Words by: Andy Lloyd - Head of Media
IImages by: Bernice Bradley - Lead Photographer, Isabel Clark - Assistant Head of Media, Roger Jenkins, Andy Lloyd
The Student Motorsport Competition returns to Lincolnshire’s iconic ‘Mini-Nürburgring’ on August the 8th and 9th, featuring a 14-car entry, returning squads and vital career breakthroughs for studentS
The Student Motorsport Competition, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, returns to Cadwell Park over the weekend of August the 8th and 9th for its first visit to the Lincolnshire circuit since 2024.
14 cars will be on the SMo grid, representing ten schools, colleges and training organisations, with teams returning after resourcing challenges forced four squads to sit out the Croft weekend last month.
Title Battle Tightens at the Top
Team Northbrook Racing (TNR) extended its lead in the SMo title standings after Croft and the #65 TNR1 Gen II Peugeot 108 now has a 13-point lead over the #15 Boston College Racing 1 (BCR1) Toyota Aygo piloted by Andrew Dyer. JAS/Heriot-Watt Motorsports (JAS/HW) lies third in the standings on 92 points.
The Cadwell Park weekend will see the return of the format of two rounds spread over three races due to the popularity of CityCar Cup racing and the accompanying size of its grids.
Above: Richard Jepp in the #65 TNR1 Peugeot 108 in action at Silverstone - June 2026 (Photo: Bermice Bradley)
TNR1’s Richard Jepp has dominated the Student Motorsport Competition in 2026, taking eight class victories out of possible nine and earning three points for fastest laps in the process. Triple Competition title-holder Jepp is combining a 2026 Student Motorsport season with a MINI Challenge Trophy Championship campaign. Five seasons in the Competition means that the Portsmouth-based driver is very familiar with the race craft required to win in the Gen II Peugeot 108 and, combined with experience around Cadwell Park’s undulating 2.2 miles, expect the #65 TNR1 Peugeot to be the car to beat.
Teammate Jack Wheeler in the #57 TNR2 Peugeot 107 will be looking to build on the momentum he saw last time out at Croft. A sixth and fourth place in class led to Wheeler’s first Competition podium since April when he took a second and third in class at Brands Hatch. In 2024, Jack won the class in Race 2 when the Competition last visited Lincolnshire in 2024 so he will be working to repeat that success this weekend.
Above: BCR1 & 2 in action at Silverstone - June 2026 (Photo: Bernice Bradley)
Reigning Student Motorsport title holder BCR1 and driver Andrew Dyer currently lie second in the class standings and the #15 BCR1 Toyota and Dyer have only finished off the Competition podium once in 2026 and has secured two class wins and five second-place finishes, including three at Croft in July.
Dyer knows Cadwell Park in a CityCar like the back of his hand, having won twice when the Championship first visited the Lincolnshire circuit in 2022. As the owner of RTW Servicing, Repairs and Alignment in Abercynon and a highly experienced competitor across multiple series, Dyer knows better than anybody how to set a car up for the demands of Competition racing and he, and Lee Crisp’s Boston College Racing squad, will be looking to leave Cadwell Park having closed the gap to Jepp and TNR.
Andrew Dyer’s teammate Alex Foden in the #41 BCR2 Citroën, had a hugely disappointing weekend at Croft last time out where two drive shaft failures meant that Foden left North Yorkshire with just a single fifth-place finish to his name. Boston College Racing and Foden both know he has the speed to compete for wins, as shown by his rapid pole position in qualifying last time out. If Foden can find the mechanical reliability he needs, we can expect to see the BCR2 car on the class podium at Cadwell Park.
Podium Contenders and Dark Horses
One of the standout teams of the 2026 season so far has been JAS/HW Motorsports (JAS/HW). A partnership between Jenson Jackson and Harry Smith’s JAS Autosport and the Heriot-Watt Motorsport Society led by Mirren Angus has resulted in five podiums finishes in class, including two second place Competition finishes - at Brands Hatch and Snetterton. Jackson was on for a trio of podiums last time out at Croft before a failing bonnet catch saw the #5 Peugeot off in the gravel and out of the third race.
