Boston College Racing left Silverstone following Rounds 11 and 12 of the 2025 Student Motorsport Competition, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, having extended their lead at the top of the Competition standings after Stuart Bliss, driver of the #18 Boston College Racing 1 / Autobliss Toyota Aygo secured two second-place finishes in class behind teammate Andrew Dyer.
Bliss’s consistency meant that Lee Crisp’s Lincolnshire-based squad has now pulled out a 12-point advantage over Team Northbrook Racing 1’s Richard Jepp, who endured a frustrating weekend, culminating in a DNF in Race Two.
Another First
Brady Pollock, driver of the #12 West Suffolk College ME Toyota, took his first overall win in the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Championship following a thrilling second of three races for CityCar Cup entries. Pollock, now in his second year of car racing, swapped the lead four times with Alistair May but ultimately held on to take the chequered flag to win outright for the first time.
Bumper Grid!
Due to the volume of CityCar Cup entries, the BRSCC, organisers of the championship, decided to divide the grid over three races for the two rounds. All 46 entries took to the Silverstone National circuit for the 15-minute qualifying session after which the grid was divided into groups A, B and C according to qualifying order. Two groups then contested each of three races, the starting grids for each decided by the initial qualifying time.
New Arrivals
14 cars were entered into the Student Motorsport Competition with Brooklands Technical College Racing (BTCR) entering a second car starting from the Silverstone rounds. Carter Steel joined the Surrey squad behind the wheel of the #210 Citroen C1, Steel joining Junior Gravina-Read who made his Competition debut at Oulton Park in May, in the college’s driver line up.
Also making his Competition debut at the Home of British Motorsport was Luke Power in City College Norwich 1’s Peugeot 107. Power is part of the West Suffolk College Driver Development Programme and is looking to continue his racing career with Leon Wilde’s CCN team in 2026.
Qualifying & Group Race Format
BCR’s Andrew Dyer set the early pace in qualifying with a 1:19.321 on his sixth lap before teammate Stuart Bliss set the first Competition qualifying time below 1:19 with a 1:18.958. Brady Pollock, however, had found the set-up sweet spot for his #12 WSC ME Toyota in Friday testing and put in a 1:18.633 on his 9th lap to go third-quickest overall of the 46-car CityCar Cup grid.
After all the qualifying times were, the groups for the three races became clear. Group A was the largest in terms of SMo Competition entries and included both the Boston Collee Racing entries, NESCOT College Racing’s Elliot Lettis, debutant Luke Power in the CCN1 car, the Brooklands Technical College Racing entries driven by Junior Gravina-Read and Carter Steel, the East Surrey College Citroen driven by Jack Wheeler and the sole Sussex Motorsports 1 Citroen piloted by Alex Jackson.
Group B saw the fewest Competition entries with just WSC ME HP’s Haydn Payne and TNR2’s Ari Barker while WSC ME’s Brady Pollock, TNR1’s Richard Jepp, QE Motorsport’s Emilia Vincent and WSC ME BEE’s Benjamin Bee represented the Competition in Group C.
Race 1 – Group A v’s B
For Race One, Stuart Bliss in the #18 BCR1 Toyota started from class pole, alongside WSC ME’s Haydn Payne. Bliss’s teammate Andrew Dyer, started on the third row, fifth overall and third in class.
Payne passed Bliss in the opening seconds, but both Bliss and Payne dropped back behind Andrew Dyer after the opening lap. Jack Wheeler, at the wheel of the #57 ESC car, returned to the pit lane after the first lap as Bliss started to put pressure on Dyer. After four laps, Dyer led Bliss in class, with Haydn Payne holding on to 8th overall and third in class.
Further back, Competition debutants Carter Steel and Luke Power were enjoying consistent races with the #210 Brooklands College Racing 2 car driven by Steel running in 24th overall and 8th in class. CCN’s Luke Power was one place back in class and 26th overall.
