Mark of Respect & Our Sincere Condolences
Everyone within the Student Motorsport paddock was shocked and saddened by the deaths of Owen Jenner and Shane Richarson who were competing in the British Supersport Championship race at Oulton Park last weekend. Our thoughts and condolences go out to all the family and friends of the two riders, and we hope that any lessons learned from the tragedy can make the sport safer in the seasons ahead.
Following the tragic events last weekend, both at Oulton Park and in County Cork, the Club plans to hold a one-minute silence on Saturday to remember Lauren O’Brien, Owen Jenner and Shane Richardson, who all lost their young lives in pursuit of the sport they loved – something that especially resonates within all of us in the motorsport community.
We Return to Oulton Park
The Student Motorsport Competition, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, returns to Oulton Park on May the 10th and to the Cheshire circuit where the competition made its debut in 2022.
The Student Motorsport Competition is supported at Oulton Park, and for the rest of the season, by Acorn Printing Services Ltd and MHR Teamwear. Thanks to the generosity of director Duncan Horlor, himself an ex-Student Motorsport driver, Acorn Printing will be supplying teamwear for our Media Team work experience students. This will enable the media students to establish a visible presence in the Student Motorsport paddock and enhances the real-life motorsport experiences that SMo seeks to offer all students and learners.
On the opening weekend of Student Motorsport competition in 2022, just six cars competed for class honours but over the past three seasons, the grid has gone from strength-to-strength and for the second weekend of Student Motorsport Competition in 2025, 14 cars will be on track competing for class honours.
The 2025 season opener at Snetterton in April saw Boston College Racing dominate the class and its drivers Stuart Bliss and Andrew Dyer now sit 1st and 3rd in the SMo standings. However, Team Northbrook Racing’s Richard Jepp will now have a weekend’s worth of experience in his new-for-2025 Gen II Peugeot 107 and we can expect to see the triple-title holder fighting once again at the head of the field.
West Suffolk College had a difficult opening weekend in Norfolk with incidents for both of its cars requiring extensive work when the team returned to the college. WSC’s two young guns, Brady Pollock and Haydn Payne, will be keen to get back on the class podium for Rounds 4 and 5.
City College Norwich (CCN) returns to Student Motorsport at Oulton Park, having not competed at Snetterton and 2023 CityCar Cup champion Elliott Lettis will be back in the driving seat for Leon Wilde’s squad. Lettis joined CCN for the second weekend of the 2024 season and went on to finish 4th in the Student Motorsport standings after taking eight class podium finishes. The highlight of last season for the Sussex driver was an overall victory and class win at Silverstone on a weekend that saw Student Motorsport drivers stand on the top step of the CityCar Cup podium in two races.
For Team Northbrook Racing (TNR), Oulton Park is a circuit that has seen the Shoreham Airport-based team experience both the highs and lows of motorsport. As one of the original Student Motorsport entries, MET Motorsport, as it was then named, saw driver Richard Jepp crash out of his first race in 2022. Thankfully the Harwin-backed pilot was unhurt but a new shell was required before the team could travel to Snetterton for Round Three.
Fast forward to 2024 and the expanded two-car squad saw debut driver Ari Barker have an unfortunate incident in testing at Oulton Park, resulting in the #87 Peugeot 107 being unable to take any further part in the weekend. Richard Jepp in the #65 car, however, went on to take his first overall CityCar Cup win in a season that saw him take his third consecutive Student Motorsport title.
Boston College Racing (BCR) got their season off to a flying start at Snetterton with drivers Andy Dyer and Stuart Bliss finishing on the class podium in every race. Bliss in the #18 Boston College Racing 1 / Autobliss Toyota Aygo currently leads the Student Motorsport standings on 58 points after two class wins and a 2nd-place finish in Norfolk. Teammate Dyer in the sister #15 Boston College Racing 2 / RTW Vans & Conversions entry is 3rd in the SMo standings after a penalty-point deduction and is now 18 points behind Bliss, with TNR’s Richard Jepp eight points ahead in 2nd.
Bliss in the #18 car looks like the driver to beat at this early stage in the competition but with CityCar Cup competing with evenly balanced machinery, the Weston-super-Mare pilot is unlikely to have an easy run to the class title in 2025.
