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The 2023 Trackday Championship season finale arrived with much excitement and intrigue as to which teams would be crowned overall and class champions. To add to the challenge of the meeting, a slightly drizzly and damp Brands Hatch greeted competitors on Saturday October 28th for the last race of the season.
Amongst the championship challengers was Unique Racing’s Adrian Pottinger, with the #89 driver in with a chance of claiming both the overall and Class B titles. Pottinger immediately got to work in qualifying and set the early pace. However, his Unique Racing teammate Charlie Palk was quick to respond, besting Pottinger’s benchmark with two hot laps in rapid succession. Undeterred, Pottinger replied with an outstanding lap of his own five minutes later. His time 1:03:380 was unable to be bettered for the remainder of the session, ensuring pole position belonged to the #89 Clio. Teammate Palk would have to settle for second on the grid, while Team KAR’s Roberts/Heath duo would line up third in Class B, ahead of: Jack Goes (Mangoes Racing) and Tylah Motorsport’s John Lyne. Heading into the round Stewart Donovan of Se7en Motorsport’s was also in the running for the overall championship, having already wrapped up the Class C championship after the penultimate round. Yet it was Abbitt’s Motorsport’s Dan and Ben Abbitt who qualified fastest in Class C at the season closer, with Donovan having to settle for second. Chris Reade (Wolf Motorsport) completed the top three. Alister Esam posted a brilliant lap to secure fastest lap in Class D, with the two teams fighting for the class championship Fiesta Club Racer and Scuderia Dave lining up second and third in class respectively.
An excellent getaway at lights out for John Lyne (Tylah Motorsport) launched the BMW E36 driver right into the thick of action at the front, however it remained the Unique Racing Clios first and second over the line after the first lap. Polesitter Pottinger narrowly maintained his lead over teammate Palk, with less than one second separating the two through the opening four laps. Mangoes Racing’s Jack Goes and Team KAR’s Roberts/Heath found themselves in an epic duel of their own behind in third and fourth, while championship leader Stewart Donovan remained in hot pursuit of rival Class C competitor Abbitt Motorsport. Alister Esam managed to maintain his lead in Class D through the opening exchanges, before being overtaken by a fast-starting Scuderia Dave on lap five. The iconic Brands Hatch Indy circuit was providing an excellent platform for a championship finale, with plenty of thrilling action and stunning overtakes being displayed throughout each class.
As is so often the case, the pit stop window proved pivotal to the outcome of the race. Quick thinking and adaptive race strategy helped propel a number of drivers up the order, including Se7en Motorsport’s Stewart Donovan. Donovan, who had managed to get in front of rival Class C Abbitt/Abbitt, now led not just his class but the overall order too. The two Unique Racing Clio’s were hot on the heels of the Celica driver and immediately worked on reeling Donovan in. Eventually both surpassed Donovan, with Pottinger once more heading teammate Palk. However, by the end of lap 34 Charlie Palk had taken the lead and the #98 driver expertly managed the remainder of the race to secure his first victory of the 2023 Trackday Championship season! Congratulations to Charlie and the Unique Racing #89 team.
Mangoes Racing’s Jack Goes has impressed in his debut season of racing and was rewarded for consistent pace with the driver’s best result of the season – second in Class B. Team Rebbieha’s Paul McHugh joined Goes and Palk on the class podium, earning a considerable amount of points to finish the season strongly. Se7en Motorsport’s Stewart Donovan and Wolf Motorsport’s Chris Reade had enjoyed an epic battle at Oulton Park in the round previous, and the pair were eventually only separated by 0.743secs over the finish line at Brands Hatch too. Donovan was the one to claim the Class C victory, becoming the overall 2023 Trackday Championship Champion in the process. A huge congratulations to Stewart Donovan and all of the Se7en Motorsport team on their achievement. The third and final step of the Class C podium went the way of Abbitt/Abbitt, who displayed strong pace all meeting. The final Class D top step belonged to Fiesta Club Racer. The team’s pairing of Wright/Glover led the chasing Class D pack from lap 14 onwards, displaying excellent race craft enroute to the finish. Despite the excellent performance, Scuderia Dave’s second-place finish in Class D ensured it was the Mazda MX-5’s pairing of Connell/Wilkinson-Hughes who claimed the Class D championship title in their debut Trackday Championship season. A massive congratulations to the pair. The third and final spot on the Class D podium belonged to Robert and Ashley Hornigold . The Hornigold duo kept the cars in front honest all race long, finishing just 3.728secs behind the eventual class champions. Special mention to Datum Motorsport’s Steve Summers who claimed the Class B championship title!
Thanks to everyone who has made 2023 a brilliant year for Trackday Championship. We look forward to another enthralling battle for the class and overall championships next year.
See you then!