Victory upon victory for Team BC at Donington Park

Good things come in threes, as the old saying goes. And the relentless successes of Team BC Racing saw this old maxim doubling up at Donington Park over the August bank holiday weekend, as a stellar set of results tumbled in with no fewer than six key reasons to celebrate.

The number six, indeed, bore particular significance for Michael Andrew and his seemingly unstoppable EK9 Honda Civic, winning its sixth round in a row. The rev-hungry VTEC monster was on a super-hard charge, taking the class record for Mike’s fifth time this year with a time of 1:12.9, which is an outstanding achievement – it means he’s already Club 2WD champion with two rounds still to spare. That’s not to say that he’ll be hanging about at the next round at Brands Hatch, of course – this showman always has a few more tricks up his sleeve.

There was further happy news in the Pro Extreme class, as we saw #BCEquipped Tim Bedford finding his way to the top of the podium for the first time in 2022. It’s been a visceral and exciting year for Tim and his beautifully prepared and ineffably quick WRC Impreza, which is always a firm favourite among spectators, and it was great to see him netting the top spot with a supremely rapid time of 1:12.5.

Over in the Club Pro class, things were going equally well for Bren Simpson. Having battled with electrical dramas earlier in the season, the hardcore BC Racing R33 Skyline was out with something to prove, and there was no ambiguity once the red mist descended: Bren was very much back to his winning ways, grabbing the venerable Nissan by the scruff of the neck and showing everyone who’s boss in the process; a more than respectable time of 1:13.27 neatly underlined this unparalleled sense of focus.

There was steady scoring for Sam Pickering in the Club 4WD class, as we witnessed some typically hard-charging driving with glorious precision, the carbon-clad Impreza Spec C Type RA putting on a hell of a show. The 2021 champion put in a thrilling performance, posting a lap quick enough to bag him the number-two spot this time, which is strong enough to keep Sam firmly in contention for a 2022 class victory with just two rounds to go before season’s end.

The Drift Pro Championship served up all the thrills and spills the crowds desired, with the rubber joyfully atomising as the titans of the sport vied for top honours. Ollie Evans presented an exciting performance in his ever-popular Nissan S14; a cut-out in the final stymied his ascent to first place, but nevertheless his performance up to that point was sufficiently awe-inspiring to send him home with a second-place finish in his back pocket. This was also enough for Ollie to claim the Drift Pro Championship title with two rounds to spare! Congratulations Ollie

And last but very much not least, the Civic Cup race showed us something really special, with some extremely close competition bubbling up and the cream rising to the top in the form of Dan Thackeray and his EP3 Type R – his second win of the year. A thrilling weekend for sure, and there’s going to be high drama as the circus returns to Brands Hatch on September 25th.