Words By: Andrew Lloyd – Head of Media at Student Motorsport
Photography Lead: Bernice Bradley Photography
Featured Images: Bernice Bradley & Work Experience Candidates
The Student Motorsport Competition, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, returns to Silverstone for the season finale of the world’s leading motorsport competition, providing real-world trackside experience for the next generation of motorsport professionals.
Record Breaking…
A record 15-car grid, representing nine schools, colleges and student-led teams, will compete over three rounds at the home of British motorsport, after which the provisional winner of the 2025 Student Motorsport Competition will be crowned.
Entering the final three rounds of the 2025 season, Boston College Racing is firmly in the driving seat to take its first Student Motorsport title since it entered the Competition in 2023. Stuart Bliss, driver of the #18 Boston College Racing 1 / Autobliss Toyota Aygo, has an almost unassailable lead in the standings with 201 points
Teammate Andrew Dyer is only eight points behind, but given Bliss’s highly competitive season, poor results at Silverstone would become his dropped scores, making his lead very difficult to beat. Mathematically, both Bliss’s teammate, Andrew Dyer and Team Northbrook Racing’s Richard Jepp could finish ahead of the #18 BCR1 entry, but it would require an almost perfect weekend from either of the drivers.
Behind the front-running trio, however, there is all to play for with 60 points separating the #12 WSC ME BP Toyota Aygo driven by Brady Pollock, currently in 4th, and the 7th-placed #42 TNR2 Peugeot 107 piloted by Ari Barker. With three rounds and a maximum of 63 points on offer, 2022 proved that anything can happen as the season draws to a close and the racing at Silverstone will, as ever, be highly competitive.
Our Silverstone History
TNR’s Richard Jepp has enjoyed the most Student Motorsport success at Silverstone. The Harwin-backed driver, who, alongside MET Motorsport (now Team Northbrook Racing), was one of the original entrants into the Competition in 2022, Jepp scored a trio of class victories around the International circuit to lift the inaugural title three years ago.
The last time the Student Motorsport Competition competed on the 1.85 miles of the International circuit was in 2023 when TNR and Jepp again took class victories in both 15-minute contests on their way to their second title in as many years.
2024 saw an emotional weekend for many Competition entrants. Competing on the National circuit, QE Motorsport drove to their first double podium finish when their then-drivers Joshua Jackson and Haydn Payne finished second and third in class in Race Three, while West Suffolk College and Brady Pollock saw their title opportunity slip through their fingers with a DNF in Race Two.
2024 also saw the first overall CityCar Cup win for City College Norwich when Elliot Lettis, who had agreed to drive for Leon Wilde’s team after the start of the season, brought the #3 CCN Peugeot home for the overall victory in Race Three, joining East Surrey College’s Jack Wheeler as an overall winner at Silverstone.
In 2025, the Student Motorsport Competition had already visited Silverstone but on that occasion, it was on the National circuit in August over a weekend that saw West Suffolk College ME’s Brady Pollock take his first overall victory in his two-year CityCar Cup career. Boston College Racing’s Andrew Dyer took two wins in class over that weekend, with his teammate Stuart Bliss close behind.
The 2025 Pit Stop Challenge
In addition to a 2-day packed programme of on-track action, Silverstone will also see the 2025 running of the Student Motorsport Pitstop Challenge, an annual competition where teams are asked to complete a simulated pit stop against the clock.
Supported by several of our Student Motorsport partners, this aspect of our event showcases the practical skills, teamwork and resilience that have been honed throughout the season, reinforcing the invaluable hands-on learning and work-readiness focus that lies at the heart of our motorsport program.
When the Competition last competed on the International circuit in 2023, East Surrey College, then led by George Keith, who has subsequently moved to NESCOT College Racing, was the winner, and, at a rain-soaked Brands Hatch in 2024, Team Northbrook Racing lifted the Pitstop Challenge trophy, along with the prize of a set of Nankang tyres and other racing products.
It’s certain to further ignite the excitement of the final, marking another thrilling aspect to the end of another superb season for our Student Motorsport Competition teams.
In 2025, the Student Motorsport Pitstop Challenge will be split over two days, with half of the teams competing on the afternoon of Saturday, October 11th, in the Wing garages, and the remainder on Sunday morning. During the Pitstop Challenge, teams will race against the clock to complete a number of tasks on a typical CityCar Cup car in a simulation of a racing pitstop. Those tasks include elements such as changing all four wheels, adjusting damper settings, cleaning the windscreen and changing the driver.