Above: The #5 JAS/HW Motorsport Peugeot 107 - Croft Circuit assembly area - July 2026 (Photo: Isabel Clark)
JAS/HW will be looking to make amends at Cadwell Park and, currently third in the Competition standings and 31 points behind the leading #65 TNR1 entry, could have an outside chance of competing for title honours as the season enters its second half. Jackson, Angus and the JAS/HW crew will be determined to make that happen.
Waltham Forest College Racing (WFC Racing) travel to Cadwell Park with their regular driver back behind the wheel. After a solid performance by Luke Sawyer, deputising for Harry Sutton, at Croft, Sutton returns for Rounds 10 and 11 and will be looking to repeat the team’s Silverstone performance where he took two podium finishes.
WFC Racing impressed the Competition paddock with their focus and work ethic at Croft and, currently seventh in the title standings after nine rounds, will be seeking to build on their debut season performances in Lincolnshire.
Real-World Outcomes: From Garage to Full-Time Career
Outside of its on-track successes, Waltham Forest College’s Student Motorsport programme has already yielded a major success. The team’s Head Mechanic, Matas Urbonavicius, has secured a role with the RAC in Enfield as a Vehicle Assessment Technician. Matas was working on the team’s #96 WFC Racing Citroen right up to the point he started his new job and he will be joining the team at Cadwell Park after he finishes work on Friday.
Above: WFC students hard at work on the #34 WFC Racing Citroen - Croft Circuit paddock - July 2026 (Photo: Andy Lloyd)
WFC Racing Deputy Team Principal Surya Suresh is delighted at Matas’s journey into full-time employment. “Matas’s involvement and enthusiasm are an inspiration to the team and his full-time presence will definitely be missed. However, we are, of course, extremely happy about his career progression.
“His manager at the RAC, who’s supportive of his racing commitments, has agreed to let him leave early on the Fridays of race weekends, and possibly for the whole working day, for future races, depending on the schedule. This is just after a week of him joining his full-time employment at the RAC.”
Matas’s success in establishing his new career is testament to the benefits that involvement in the Student Motorsport Competition can offer students of automotive engineering and motorsport. The real-world trackside experience, and the confidence that it gives learners, is a tangible benefit to employers and provides valuable evidence to enhance students CVs in the job application process.
Consistency and Rebound Drives Across the Field
QE Motorsport (QEM) was a model of consistency last time out at Croft, recording top ten finishes in class for both its drivers across all three 15-minute contests. The #174 QEM1 Gen II Peugeot 108 driven by Emilia Vincent currently lies 12th in Competition standings while partner and teammate Alex Turner, driver of the #88 QEM2 entry, is one place behind.
Emilia Vincent is already a Competition podium finisher and almost repeated that result at Silverstone last year before an overheating issue caused her retirement. A fifth in class at Brands Hatch on the opening weekend shows that the pace is there and Cadwell Park could be the circuit where we see Vincent challenging for class honours again.
Above: QE Motorsport student hard at work on Alex Turner's car - Silverstone paddock - June 2026 (Photo: Bernice Bradley)
Alex Turner did not have the best of luck mechanically at Croft so, in the second half of his debut season, will be focusing all of his determination and resilience in order to bring home Competition honours.
Brooklands Technical College Racing (BTCR), halfway through their first full season in the Student Motorsport Competition, has one car, the #14 BTCR Peugeot driven by alumnus George Antoniou, lying sixth in the standings and the sister entry, the #22 car piloted by Luke Power, eleventh in the Competition standings. Antoniou finished in the top five in class across all three Croft contests last time out and his consistency across the season to date, with the exception of a DNF at Silverstone, has meant that the McLaren Transmission and Driveline Manager is only seven points away from the top three in the title race.
Above: Luke Power at the wheel of the #22 BTCR Peugeot 107 - Testing - Croft Circuit - July 2026 (Photo: Andy Lloyd)
Luke Power also had a consistent weekend at Croft in July. Finishing all three races, including two top five results, resulted in his best weekend of the season and moved Power up two places in the standings. Expect the #22 Peugeot to be hunting for class podium results around the demanding Cadwell Park circuit.
East Surrey College (ESC) returns to the Student Motorsport Competition for Cadwell Park, having decided to sit out the Croft weekend due to resourcing challenges. Carter Steel will not be competing at Cadwell Park, however, as the team is currently building another car for him.