As the contest entered its final third, BCR’s Dyer and Bliss were 1st and 2nd in class but there was drama for Luke Power in the CCN car as the tailgate came open with less than three minutes remaining and the #222 car circulated for the remainder of the race with what the commentators referred to as a ‘DRS problem’
As the chequered flag fell, BCR2’s Andrew Dyer secured his third victory of the season in class followed by teammate Stuart Bliss. Haydn Payne, behind the wheel of the #72 WDC ME HP Toyota, finished on the class podium for the fourth time in 2025 followed by TNR2’s Ari Barker, NESCOT College Racing’s Elliot Lettis and SMS1’s Alex Jackson. Jackson had enjoyed an astonishing race, making up 15 places on his grid position.
Brooklands Technical College Racing brought both their cars home with Junior Gravina-Read finishing 7th in class and Carter Steel, on his Competition debut, finishing 8th in class. CCN’s Luke Power completed the Competition finishers.
For East Surrey College’s Laurense Sait, the race proved that the team needs to re-evaluate its #57 Citroen after an extensive re-build over the summer.
“We’ve done what we can over the summer but now we need to re-think, re-set and re-start,” said Laurence Sait. “Today’s issue couldn’t have been foreseen and everything was running as it should have been.
“We’ll strip the car down and rebuild it and go from there. Hopefully, all being well, we’ll be back for the final weekend of the season here at Silverstone.”
Race 2 – B v’s C
Race Two saw Groups B & C out on track. The groups included the fewest number of SMo competitors, so it was an excellent opportunity to pick up points that might otherwise not have been available. Pole sitter Brady Pollock was joined by the two TNR entries of Richard Jepp and Ari Barker, teammate Haydn Payne and Benjamin Bee in addition to QE Motorsport’s Emilia Vincent.
Pollock started from overall and class pole and got off to a flying start, but the front of the grid was very competitive and TNR1’s Richard Jepp was leading halfway through the first lap with Pollock having dropped back to 4th overall. Pollock re-took the lead after two laps, with Jepp running in 4th overall.
After four laps, Pollock led by two-tenths of a second with Richard Jepp second in class and Haydn Payne completing the potential Competition podium finishers.
As the race started its 7th lap, Pollock was being challenged for the overall lead by Alistair May in the #12 Toyota. Pollock and May were battling hard, but the WSC ME pilot retained the advantage as the pair crossed the start-finish line. Over the closing laps, Pollock and May swapped the lead four times and at the chequered flag, it was the #12 WSC ME Toyota that took the overall win, less than a quarter of a second ahead of Alistair May in the #392 Citroen. Jepp finished second in class and 5th overall, while Haydn Payne finished on the podium for the second time that day. Ari Barker in the #7 TNR2 Peugeot finished 4th in class, followed by WSC ME Bee’s Ben Bee and QE Motorsport’s Emilia Vincent.
Pollock’s win was his first overall victory in the BRSCC CityCar Cup and his 5th Student Motorsport Competition win since he entered the contest in 2024.
For the WSC ME driver, the impact of the overall win had not sunk in when he spoke to the media after the race.
“There are no words really because it hasn’t sunk in,” said Brady Pollock. “It feels like another Student Motorsport win, which is so incredibly difficult to get, but it’s just an incredible feeling!”
“We started on pole, so we knew we wouldn’t have the lead going into T1, so by the time we got to Brooklands at T3, we were in third place, and we had Alistair May and Richard Jepp just in front of us. We made an audacious move – going three-wide into Brooklands – and it paid off. From then on, it was just about defending and trying to hang on to the position. Alistair and I had an agreement beforehand that we would try to work together, but it didn’t really pan out because the field was so close.
“From Friday testing, we found something with the car and our confidence sky-rocketed because we knew we had the right set-up,” he continued. “We knew we had the pace to dance with the car which is what we did so we got the result we deserved.
“This result gives me a lot of confidence going into the final race and then for the rest of the season!”