How the Teams Stand
As mentioned above, Boston College Racing travels to Silverstone as the clear favourite to secure the 2025 Student Motorsport Competition title. Stuart Bliss, driver of the #18 BCR1 Toyota has only finished off the Competition podium on three occasions this season and has secured five victories in class.
Teammate Andrew Dyer, behind the wheel of the sister #15 BCR2 / RTW Vans & Conversions Toyota, has had an equally successful season, beating Bliss on class wins with six and never finishing off the class podium in the 11 races he has finished. Take away the DNF at Oulton Park in May, and the top of the standings table could be telling a different story. In the absence of a disaster, Lee Crisp and his Lincolnshire-based squad will be provisionally crowned Student Motorsport Competition title winners on Sunday, October 12th, only the second team in the Competition’s four-year history to have achieved that honour.
It may be a tough ask for Emma Norton’s Team Northbrook Racing to win their fourth Student Motorsport title at Silverstone but the team will hold their heads high at the end of a season which has seen the Shoreham Airport-based squad develop its Gen II Peugeot 107 into a machine that driver Richard Jepp can consistently compete for class podium finishes. After working to find the perfect set-up, Jepp took his first Competition win of the season at Snetterton in April and his second at Croft in September. A costly DNF at Silverstone due to cooling issues meant that the team had to dig deep at Croft but while the title may be slightly out of reach, the runner-up spot is still in contention
Jepp’s teammate and driver of the #87 TNR Peugeot 107, Ari Barker, is now approaching the end of his second season of the Student Motorsport Competition. Currently 7th in the Competition standings, comfortably ahead of his 11th-place finish in 2024, Barker can look back with satisfaction on a season which has seen the south coast-based driver finish in the top ten in class in the 13 races he has finished in 2025. Silverstone in August saw Barker secure the best results of his Competition career with a pair of 4th-place finishes, missing out on a class podium by less than 3.5 seconds in Race Two.
Brooklands Technical College Racing, with its campus less than a kilometre from the famous Brooklands motor racing circuit, site of the world’s first 24-hour race in 1907, entered the Competition at Oulton Park in May. Driver Junior Gravina-Read failed to finish his first event, but has gained experience and confidence as the season progressed to finish inside the top ten in class over the last seven rounds. Currently 13th in the class standings, Gravina-Read will be pushing hard at Silverstone to finish 2025 on a high.
Teammate Carter Steel joined Marios Katzis’ squad in August, and immediately the confidence of the young pilot shone through with a 5th-place finish in class in his second race. Three finishes in the top eight in class last time out at Croft will mean that Steel will be looking forward to his second visit to Silverstone and the opportunity to compete for a possible podium finish around the 1.85 miles of the International circuit.
Sussex Motorsports has experienced a breakout season in 2025. After joining the Competition grid in 2024, the team, founded by Shiv Bhagnari, entered two cars for its second year and has been rewarded with its first podium finish and a current 5th-place in the title standings. Driver Alex Jackson, in his debut season in cars, has driven the #47 SMS Citroen C1 to three 4th-place finishes in class in addition to his 2nd-place finish and the team’s first podium, at a wet Snetterton in July.
Teammate Toby Owen returns to the Brighton-based squad for the season finale, having missed the last seven rounds. Toby, who pilots the #42 Black Sheep Racing / Sussex Motorsports 2 Citroen, had a strong start to the 2025 season with two 5th-place and three 6th-place finishes in class over the opening seven rounds. Currently 12th in the standings, Owen will be looking to move back up the Competition standings with a strong showing at Silverstone.
George Keith’s NESCOT College Racing made its Competition debut in 2025, switching drivers to 2023 CityCar Cup champion Elliot Lettis from the Snetterton rounds in July. Lettis immediately rewarded the team with 5th- and 7th-place finishes in class in the Norfolk sunshine, but issues at Silverstone meant that the #333 Peugeot was unable to take the start for its second race. The team re-grouped for Croft with a trio of top six finishes and, currently mid-pack in the standings on 114 points after dropped scores, could be challenging for as high as 6th when the season draws to a close – a solid result in just their first year in the Student Motorsport Competition.
