Team Northbrook Racing / Richard Jepp become Triple Student Motorsport Challenge Title winners after second overall CityCar Cup win at Brands Hatch

Richard Jepp and Team Northbrook Racing retained their Student Motorsport Challenge title for the third consecutive year after an overall BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship win in Race One and a second-in-class finish in Race Two at Brands Hatch confirmed that TNR had finished ahead of West Suffolk College ME by 29 points. Jepp and Team Northbrook Racing, led by Emma Norton, first won the Student Motorsport Challenge title in its inaugural season in 2022 after finishing ahead of East Surrey College and their driver Andy Burgess. A non-finish by Burgess in the final round on the Silverstone International Circuit allowed Jepp to take the title, an achievement which he and the team repeated on the same circuit in 2023.

The battle to win the 2024 Student Motorsport Challenge title was made tougher by the emergence of West Suffolk College’s Brady Pollock who competed as a novice in his first year of car racing. Pollock finished his first season in cars with three class wins and eight further podiums.

Finishing third in the 2024 Challenge standings was East Surrey College where driver Jack Wheeler won the Challenge class on three occasions and took a further four podiums.

For the season finale at Brands Hatch, the Student Motorsport Challenge was sponsored Paddock Speedshop, P1 Graphics and Nankang Tyre UK. Paddock Speedshop, a business and community that exists to show young people that the world of classic cars is not a closed shop for them, not only co-hosted the live coverage of the Student Motorsport Pitstop Challenge which took place over the weekend but also entered a guest entry in the Challenge with team and mechanic support supplied by Barracksport.

P1 Graphics provided Fastest Lap trophies as well as the trophy for the winners of the Pit Stop Challenge. P1 Graphics owner Tom Pledger also looked after the technical aspects of the Challenge’s live streams from the paddock.

Nankang Tyre UK kindly supplied a set of tyres of the winners of the Student Motorsport Pit Stop Challenge, and a range of branded goods.

Qualifying 12 full-season Challenge entries and the Paddock Speedshop/Barracksport guest entry gathered at Brands Hatch on Friday the 18th on a day that saw the Indy circuit bathed in early autumn sunshine and temperatures soaring into the late teens. The favourable weather was not to last, however, and Saturday qualifying saw the track damp but drying for qualifying for the CityCar Cup field.

Richard Jepp in the #65 TNR1 Peugeot set the early pace for the class with a 1:13.915 on his second lap as Stuart Bliss, 2024 CityCar Cup champion and making his Challenge debut in the #19 Boston College Racing 2 Toyota lapped in 1:13.553.

Jepp improved to a 1:12.061 with West Suffolk College ME’s Brady Pollock second quickest in class and third overall with a 1:12.720. As the session entered its final five minutes. Jepp held on to provisional class pole as one of five drivers who had lapped in under 1:12 with a 1:11.334 before the session was red flagged. Qualifying resumed with two minutes remaining, demanding a quick out-lap in order to get a final flying lap in ahead of the chequered flag. When the session finally drew to a close, Jepp’s time of 1:11.334 confirmed his pole position in class and a front row start for Race One. ESC’s Jack Wheeler moved into third overall and second in class with a 1:11.476 while Stuart Bliss qualified the #18 BCR2 car third in class overall and 4th overall with a 1:11.659.

WSC’s Brady Pollock qualified 4th in class followed by Ari Barker who enjoyed his best qualifying session of the season, putting the #87 TNR2 car 11th on the overall grid and 5th in class. Sussex Motorsports’ Colin Dunn lapped in 1:12.458 to qualify 6th in class followed by QE Motorsport’s Joshua Jackson, BCR1’s Liam Browning, City College Norwich 1’s Elliot Lettis and QE Motorsport 2’s Haydn Payne. Harvey Blake-Jones qualified the #17 Paddock Speedshop/Barracksport Citroen 11th in class with the #73 WSC ME2 Peugeot driven by Andrew Payne and Glenn Bee in the #19 CCN2 Citroen starting 12th and 13th in class respectively.