WSC ME Team Principal Alan Barret was delighted to see two of his entries on the class podium.
“The last four minutes of that race were very nail-biting when the lead was changing, but it was absolutely fantastic!” said Alan Barrett. “We knew Brady had it in him, and Haydn’s two third-place podiums are absolutely fantastic!”
“I think this result proves that our Driver Development Plan, which we’ve come up with at the college and are working with Andrew Payne, is the right way to go. The idea that we take novice drivers from karting to cars and get them to the point where they’ve got the talent and the chance to shine so they can get sponsors makes perfect sense. This result proves that it works.”
Race 3 – A v’s C
The final race of the weekend and Race Three for the Student Motorsport Competition saw groups A and C go head-to-head. With the starting grid set by qualifying times earlier in the day, WSC ME’s Brady Pollock was the overall and Competition pole-sitter with BCR’s Andrew Dyer and Stuart Bliss starting on the second row. QE Motorsports’ Emilia Vincent started 4th in class.
Pollock got away to a good start but was swallowed up by Christopher Parkes in the #393 car as well as Andrew Dyer, and the trio went three-wide into Becketts. Dyer exited at the head of the pack with teammate Stuart Bliss close behind him. TNR1’s Richard Jepp had moved into third after starting from 6th on the overall grid.
There was drama for Brady Pollock as the WSC ME pilot spun and went off after contact with Parkes. Dyer and Bliss continued to lead with Jepp back in 4th. Jepp saw an opportunity to move into 3rd and set about passing Bliss for 2nd.
Jepp moved into the overall lead after a beautiful pass on Andrew Dyer on the outside at Brooklands and started to pull out a small advantage over Dyer’s BCR entry. NESCOTT College Racing’s weekend ended on a disappointing note with Elliot Lettis parking the #333 Peugeot 107 at the side of the circuit.
The race was red-flagged after Chris Parkes in the #393 car went off at the exit of Copse Corner, and oil was deposited on the circuit at Becketts, requiring a clean-up. With just over five and a half minutes left on the clock, the grid reformed for a restart.
On the formation lap, Richard Jepp in the TNR1 car pulled over and then rejoined the pack but with hazard lights flashing, there was clearly an issue with the #65 car and the lead was gifted to Andrew Dyer. Jepp finally pulled off and left the circuit ahead of the lights going green.
QE Motorsport’s Emilia Vincent also pulled off ahead of the restart and re-joined at the back of the field, but made little progress as the race got back underway and parked up at the exit of Copse Corner. BCR’s Dyer and Bliss led the field, but Ben Spencer in the #113 car passed them both to take the overall lead before the end of the lap.
Pollock, meanwhile, was scything through the field and was up to seventh overall with just over two minutes remaining.
As the contest entered its final lap, Dyer and Bliss held second and third overall but were within half a second of Ben Spencer. Dyer continued to pressure the #113 driver all the way to the chequered flag but was unable to find a way through and had to settle for second. Pollock finished third in class and sixth overall, setting the fastest lap in the process.
For BCR’s Andrew Dyer, a second victory in class was cause for celebration after a hard day’s racing.
“We were all wondering how the revised (three-race) format was going to pan out, but it worked out fairly well for me, so I’m not complaining,” said Andrew Dyer, “It was still tough racing, especially the last race – that was hard work.”
Did he think that, had Richard Jepp finished the race, he had the pace to challenge for the win?
“Prior to the red flag, I was holding back and staying in the draft because I clicked that if I got into the lead, I would be easily overtaken, so I was just biding my time. I was hoping to put a move on Richard Jepp toward the tail-end of the race. I’m not saying it would have worked, but that was the plan!”
How It Stands
With only two weekends and six rounds left in the 2025 Student Motorsport Competition, Boston College Racing 1 extends its standings lead to 12 points, ahead of Team Northbrook Racing 1, who leave Silverstone on 141 points after dropped scores. Boston College Racing 2 now has a three-point advantage over West Suffolk College ME BP, with Sussex Motorsports 1 currently fifth in the standings on 109 points. WSC ME HP is sixth in the standings on 108 points after dropped scores with Team Northbrook Racing 2 moving into seventh ahead of Sussex Motorsports 2, which did not race at Silverstone.
