Words: Andy Lloyd
Images: Bernice Bradley
Team Northbrook Racing (TNR) has announced that triple-title winner Richard Jepp will be returning for his fifth season in the Student Motorsport Competition with the Shoreham Airport-based squad and will be joined for 2026 by Jack Wheeler who moves from East Surrey College.
Jepp’s Record: 56 Competition Podiums, 24 Class Wins and Three SMo Titles
Richard Jepp is the Student Motorsport Competition’s most successful driver, having been one of the original pilots on the grid when the Competition made its debut at Oulton Park in 2022. Jepp, an Advanced Engineering Manager at Portsmouth-based Harwin plc, has stood on the class podium 56 times in a Competition career which has included 24 class wins in addition to two overall BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship wins and his three Competition titles.
Jepp’s most successful season came in 2023 when he won the Competition class on 14 occasions including 11 consecutive wins. The South Coast-based driver also won the Competition class by the largest margin in its four-year history, finishing 50 points ahead of East Surrey College.
In 2025, TNR entered its second season as a two-car squad with Jepp paired with Ari Barker, then in his second season with the team. TNR added a Gen II Peugeot 108 to its line-up and both Jepp and the team had to work quickly at the start of the season to understand the car but still managed to take a class win on the opening weekend at Snetterton. The #65 TNR1 Peugeot had a strong showing mid-season at Anglesey where the Jepp took three 2nd in class finishes, including two overall podiums. The team was frustrated, however, with over-heating issues at Silverstone in August, resulting in a DNF in Race 2.
Four further Competition podiums and a class win meant that the TNR1 entry closed out the 2025 season second in the title standings, 23 points behind title winner Boston College Racing 1.
“I’m very happy to be back driving for TNR in what will be my fifth season with the team,” said Richard Jepp. “We were uncertain how things would work due to other commitments I have but luckily there are no calendar clashes. The team has built a solid foundation over the years we’ve competed in the competition and I think this may be our strongest season yet.
“It’s great to have Jack as my teammate for the season,” continued Jepp. “We’ve built a good friendship over the years and he is a great driver. I’m sure we will be able to learn from each other and get some great results for the team.”
Jack Wheeler: East Surrey College Star Joins TNR
Jack Wheeler has competed in the Student Motorsport Competition since 2023 and finished as runner-up in the title standings in his first season. Since entering the Competition, Jack has driven for East Surrey College (ESC), firstly under the leadership of George Keith and latterly with Laurence Sait. Over the course of three seasons, Wheeler has stood on the class podium on 22 occasions, including seven Competition class wins and one overall win.
Wheeler: Rain Master at Snetterton in 2023
The 2025 season proved a challenging one for ESC with technical issues preventing the #57 ESC Citroen C1 from showing its true potential. As a result, Wheeler finished 15th in the Competition standings. However, Wheeler’s skill as a CityCar driver was cemented in 2023 by masterful drives in mixed conditions at Snetterton when he took two class wins and two second-place overall finishes to dominate the Competition field over that weekend.
Emma Norton: “Jack’s An Excellent Match for Our Team”
For Emma Norton, TNR Team Principal and Course Leader HE Motorsport at Northbrook College, the prospect of a new driver line-up combined with continued development work on the Gen II Peugeot 108 means that the team will enter the new season with confidence.
“We’re very excited for this season,” said Emma Norton. “Last year we had the excitement of the new 108. It was a development year from the car’s point of view but it went remarkably well considering that.”
“This year we’re going to consolidate on the 108 and we’re also going to have the excitement of a brand-new driver. I think Jack Wheeler is an excellent match for our team and his calm, steady and communicative approach will work well with our students.”
Development Continues: Fixing Thermal Issues on Gen II Peugeot
“It’s always a busy time over the close season and the students have been focusing on making sure that the cars are as well prepared as possible going into the new season. We’ve already been testing so that Jack can familiarise himself with the team and the car. We’ve also been looking at what we can do with the thermal issues on the 108 that had been a concern to us last summer. Hopefully they have now been addressed and we can go from strength to strength.”
2026 Season Starts at Brands Hatch in April
The 2026 Student Motorsport Competition, part of the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship, gets under way at Brands Hatch on April the 11th and 12th for a season which will comprise seven race weekends, visiting five iconic UK race circuits.