Pit Stop Challenge The Student Motorsport Pit Stop Challenge, an annual competition where teams are asked to complete a simulated pit stop against the clock, also took place over the weekend, and further ignited the excitement of the Final, marking another thrilling aspect of the end of the season for our Student Motorsport Challenge teams. 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 programme.

The competition was divided into two halves with four of the Challenge teams competing on the Saturday between qualifying and Race One with the remaining three team competing on the Sunday morning. The technical aspects, demonstrations, and of setting up and resetting the car during each team’s run of the pit stop were supported and handled by Barracksport, a graduating team from this year\’s Student Motorsport Challenge.

Co-Presented by Paddock Speedshop and Andy Lloyd, Head of Media at Student Motorsport, the teams were tasked with changing two front wheels, adjusting damper settings and tyre pressures, cleaning the windscreen, changing the air filter and completing a driver change in a safe and accurate manner.

This competition is not just about speed; it’s a testament to the growth and development of our student participants. Since its inception in 2022, the Challenge has provided our student-based teams with a real-world platform to learn and develop those all-important work-ready skills,  the Pit Stop Challenge and any of our race weekend events allow our teams to demonstrate everything they’ve learned, applying their technical knowledge they have gained from coming under race-day pressure. From perfecting their work throughout the season the students will demonstrate their ability to perform key tasks such as wheel changing, tyre pressure and suspension adjustments, air filter changes, and even a driver swap. all on the featured Nankang Tyres race car. This final event is not only an adrenaline-pumping competition, but also a celebration of the hard work and dedication these students have put into their motorsport journey. It perfectly encapsulates the spirit of competition, teamwork, and learning that the Student Motorsport Challenge represents.

After some intense competition, post-run interviews, and a calculation of results on Sunday, the Pitstop Challenge winner was revealed.

Team Northbrook Racing having come last in the 2023 final found themselves this years winners in a record time of 2:20.63 followed by East Surrey College with a time of 3:25.13 and City College Norwich with 3:36.21. The winning team took home a set of Nankang tyres while second-placed East Surrey College won a set of fluids kindly supplied by Motull. City College Norwich won a pit stop lollipop courtesy of Raceparts UK Ltd.

Team Northbrook Racing having come last in the 2023 final found themselves this years winners in a record time of 2:20.63 followed by East Surrey College with a time of 3:25.13 and City College Norwich with 3:36.21. The winning team took home a set of Nankang tyres while second-placed East Surrey College won a set of fluids kindly supplied by Motull. City College Norwich won a pit stop lollipop courtesy of Raceparts UK Ltd.

Race One…Saturday On a dry track with the sun shining, Richard Jepp led the Challenge field away from the grid in class pole ahead of Wheeler in the #57 ESC car and Stuart Bliss in the #19 BCR2 entry. Off the start-line, WSC ME’s Brady Pollock was squeezed against the pit wall as Stuart Bliss moved into second overall and first in class on the run down to Graham Hill Bend.

There was drama at the start of lap two with cars going off after Paddock Hill Bend which included Elliot Lettis in the #3 CCN2 car and Haydn Payne in the #72 QEM1 Citroen. The 15-minute contest was red flagged to allow safe recovery of the stricken vehicles and, with less than two laps completed, the field returned to the start/finish straight to re-set the grid to its original qualifying positions.

Race 1 Restart When the lights went out for the re-start, Jepp held on to second overall with Bliss looking to regain the class lead as the field went through Graham Hill Bend. Bliss passed the #65 car after Druids and went on to take the overall lead followed by Jepp into 2nd overall.

Liam Browning had an unfortunate incident in the #81 BCR1 car which moved him to the back of the field. The safety car was then called after another incident at Paddock Hill Bend with Bliss leading and Jepp in second overall. TNR1’s nearest challenger for the title, Brady Pollock in the WSC ME entry, was back in 7th overall.