NESCOT College Racing is ninth in the standings, followed by West Suffolk College ME BEE, City College Norwich 1 and East Surrey College, who slips down the standings to twelfth. QE Motorsports and Brooklands Technical College Racing 1 and 2 complete the standings table.
Special Recognition
Following a busy day’s racing in hot conditions, Sussex Motorsports was awarded Team of the Day by BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship coordinator Lyndsay Close. The award recognised the South Coast-based team’s astonishing achievements of making up 15 overall places in Race One and 18 overall positions in Race Three after a disappointing qualifying session had put driver Alex Jackson at the back of the grid for both of his races. With a 23-point deficit in the Competition standings to WSC ME BP, improving on their current 5th place may be a tall order, but the team, now approaching the end of its first full season of competition, has the ambition and tenacity to keep pushing, so it will be one to watch as the Competition visits Croft next month.
Silverstone Press Release – Work Experience Program
The excitement on track and the thrill of competition weren’t the only highlights at Silverstone this past weekend. Our 2025 Student Motorsport work experience programme was in full swing, creating invaluable opportunities for the next generation of motorsport and media professionals. This initiative goes beyond the track, providing students with a hands-on, real-world experience that cannot be replicated in a classroom.
At Silverstone on August 17th and 18th, six dedicated students were fully immersed in the event. The team welcomed Ewan Chen (Mechanical Engineering, Warwick University), who brought his flair for photography to the Photography & Videography position in his first event with the programme. Joining him were two students for Journalism & Presenting: Max Lovejoy (Sports Journalism, University of Derby) and Mille Johnston (Sports Journalism, University of Lincoln). We also had two keen Social Media Co-ordinators, Aarya Shenoy (Media, Communications and History, Newcastle University) and Isabel Clark (Broadcast Journalism, Nottingham Trent University), with Aarya contributing remotely.
The engagement and enthusiasm from these students have been superb all season, and they are already looking forward to the final two race events.
The programme, led by our outstanding Head of Media Andy Lloyd and Head of Photography Bernice Bradley (Creative Arts in Photography with the University of Derby at Boston College), is designed to be a launchpad for future careers. The roles provide an incredible chance to apply academic learning in a professional setting, whether it’s capturing the perfect shot, crafting a compelling story, or managing the fast-paced world of social media.
For Student Motorsport founder and organiser John Paul ‘JP’ Latham, Silverstone was another successful weekend for the Competition, now in its 4th season.
“What a fantastic weekend’s racing!” said JP Latham. “Despite the concerns that some had over the revised three-race format, the on-track action was as exciting as ever, and we were all very proud to see West Suffolk College’s Brady Pollock take his first overall win in the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, joining a select few Competition teams who have achieved that level of success.
“I must say a huge thanks to all our sponsors for the weekend, without whom we would not be able to provide the support we do. These include Bernice Bradley Photography, Acorn Printing, EGT Communications, Nankang Tyres and MHR Teamwear – thank you to you all.
“Thank you, too, to all the members of the Work Experience Media Team who provided excellent images, live streams, videos and social media content throughout the weekend.
“It was great to welcome new drivers to our Competition with Luke Power driving for City College Norwich and Carter Steel joining Brooklands Technical College. With more teams and drivers looking to join the Competition in 226, this is an exciting time for Student Motorsport.
“For some teams, however, Silverstone was a frustrating and disappointing weekend, which was sad to see. We hope that Team Northbrook Racing, QE Motorsport, East Surrey College and NESCOTT College Racing can find the cause of their issues and return to the track with us as soon as possible.”
Student Motorsport Competition action returns on the 6th and 7th of September at Croft for the penultimate weekend of the 2025 season.