It is all change for 2023 with a really completely different really feel to the British Touring Automobile Championship assist collection line-up. After over a decade with two collection on the invoice, Ginetta has departed. As an alternative, the Porsche Dash Problem GB Cayman collection joins the assist bundle on a full-time foundation. Plus there are plenty of intriguing guest categories additionally on account of seem.
However, even among the many championships remaining on the TOCA undercard, there’s nonetheless no scarcity of change. Simply a few the highest 14 drivers from final 12 months’s Mini Problem standings are persevering with this season as a bunch of latest names be part of the fray, whereas there has additionally been an inflow of latest faces in British Components 4. With an intriguing Porsche Carrera Cup GB title battle additionally in prospect, there’s tons to regulate, beginning at Donington Park this weekend.
Porsche Carrera Cup GB
Porsche GB Junior Smalley is concentrating on the title, whereas the likes of de Haan (l) will attempt to cease him
Picture by: Porsche
There have been some extremely shut Porsche Carrera Cup GB title battles through the years and the 2023 contest might be one other so as to add to that checklist.
There’s definitely no scarcity of potential contenders. Confirmed race winners Adam Smalley, Gus Burton and Theo Edgerton are all persevering with, whereas Porsche Dash Problem Southern Europe champion Robert de Haan and Ginetta GT4 Supercup title winner James Kellett can even be ones to observe. Add in reigning Professional-Am champion – and general winner of the Manufacturers Hatch finale – Charles Rainford and Dash Problem GB conqueror Harry Foster, and it’s an intriguing mixture of drivers set to be preventing on the entrance.
Of all of them, it’s maybe Smalley beneath probably the most strain to land the title. Final season’s runner-up is in his second 12 months because the Porsche GB Junior and, given his 4 most up-to-date predecessors have all received a championship, he’s in search of to proceed that success – particularly as Burton and Edgerton had been fellow Junior finalists.
Requested if he feels any weight of expectation, Smalley replies: “Sure and no. There’s strain to win the championship however, on the identical token, I really feel like I work higher beneath strain. That’s after I get probably the most out of myself and it helps push myself ahead.”
Whereas Smalley now has a 12 months of expertise of the Kind 992 911 GT3 Cup machine, he has switched from Redline Racing to Group Parker Racing – the group that guided Kiern Jewiss to final season’s crown – for his sophomore marketing campaign. Smalley tackled the PSCSE winter collection to assist him settle into his new environment.
“That was an excellent introduction to get to know the group,” says Smalley, who completed third within the PSCSE standings. “We’ve constructed that relationship good and early and have gotten three race weekends beneath our belt – I really feel like I’ve settled in effectively.”
However, Smalley recognises the scale of the problem he faces this 12 months.
“The competitors seems harder than ever,” he provides. “However, to be the perfect, you need to race the perfect. I do know it’s not going to be straightforward and I’m simply going to deal with myself. After ending second in my debut season, there’s just one aim now and that’s to win the championship. I will probably be giving it all the things in my energy to make that dream a actuality.”
Burton grew ever stronger throughout the course of final 12 months
Picture by: Porsche
However Century Motorsport driver Burton will probably be amongst these making an attempt to provide Smalley nightmares. Having received the 2021 British GT4 title with Century, the group and driver stepped into the Carrera Cup for the primary time final 12 months and achieved some spectacular outcomes. In truth, over the second half of final season, Burton was outscored solely by Jewiss, however a couple of errors early on left him fourth within the ultimate standings.
“Final 12 months, I didn’t realise till now how a lot of the deep finish we, as a group, had been throwing ourselves into,” admits Burton, who can even be tackling the Porsche Supercup this 12 months with Fach Auto Tech. “It was a brand new automobile and new championship, and a really area of interest automobile to drive – it’s not a automobile you’ll be able to simply hop in and be quick immediately. We realized quite a bit final 12 months, and had some actually nice outcomes, however it was very unstable.
“Now, it’s good to come back again for pre-season testing feeling at house and figuring out what we now have to work on from final 12 months. I’m very assured we’ve bought all of the expertise to deliver house a championship.”
However Burton reckons de Haan will current stiff opposition after he “obliterated” the PSCSE competitors to win 4 of the six races with the Richardson Racing squad that claimed final 12 months’s GB groups’ title. Elsewhere, Edgerton has swapped JTR for Redline Racing for his second season, whereas Burton is wanting ahead to utilizing his team-mates, together with Kellett, to assist push him ahead this 12 months. With so many key contenders, all of the components are in place for one more gripping season.