Luke Bate, driver of #95 ESC Peugeot, has knocked on the door of the Competition podium on three occasions in 2026 with a trio of fourth-place finishes. Luke entered the Croft weekend as part of overall the CityCar Cup Championship grid and recorded his best results of the seasons. Two overall eighth-place finishes and one seventh-place result would, had he been competing in the SMo class, have given three third-place finishes in class. With that confidence, Bate will be pushing hard to move up the title standings from his current eighth place.
Above: Anby Bennett driving the #8 Paddock Speedshop Citroen C1 - Silverstone - June 2026 (Photo: Bernice Bradley)
Paddock Speedshop, led by Craig Harvey-Jones, also returns to the Competition for Cadwell Park with driver Aby Bennett growing in confidence at every outing. The team has a wealth of racing experience to call on and a busy season of classic racing will mean that the Harvey-Jones and his squad, which includes team members gaining experience for the first time in a working paddock, will be looking to secure top ten finishes in class for Bennett.
Building Momentum for 2027 and Beyond
Pitlane Development (PLD) travels to Lincolnshire with exciting news. Ollie Walsh’s team, currently in its first season of the Student Motorsport Competition, has announced that it will return to the world’s leading motorsport competition offering real-world trackside experience for the next generation of motorsport competition with a two-car lineup for 2027.
“Expanding to a second car is about much more than adding another entry to the grid,” said Ollie Walsh. “It represents another step forward in our mission to develop the next generation of motorsport talent. By running two cars, we can significantly increase the number of aspiring drivers, mechanics and engineers who gain genuine, hands-on experience in a professional race team environment.
“Trackside opportunities are incredibly difficult to come by, and this expansion allows us to develop skills, confidence and industry experience that employers across motorsport are looking for. At the same time, it strengthens our engineering capabilities as a team, allowing us to gather more data, develop our processes further and continue raising the standards of everything we do.”
Reuben Lowe, driving the team’s #25 Peugeot 107, had his best weekend of the season at Croft in July with three top seven finishes in class, moving the South Coast-based driver up to ninth in the title standings from twelfth.
Above: Pitlane Development team Principal Ollie Wash guides students - Croft assembly area - July 2026 (Photo: Andy Lloyd)
Lowe has his sights firmly focused on a career as a professional sportscar driver and is the perfect fit for Pitlane Development with its focus on teamwork and the use of data and video in analysing car and driver performance.
George Keith’s NESCOT Racing squad will be back in action at Cadwell Park. 2023 CityCar Cup champion Elliot Lettis has stood on the class podium just once so far in 2026 and is tenth in the class standings. The team, which finished eighth in the Student Motorsport Competition standings in 2025, will be looking for consistent results in Lincolnshire, knowing that, after Cadwell Park, there are only two weekends left of the 2026 season.
Student Motorsport founder and Series Organiser John Paul ‘JP’ Latham is looking forward to another successful weekend at Lincolnshire’s Cadwell Park.
“I am delighted that we are welcoming back a number of teams who were unable to join us at Croft,” he said. “Although we are only in August, the end of the season is now only just over two months away so the chase for the Competition title is bound to be fierce at Cadwell Park.
“We are already looking ahead to 2027 and I am very pleased to welcome a second entry from Pitlane Development for next season. Ollie Walsh and his team have been a valuable addition to our paddock and the Pitlane Development Trackside Experience Programme has allowed students who otherwise would miss out on valuable real-world experience to build their CVs and gain a foothold in the motorsport industry.”
JP Latham was also delighted with the news from WFC Racing and the role that Matas Urbonavicius has obtained with the RAC.
“This is fantastic news and exactly why I founded Student Motorsport in the first place. Waltham Forest College, although only in their first full season, are seeing first-hand the benefits that real world trackside experience can offer and the value that it adds to their students education. I wish Matas the very best of luck in his new role and I look forward to seeing the continued success of the WFC Racing Student Motorsport Competition programme.”
Weekend Track Schedule
Track action for Rounds 10 and 11 of the 2026 Student Motorsport Competition, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, gets underway at Cadwell Park with qualifying at 11.20am on Saturday August the 8th. With a large CityCar Cup grid expected, Rounds 10 and 11 will be contested over three races. Groups A & B will race at 4.15pm on Saturday with groups B & C racing at 11.47am on Sunday. The final race of the weekend will be for groups C & A with the flag dropping at 16.24pm.
The weekend will be live-streamed on the BRSCC YouTube channel.