Racing resumed with three minutes remaining on the clock. Stuart Bliss held the lead but Richard Jepp put a superb move on the #18 car into Paddock Hill Bend to move into the overall lead. The BCR1 car hung on to the rear bumper of the TNR1 Peugeot and re-passed for the lead on the start/finish straight but Jepp was through again at Paddock Hill Bend and was pulling out a slight advantage before the race was red flagged for the second time and the result declared.

Brady Pollock completed the Challenge podium finishers with Jepp’s teammate Ari Barker in the #87 TNR 2 car taking his best finish of the season with 4th in class. ESC’s Jack Wheeler, QEM1’s Joshua Jackson and CCN1’s Elliot Lettis finished 5th, 6th and 7th respectively with SMS’s Colin Dunn, CCN2’s Glenn Bee and WSC ME2’s Andrew Payne completing the class finishers. BCR1’s Liam Browning and QEM2’s Haydn Payne were unable to finish. Jepp’s victory meant that the 2024 Student Motorsport Challenge title was secured for the #65 TNR1 Peugeot for the third consecutive year. Richard Jepp was delighted to have taken his second overall CityCar Cup win of the season. “That was a tough race!”, said Richard Jepp. “On the first start, I had a terrible launch off the line and I dropped down to about 4th. The second start wasn’t much better and then when the safety car was called, I was in second. I had a really good run on Stuart Bliss on the re-start as I think he must have missed a gear. I though I was going to pass him before the line so I had to lift off a bit but I then passed him into Paddock Hill Bend.

“It’s always special to have a win and an overall win is even better. I had a big pass round the outside of Stu round Paddock Hill to take the win so I’m really happy with that!” Teammate Ari Barker, who had endured some major challenges earlier in the season, was delighted with his 4th-place finish.

“The race was absolutely awesome!” said Barker. “All year I’ve struggled with qualifying pace so to get my highest qualifying position of 11th overall was unreal. To then battle with the guys at the front and to keep up and, at times, gain on them was amazing. “The standard of racing at the front is fantastic so it was a great result for the team with P1 overall and almost a trophy for me in the Challenge class.” Race Two…Sunday The weather for Race Two on Sunday deteriorated significantly and, with rain falling steadily and the wind blowing, Richard Jepp started from overall pole position and was joined on the front row by Stuart Bliss. Jepp held the lead as the field went through Paddock Hill Bend and held on to a small advantage at Druids before the race was red-flagged due to a car in the gravel on the drop down from Turn 1.

The clock was re-set to 15 minutes and the field left for one formation lap before racing got underway for the second time. Bliss challenged Jepp on the outside of Paddock Hill Bend and led the field on the run up to Druids. ESC’s Wheeler, meanwhile, had passed Brady Pollock and was third in class as Colin Dunn in the #319 SMS Citroen went off and ended up stuck in the gravel, suffering his season only DNF.

Jepp slid at McLaren allowing Wheeler through into second in class and 4th overall as Bliss went sideways at the same place on the following lap and dropped to 3rd overall, less than half a second head of Wheeler.

Wheeler was putting Bliss under pressure as they crossed the start/finish line but the ESC pilot spun at Surtees to take the pressure off the newly crowned CityCar Cup champion. Wheeler dropped back to 4th in class as the race entered its final five minutes. Brady Pollock challenging Richard Jepp for second in class before the race was red flagged after the #17 Challenge guest entry Paddock Speedshop/Barracksport Citroen went into the gravel at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend.

The final result was a class win for the #18 BCR2 car driven by Stuart Bliss with TNR1’s Richard Jepp and WSC ME’s Brady Pollock completing the podium positions. ESC’s Jack Wheeler, CCN1’s Elliot Lettis and QEM1’s Joshua Jackson finished 4th, 5th and 6th respectively while WSC ME2’s Andrew Payne, QEM1’s Haydn Payne, and CCN2’s Glenn Bee rounded out the Challenge class finishers.

