The British Automobile Racing Club lifted the curtain on its 2025 season in sensational style this past weekend (March 22-23) as a number of championships battled changeable conditions at Donington Park.
TCR UK Championship
It was the dawn of a new era for TCR UK as the championship competed under the BARC banner for the very first time – and it saw two of its most experienced drivers take centre stage as they laid down their markers as credible title contenders.
Adam Shepherd and Callum Newsham entered the new campaign as ones to watch and they duly lived up to all expectations, with Shepherd striking first as he hustled his Cupra to pole position in qualifying.
Shepherd converted his front-row start into a dominant lights-to-flag victory in the opener. Despite having to deal with early pressure from the chasing pack – which was led by the Laidlaw duo – and a safety car interruption, the Capture Motorsport driver was wheel-perfect on his way to top spot.
Race two would see Shepherd double his tally for the weekend as he came through the field on a drying track to win the reverse grid encounter. On a damp track, the grid was split between wet and dry tyres, providing an intriguing spectacle.
Steve Laidlaw rolled the dice to stay on wets and led much of the race however all eyes were on the slick-shod Shepherd and Newsham as they charged forward. Shepherd would ultimately close down a gap of 12 seconds to snatch the win on the penultimate lap ahead of the aforementioned duo.
Newsham was able to end Shepherd’s run of success with a dominant victory in the final race of the weekend – which took several attempts to run. Making a demon start, the Scotsman was never headed as he beat Finn Leslie and Shepherd to the chequered flag.
Milltek Sport Civic Cup
Alongside TCR UK, the Milltek Sport Civic Cup also made its BARC debut under the flightpath of East Midlands airport with two highly entertaining races setting the stall out for what promises to be a season to remember.
Home to the pocket-rocket Honda Civic, the one-make series is billed as a feeder category for TCR UK and has seen a number of promising drivers rise up the ranks in recent years.
At Donington Park, Alistair Camp and former TCR UK champion Lewis Kent underlined their credentials as the leading lights to look out for as they claimed a win apiece around the 1.979-mile National circuit.
Camp snatched pole position by the slender margin on 0.052s in qualifying and duly converted it into victory in race one, pulling clear of Kent and Liam McGill to open his account for the campaign.
Race two proved to be a much closer affair with just six tenths of a second covering the top-three at the finish. This time it was Kent that came out on top as he edged out Harvey Caton and Camp to triumph.
Classic Touring Car Racing Club
Variety was the spice of life when it came to the Classic Touring Car Racing Club as bumper grids of vintage tin top machines went wheel-to-wheel; putting those in attendance and watching online on the edge of their seats.
The Everard Pre-66 Touring Cars rolled back the years with two enthralling encounters, both of which were won by Michael Cullen. The Ford Lotus Cortina driver comfortably beat Oliver Law in race one but had a tougher time of things in race two as he faced competition from Piers Grange.
Cullen came oh-so close to extending his winning streak to the amalgamated Shell Oils Group 1 Touring Cars, Trackhub.uk Pre-93 Touring Cars, Burty Pre-03 Touring Cars and Super Tourers Series contests.
Swapping his Ford Lotus Cortina for a BMW E30 M3, Cullen finished half a second away from Ian Bower in race one while William Davison completed the podium. Nobody would ultimately come close to Bower in race two as he scarpered out front to win by more than 14 seconds.
Bower was a winner in one of the two PRG Trailers Classic Thunder and Rikki Cann Aston Martin Specialist Historic Thunder Saloons races too, with last year’s inaugural champion Colin Voyce claiming the spoils in race two.
Rounding out the Classic Touring Car Racing Club entertainment were two races from the Burton Power Blue Oval Saloon Series. A haven for Fast Fords, the weekend arguably belonged to Andy Robinson as he clinched a clean sweep in his Ford Falcon.
Junior Saloon Car Championship
The Junior Saloon Car Championship lifted the curtain on a brand-new season with three breathtaking contests delivering three different race winners.
Home to the next generation of racing talent, the budget-conscious series has been a staple of the junior racing pyramid for more than a decade and this year’s edition looks to be as competitive as ever.
With a grid made up of second and third-year racers, as well as promising rookies, the single-make category had everyone enthralled and it was Josh Selvadorai that struck first as he bagged pole position in qualifying.
His moment in victory lane would have to wait though as Wilf Butler scored bragging rights in the opening contest as he triumphed ahead of fellow returnees Luca Masarati and Lewis Stannard.
Selvadorai was imperious in race two though as he pulled out a gap of more than seven seconds to beat Butler, with Masarati a few seconds further adrift in third place.
The weekend’s third and final bout went the way of Stannard as he pulled off a sublime number of overtakes to go from fifth to first. Following him to the chequered flag was Masarati and Oliver Kerr.
P4 Emergency Lighting Caterham Graduates Championship
Some of the biggest and smallest winning margins of the weekend came in the ultra-competitive P4 Emergency Lighting Caterham Graduates Championship – which staged two races for its Sigma 135 Class and two for its Sigma 150 Class.
In the Sigma 135s, nobody was stopping Adam Kene as he stamped his authority on the early championship battle with two exemplary performances.
His first victory saw him triumph by almost 16 seconds ahead of Tom McEwing and Stephen Merritt while win number two saw the same three drivers finish on the podium, although this time the gap was capped at six seconds.
Over in the Sigma 150s, Will Stilwell trounced the opposition to win by more than ten seconds in race one. Things however were much closer when it came to race two.
Paul Goldstein – a double Caterham champion last year – emerged victorious from a captivating contest that saw him eventual beat Max Haynes to the chequered flag by just 0.006s. Stephen Clark was a further four tenths back in third.
Adrian Flux Insurance MG Owners Club Championship
The McDermid family had plenty to celebrate on Sunday night as they reigned supreme in the opening rounds of the Adrian Flux Insurance MG Owners Club Championship.
Entering the year as the defending champion, Steve McDermid was wheel-perfect in his MG ZR – which had the number one adorning his window – as he claimed a brace of race wins ahead of his son, Jake McDermid.
There was very little to separate the McDermid duo however behind, Lee Sullivan could only manage to be the best of the rest as he netted a brace of third-place finishes.
To view the full results from all sessions at Donington Park, CLICK HERE.
You can also re-watch all the action via the British Automobile Racing Club YouTube channel, HERE.