11th in the Competition standings does not reflect the hard work and concentration that Helen Snuggs’ QE Motorsport and driver Emilia Vincent have put into the 2025 season. Joining from the second weekend at Oulton Park, Emilia Vincent has rarely finished outside the top ten in class and narrowly missed a first podium with the team when overheating issues forced the retirement of the #174 QEM Gen II Peugeot 108 in the second race at Silverstone. That result, combined with a DNF at Snetterton, has meant that the points don’t fairly reflect what could have been, given a little luck.
As ever, Emilia Vincent and the team will be giving it their all for the season finale and with the pace in the car, their effort could be rewarded with that first 2025 podium that was so tantalisingly close at Silverstone in August.
West Suffolk College ME has ambitious plans for the development of their motorsport programmes, and Team Principal Alan Barrett will be looking to conclude the 2025 season in style. The last time the Competition raced at Silverstone, Brady Pollock, driver of the #12 WSC ME BP Toyota, took his first overall CityCar win in front of an emotional crowd who had witnessed the rise of this popular young racer from his novice beginnings at the start of 2024. Pollock sits 4th in the standings so while the opportunity to compete for the title may be beyond him this season, the scrap for 2nd and 3rd is certainly going to give the Suffolk driver a reason to bring his ‘A’ game to the home of British motorsport.
Teammate Haydn Payne has regularly expressed his frustration during the season that he cannot get the best out of his #72 WSC ME BP Toyota but the young pilot approached every race with a fierce determination and, given his success at Silverstone in 2024, could well be fighting for podium success.
By the high standards of East Surrey College, the on-track results this year have not been a fair reflection of the immense amount of hard work that Team Principal Laurence Sait and his staff and learners have put into their 2025 Student Motorsport campaign.
The team has never finished outside the top three in the end-of-year Competition standings, and in their debut season in 2022, then led by George Keith with driver Andy Burgess, the Redhill-based squad missed out on the title by just 10 points after leading the standings going into the final round. In 2025, the #57 ESC Citroen has seen issues which caused pilot Jack Wheeler to DNF in his first race at Silverstone in August and the team to subsequently withdraw until they could get to the root cause of the problem.
Team Principal Sait would be the first to say that the Student Motorsport Competition is all about providing learners with real-life industry experience but the team, returning with a refreshed car for the season finale, will be looking to finish 2025 on a high, especially at a circuit where Wheeler took two wins in class and an overall CityCar Cup victory in 2024.
City College Norwich travels to Silverstone with the memories fresh in their minds of Elliot Lettis’s first overall CityCar Cup Championship for the team in 2024. New driver Luke Power now has two Competition race weekends under his belt and is growing with confidence and experience with every on-track excursion. Could Leon Wilde’s CCN be the dark horse that provides a Competition podium upset on the Silverstone International circuit? We wouldn’t bet against it!
Special Guests at Silvertone Finale
The Student Motorsport Competition will be welcoming some special guests to its Media and Hospitality Centre at Silverstone for the season finale, including Evelkah Powell, Race for Diversity Manager at Motorsport UK.
The Motorsport UK Race for Diversity programme aims to increase the participation of 14 to 24-year-olds from Black, Asian, minority ethnic groups and economically disadvantaged backgrounds through inspirational STEAM interventions in motorsport. Student Motorsport is closely aligned to Motorsport UK’s objectives, having worked closely with the organisation at Autosport International in January. During her visit, Evelkah will be introduced to the teams and our work experience media team to explore how Student Motorsport is embracing Motorsport UK’s engagement work across all its programmes.
Racecar Engineering
Student Motorsport is also delighted to welcome Mike Breslin, owner of Bresmedia and a journalist for Racecar Engineering, the world’s leading motorsport technology magazine. Racecar Engineering provides unrivalled technical analysis of everything from World Championship series to grassroots racing. Mike will be interacting with the Student Motorsport Competition paddock throughout the weekend, talking to learners, team principals, media staff and Competition organisers to gain an in-depth understanding of how the world’s leading motorsport competition for schools, colleges, universities and student-led teams is changing lives for the next generation of motorsport professionals.