Boston College Racing’s Stuart Bliss was pleased with his first Challenge victory and explained why he had decided to switch to BCR for the final meeting of the season.

“I thought I’d run with a college team for the final weekend so that I could sit in the driving seat and give them a bit of feedback,” said Stuart Bliss. “The guys running the car have been epic. I met them for the first time on Friday and they’ve been great. You ask them to do something on the car and they’re straight there. “They will be back next year but for me, whether I’m back next year, I don’t know.” The 2024 Champions With the 2024 Student Motorsport Challenge season completed, Team Northbrook Racing Team Principal Emma Norton was overjoyed to retain the title for the third year.

“Ari had his best finish on Saturday with a 4th in class and an 8th overall, but for Richard, what an amazing drive…again! I’m so proud of him and all of the students and staff at Team Northbrook Racing. “We also won the Pitstop Challenge with a fantastic time so it really has been an incredible weekend for us and I couldn’t be happier!”

“Winning the Student Motorsport Challenge for the third year is absolutely incredible!” said Emma Norton. “I didn’t want to believe it was going to happen until it actually did and we are so delighted. I’m very proud of both our drivers Ari (Barker) and Richard (Jepp). Ari drove superbly this weekend. For Student Motorsport founder and series organiser John Paul ‘JP’ Latham, the final weekend at Brands Hatch had been a fitting finale after a season of intense competition and hard work. “This has been an incredible weekend and I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the teams, drivers, staff and sponsors for making the 2024 Student Motorsport Challenge season the most successful yet,” he said.

“Firstly, though, I want to extend our gratitude to all of our sponsors for the weekend. Nankang Tyre UK are not only title sponsors for the BRSCC Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup Championship but they are also valued supporters of the Challenge. Their prize to the winners of the Pit Stop Challenge of four new Nankang tyres was extremely generous. “I also want to thank Craig Blake-Jones and the Paddock Speedshop team for their guest entry into the Challenge and their co-hosting of the Pitstop Challenge and supporting sponsors they included from Motul and Car Gods. The lives-streams were very well received. Also, I would like to thank P1 Graphics for their Fastest Lap trophies and the trophy for the winners of the Pitstop Challenge, and finally to Acorn Printing and MHR Teamwear for their ongoing support all season and for the generous donation of bobble hats for this weekends podiums. “Many congratulations to Emma Norton, Richard Jepp and the everybody involved in Team Northbrook Racing. To win the Challenge for a third straight year is an incredible achievement! This was not an easy title defence for TNR as the team was pushed hard by West Suffolk College so many congratulations to WSC Team Principal Alan Barrett and driver Brady Pollock for a fantastic season. “Congratulations, also, to Jason Chapman, the entire East Surrey College Team and driver Jack Wheeler for their third-place finish in the Challenge title standings. “The 2024 Student Motorsport Challenge provided exactly what it was designed to do; real-life track-side racing experience to support and encourage the next generation of motorsport professionals in a range of fields. I could not be more delighted to see how the grid has grown, both in size and professionalism, since we launched the series three years ago. “Planning for 2025 is already underway and I look forward to seeing many of our teams back on the grid at the start of next season in April.”

How it Finished… Team Northbrook Racing has won the 2024 Student Motorsport Challenge, West Suffolk College ME in second and East Surrey College in third, fourth place went to City College Norwich with 207 points, fifth place to QE Motorsport 2 with 195 points and sixth to QE Motorsport 1 with 193 points.

Boston College Racing 2 finished in 7th place with 185 points followed by West Suffolk College ME2, Sussex Motorsports, and Team Northbrook Racing 2. Barracksport GSR, City College Norwich 2, Barracksport and Boston College Racing 1 completed the 2024 standings. All Student Motorsport Challenge title standings are provisional ahead of confirmation by the BRSCC. Stand by for more news of our off-season exhibitions, activities and training events.