Porsche Dash Problem GB
Coates is among the many drivers becoming a member of the Cayman ranks this 12 months
Picture by: Porsche
The Porsche Dash Problem GB has not precisely been a roaring success since its launch amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Now, with it securing a full-time change to the British Touring Automobile assist invoice for this 12 months, and grids lastly nudging 20 vehicles, it seems to be on an upward trajectory.
Matt Armstrong (Group Parker Racing) and Steve Roberts (Redline Racing) had been race winners final 12 months when the collection primarily featured at British GT occasions, and are prone to be frontrunners once more in 2023. However they’re joined by a bunch of newcomers attracted by the possibility to race/keep on the TOCA invoice.
Ginetta Junior graduate Joe Warhurst (Parker), Ginetta GT4 Supercup stalwart Reece Somerfield (Breakell Racing) and Ginetta GT5 Problem runner-up Will Jenkins (Century Motorsport) will all now race the Caymans, whereas established BTCC helps competitor Max Coates and fellow ex-Mini man Ethan Hammerton are additionally leaping throughout with Graves Motorsport.
Given Coates’s title-contending expertise, you’ll be able to count on him to be within the combine, regardless of him and Graves nonetheless attending to grips with the Porsche.
“It’s very completely different to the Clio and Mini which have been my stablemates for the final seven years,” Coates says. “The bit I’m studying and adapting to is the ABS – that’s most likely the largest factor and trusting it.
“The group has run rear-wheel-drive vehicles earlier than; we’ve bolted on a set-up we predict is someplace close to and are tweaking it from there. Each session, we’re enhancing – we’re all studying, however studying is thrilling.”
And will probably be thrilling to see how the season performs out because the collection seemingly comes of age.
British Components 4
Sharp is the highest-ranked of final 12 months’s F4 drivers persevering with for one more season
Picture by: JEP
Final 12 months, British Components 4 was all about one driver. Alex Dunne delivered probably the most crushing show because the class adopted its present guise in 2015, profitable virtually 3 times as many races as the subsequent most profitable driver. However there’s a sense that this season’s championship received’t be fairly so simple.
Most of the 2022 area have moved to pastures new, however an inflow of racers ensures that this 12 months’s grid will nonetheless characteristic over 20 vehicles, with the potential for a couple of intriguing late additions.
Of the 2022 crop confirmed as persevering with, Rodin Carlin’s Louis Sharp was the highest-placed – he completed a formidable fourth within the standings, regardless of lacking the opening spherical as a result of he didn’t flip 15 till Could. The Kiwi admits that his efficiency – together with two wins and taking a podium on his first weekend – “undoubtedly exceeded my expectations”.
“It was my first time racing abroad, so I didn’t actually know what to anticipate,” he provides. “We additionally came to visit actually late, so I solely had two take a look at days within the automobile earlier than the season began, so we had been actually underprepared. Clearly, to overlook the primary spherical as effectively didn’t assist us! For us to nonetheless end fourth within the championship, contemplating all the things, that was actually cool.”
Given his lack of preparation and late arrival, there was little strain on Sharp final 12 months. However that’s completely different this time round as he enters the season as one of many title favourites – not that he’s letting this faze him.
“Clearly, being a second-year, there are some expectations and a few added strain, however I’m probably not fascinated by that an excessive amount of,” Sharp says. “I’m simply specializing in growing myself and getting higher as a driver.”
Hitech quartet will probably be trying to proceed Dunne’s success from 2022
Picture by: JEP
However Sharp shouldn’t be the one sophomore eyeing title glory. In contrast to Sharp – who’s firmly established within the Rodin Carlin set-up and had already acquired the backing of latest group proprietor and fellow Antipodean David Dicker – Daniel Guinchard had a extra “annoying” winter. He arrived in F4 final 12 months after profitable two British karting titles and securing the assist of Mercedes. But issues didn’t work out for the Argenti driver and he completed ninth within the factors desk with six podiums. Having misplaced his Mercedes junior standing, Guinchard has now jumped ship to Chris Dittmann Racing and is relishing his “recent begin”.
“After all the things ended final 12 months, which was very unlucky, I’ve had limitless quantities of assist and so many individuals wanting to assist me attempt to discover a drive,” he says. “Now we now have, I’m actually happy and excited and I simply need to get racing. It’s a recent begin with a recent group in new environment – it’s a pleasant, glad atmosphere and we’re all actually happy with how testing has gone.”
