder, John Paul (JP) Latham, the weekend had been an emotional one.
“This has been an incredible weekend for the Student Motorsport Challenge and I want to thank all our superb teams, drivers, supporters and the BRSCC for their hard work, support and dedication to making the series what it is today,” said JP Latham. “To leave the home of British motorsport having taken two overall wins in the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship and to have seen QE Motorsport, a team with members of school age, take a double podium finish in Race Three shows that the Challenge really has come of age.
“I want to thank Rocked-IT for their support of the Challenge this weekend and it was great to see company owners Keith and Nick Underwood in our paddock, displaying their exciting range of motorsport luggage and helmets, just a small selection of their extensive range. I look forward to working with Rocked-IT in 2025.
“We now move to Brands Hatch for the season finale for what will surely be two thrilling rounds with many standings places up for grabs. The competition will be fierce but I am sure it will continue to offer real-life motorsport experiences, which are undeniably valuable to our learners and students.”
The Student Motorsport Challenge, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, will be on the supporting package for the 2024 Gerrit Van Kouwen Anniversary 53rd Formula Ford Festival on October 19th and 20th October, spectator tickets can be obtained from the Brands Hatch website.