As previously mentioned, West Suffolk College (WSC) had one of its most challenging weekends in its Student Motorsport history last time out at Snetterton. The #12 West Suffolk College ME Toyota Aygo driven by 2024 runner-up Brady Pollock suffered major damage in Race Two in Norfolk and was unable to get to the grid for Sunday’s final race. During Race Three, the sister car of Haydn Payne was also involved in an incident that saw the #72 entry unable to finish.
Team Principal Alan Barrett’s squad has worked tirelessly to get Brady Pollock’s and Haydon Payne’s cars ready for Oulton Park.
“We have had a difficult task to prepare for Oulton as the first round was at the start of the Easter holidays,” said Alan Barrett. “That said, the students volunteered to come in over the holidays to assist in the re-shelling of Brady’s car and the assessment of damage and repair of Haydn’s car.
“On inspection, Haydon’s #72 car had sustained substantial body damage to the rear and some superficial front-end damage. I am very proud of our students and staff who have worked tirelessly to get us on to the grid for Oulton Park.”
WSC Expansion
WSC will make Student Motorsport history at Oulton Park by becoming the first three-car team to enter the competition. Glenn Bee has amicably moved teams and joins WSC from Round 3. Bee’s #119 Bee Auto Electrical-backed Citroen C1 will be driven at Oulton Park by Ben Bee, Glenn’s son, who makes his CityCar Cup and SMo debut in Cheshire.
In a move towards sustainable racing, West Suffolk College will be using Coryton’s Sustain 33 racing fuel for the first time at Oulton Park. The initiative is an initial step by the Lincolnshire college towards becoming a fully sustainable motorsport team.
North East Surrey College of Technology (NESCOT) makes its second appearance in the Student Motorsport Competition. George Keith’s team, situated near Epsom, made its debut at Snetterton with driver Paul Mellor finishing all three races with a best place finish of 7th in class in Race 3.
Currently sitting 9th in the SMo standings, the team will be looking to build on their Snetterton experience as the competition moves to Oulton Park.
A new team will be making its Student Motorsport debut at Oulton Park. Based close to the remains of the world’s first purpose-built motor racing, Brooklands Technical College enters the 2025 Student Motorsport Competition with driver Junior Gravina-Read.
The Student Motorsport team joined by supporting colleges East Surrey College and Norhtbrook College visited Brooklands College in March to support the college’s Motor Vehicle Department as it prepared its team and car for competition in 2025 and the culmination of Brooklands Technical College’s hard work over 12 months will be seen on Saturday May the 10th at Oulton Park when the CityCar Cup grid goes out for qualifying at 9.20am.
Sussex Motorsports launched their second season with an expansion to a two-car line-up with Alex Jackson and Toby Owen joining the Brighton-based team for 2025. The Brighton-based squad enjoyed a solid start to its first full season of Student Motorsport competition with finishes across all three races by both drivers. Two top-eight class finishes combined with a 5th in class for Alex Jackson means that the #47 Sussex Motorsport 1 car currently sits 5th in the Student Motorsport standings while the sister #42 Black Sheep Racing / Sussex Motorsports 2 entry piloted by Toby Owen is one place behind after a best place class finish of 6th last time out at Snetterton.
Shiv Bhagnari will be handing over Team Principal responsibilities to Dan Clark for rounds 4 & 5 at Oulton Park as the former takes care of dissertation commitments.
East Surrey College’s Jack Wheeler, now in his third year of Student Motorsport competition, had a frustrating start to his 2025 season at Snetterton when a power issue meant that the automotive engineer and Assistant Manager based on the South Coast could only manage a best place class finish of 6th in Norfolk. The students at East Surrey College, led by Laurance Sait, will have been working hard in the lead-up to Oulton Park to get to the root of the problem and we can expect to see the #57 ESC Citroen battling for podium finishes when the competition visits Cheshire.
QE Motorsport returns to the Student Motorsport Competition at Oulton Park and welcomes Emilia Vincent to drive for the Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate team. Emilia Vincent is also making a return to the competition as the Wiltshire driver previously competed in the then-named Student Motorsport Challenge in 2023. Driving for Wiltshire College & University Centre, Emilia finished 7th in the SMo standings in her debut year and recorded her best finish at Brands Hatch with a 3rd place in Race Three.
Track action for Rounds Four and Five of the 2025 Student Motorsport Competition gets underway at Oulton Park with qualifying at 9.20am on Saturday May the 10th, followed by the first 15-mimute race of the weekend’s double-header at 11.45am.
The lights go out for Race Two at 18.05pm. The weekend’s racing will be streamed live on the BRSCC’s YouTube channel.