One of many areas Guinchard has targeted on is enhancing his single-lap tempo, particularly because the extra highly effective second-generation F4 vehicles should not the “best to race due to the wash you get when following”. With a change in qualifying format this 12 months – the second race now encompasses a totally, reasonably than partially, reversed grid – the dynamic of the weekends can even be completely different.
Different drivers to have sampled the collection for a couple of occasions final 12 months embrace Guinchard’s CDR team-mate Jack Sherwood – the GB4 race winner admits to having misplaced weight over the winter after engaged on his health – James Higgins (Fortec) and Argenti pair Jaden Pariat and Isaac Barashi. However the squad of newcomers from Hitech, together with Ginetta Junior runner-up Will Macintyre and fellow Ginetta frontrunner Kanato Le, together with Australian FFord star Jimmy Piszcyk and karting champion Gabriel Stilp, will probably be powerful to beat. Given the success Dunne loved with the group final 12 months, will probably be trying to replicate that with its new recruits as they tackle Sharp, Guinchard and co.
Mini Problem
Zelos has adopted a recent strategy after tough 2022 marketing campaign
Picture by: JEP/Motorsport Images
It’s all change within the Mini Problem this season with simply two drivers who completed within the prime 14 in final 12 months’s standings at the moment confirmed as persevering with. And a type of, Joe Tanner, has thus far solely entered the primary few rounds.
The opposite remaining frontrunner is 2021 champion Dan Zelos, who endured a tough marketing campaign final 12 months. Eighth within the factors with simply three podiums weren’t the outcomes Zelos was searching for, and there was loads of soul-searching throughout the winter.
“Final 12 months was actually powerful mentally – I felt I used to be placing myself beneath immense strain to get the funds collectively for touring vehicles,” he says. “We had been fairly unfortunate with punctures and bush failures and engine points by the season, whereas in my earlier three seasons within the Mini Problem I didn’t have a single mechanical failure! After that occurs a couple of occasions, it does have an effect on your confidence.”
Zelos admits these difficulties had been costing him a tenth right here and there, which made all of the distinction amongst final 12 months’s aggressive grid.
“I took a couple of months utterly off social media and away from racing after the season completed,” he continues. “I realised I hadn’t loved my racing and I’d by no means mentioned that earlier than.”
Due to this fact, Zelos has adopted a recent strategy this 12 months, and is specializing in Minis reasonably than worrying about his subsequent step. He says he has regained his confidence and is wanting ahead to the brand new marketing campaign, once more driving for Excelr8. However, simply because Zelos is the one established frontrunner, he isn’t anticipating a walkover.
“I’m not anticipating to have it straightforward and there’s a couple of drivers actually coming of age from final 12 months,” he provides. “I do know what the Mini Problem is like, and it’ll nonetheless be 5 or 10 vehicles battling for P1.”
Choosing out Zelos’s possible rivals is difficult. Group-mates Bradley Gravett – son of 1990 BTCC champion Robb – and Josh Porter are potential contenders, whereas former MX-5 driver Sam Smith (Hybrid Tune) and dominant Cooper title winner Nelson King (Graves Motorsport) are additionally ones to observe.
The visitor collection which can be set to star
Legends will run three-event Elite Cup throughout its BTCC visitor slots
Picture by: Steve Jones
Ginetta’s determination to finish its lengthy presence at British Touring Automobile occasions has opened the door to a plethora of membership collection to get an opportunity to carry out on a much bigger stage.
First of the visitors to look is the brand new Legends Elite Cup class, a three-event contest throughout the pocket rockets’ Manufacturers Hatch Indy, Croft and Knockhill appearances. With a title on the road from these 18 contests, count on pleasure and frenetic motion.
Additionally becoming a member of the invoice for 2 occasions this 12 months is the revamped Radical Cup UK collection, combining the {old} Problem and SR1 Cup divisions. James Lay starred on the opener, profitable all three races, and others will probably be in search of to steal the limelight on the Snetterton and Oulton Park BTCC fixtures.
The Mini 7 Racing Membership, in the meantime, has already made a couple of TOCA appearances in recent times and has offered some improbable racing. These basic Minis are completely suited to the slipstreaming mecca that’s Thruxton, so count on extra of the identical in June. Rounding out the quartet of visitors is the top-level Caterham Seven UK collection, which is about to supply shut battles at Silverstone.
Mini 7 Racing Membership will present some shut racing
Picture by: Mick Walker