Nankang Tyres
Nankang Tyres UK will also be joining Student Motorsport at Silverstone. The company, UK distributors for Nankang Tyres, is the title sponsor for the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship and has long been a supporter of the work of the Student Motorsport Competition. Members of the Nankang Tyres UK media or management team will be visiting the Competition paddock to see first-hand how Student Motorsport supports and promotes the Nankang brand and, in addition, have generously donated a set of Nankang tyres as first prize for the Pit Stop Challenge, for which a Nankang car will be used as the ‘pit stop’ vehicle. A second Nankang-liveried car will be on display near the Student Motorsport Media and Hospitality awning.
Pitlane Development
The Student Motorsport Competition is delighted to welcome back and highlight Pitlane Development as a key supporter for the 2025 Final at Silverstone. Pitlane Development, founded and owned by Ollie Walsh, is on an ongoing drive to bridge the gap between education and starting a career in the motorsport industry, a ‘mission’ close to the heart of the Student Motorsport journey.
For the highly anticipated final weekend of the 2025 Student Motorsport Competition, Pitlane Development will be in attendance on Sunday, October 12th, providing in-person student career support directly in the paddock. They will be taking bookings for exclusive 1-2-1 career guidance sessions, offered at a special, discounted Student Motorsport rate. In a fantastic gesture of support, they are also sponsoring a prize of a 1-hour group motorsport careers session to the winning team, which will be determined by a ‘stand-out or sportsperson-like moment’, a true recognition of teamwork and integrity.
For Pitlane Development Managing Director Ollie Walsh, having been a supporter since the 2024 season, this is a special moment to share in and support the final of the season, particularly as his company (the first training provider-based team) is entering a team for the 2026 season, providing further opportunities to a range of students for the upcoming season.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be at Silverstone for the Final! This is where passion meets opportunity, and we’re here to help these talented students take the next step,” Walsh said. “The 1-2-1 career guidance sessions are a chance for us to provide focused, actionable advice on breaking into the industry. Plus, we can’t wait to award our special ‘stand-out moment’ prize, it’s about recognising true motorsport spirit.”
He added: “Our mission is to make motorsport careers accessible for everyone, and the Student Motorsport Competition embodies that perfectly. Being here in the paddock allows us to engage directly and bridge that crucial gap between education and a professional career. With our own team entering in 2026, we’re dedicated to being a pipeline for the next generation of talent.”
Thoughts From The Founder
For founder and organiser John Paul ‘JP’ Latham, The Silverstone Final promises to round off what has been a spectacular season of growth and outreach for the Student Motorsport Competition.
“Returning to one of the most famous race circuits in the world seems a fitting conclusion for the 2025 Student Motorsport Competition, at the end of a season which has seen record grids, new entrants and drivers, the development of a class-leading Work Experience Media Team and, of course, unrivalled real-world trackside experiences for the next generation of motorsport professionals,”
“I am also delighted that we will have the opportunity to host fellow industry professionals in our paddock across the weekend. We have been friends with Motorsport UK’s Evelkah Powell since she joined the organisation, and it will be fantastic to demonstrate how the Student Motorsport Competition works to increase diversity across our teams. said JP Latham.
“Equally, we are delighted that our friends from Racecar Engineering and Nankang Tyres UK can join us for our season finale. This will indeed be a very special weekend.
“In addition to the on-track action and the crowning, provisionally, of our 2025 title winner, I am particularly looking forward to seeing teams competing for the Pit Stop Challenge, a competition which is always a lot of fun in addition to the skills it teaches our learners.
“I would also like to express my gratitude to the BRSCC, Motorsport UK and our supporters for this weekend and throughout the year. Nankang Tyres UK, Acorn Printing & MHR Teamwear, Raceparts, Pitlane Development and our media leads Andy Lloyd of EGT Communications and Bernice Bradley Photography, have been loyal friends of the Competition, and we are extremely grateful for their ongoing support.
“The Silverstone season finale will be an occasion where all our teams, learners and work experience candidates can celebrate all they have learned over the course of their involvement. We are very much looking forward to a fantastic weekend!”
Track action for the final weekend of the 2025 Student Motorsport Competition gets underway at 11:20 on Saturday, October 11th, with the 15-minute qualifying session followed by the opening race of the weekend at 15:45 in the afternoon.
On Sunday, the lights go out for the start of Race Two at 12:40 with the final contest of the season starting at 15:30.