2020 SEASON GUIDE THE HOME OF BRITISH ENDURANCE RACING Contents Welcome to Britcar Page 3 Welcome Welcome to Britcar We enter our fifth year of the rejuvenated Britcar Dunlop Endurance Championship with some Page 4 - 5 2019 Review exciting developments, building on our continuing success, and acknowledging the original Britcar concept whilst responding to the ever-changing appetite of the motorsport marketplace. Page 7 2020 Britcar Dunlop Endurance and Trophy Our 2019 season once again identified a stunning diversity of driver age and experience, and an eclectic range of machinery, from supercars through GT and Touring cars, to Hot Hatches, Page 9 Spa-Francorchamps proving that age, experience, and budget are no barrier to Non-Championship Race Weekend success, and that the Britcar championship can be viewed as both aspirational and destinational, depending on individual circumstances. Page 11 Sponsorship Support It is apparent to us now that the time is right to split the classes into two discrete Championships, and for 2020 Page 13 BEPI Explained we are introducing the Britcar Dunlop Trophy for Classes 5-7, which we comprise a programme of two 50-minute Page 15 Raceday Hospitality races, generally on the Sunday of a Britcar Dunlop Endurance weekend (though there will be some exceptions – check our 2020 calendar). The Britcar Dunlop Endurance Page 17 Media and TV Coverage 2019,Championship featuring twowill 60-minutecontinue as races, on a Saturday, and both championships will be regulated by the unique Britcar Endurance Performance Indicator (BEPI), to ensure a structured and competitive environment. Page 20 Acknowlegements and Contact Details Britcar has enjoyed an ongoing relationship with Dunlop and their associates HP Tyres for many years, and this continues for a further four seasons, thus ensuring a stable and healthy partnership with on-site supply of regulation tyres for both of our championships. Our partners Anglo American Oil also provide on-circuit supply of Sunoco fuel, and we also enjoy ongoing partnerships with a number of suppliers of automotive and motorsport products and services that offer discounts to Britcar competitors. We also very proud to be associated with the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2020, supporting their event at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in April with a pair of non- championship races, and with championship rounds at their Silverstone meeting in September. Britcar is indebted to the continued support of a number of people that ensure the smooth running of events – to the Britcar staff, many of whom are volunteers, for their raceday support and background work between events, and members of the Williams family for their input on several levels. I would also like to personally thank all our sponsors, the staff at theBritish Automobile Racing Club and all the circuit staff and of course the dedicated and hard working marshals who support us at each event. So, it’s going to be an exciting 2020, with a new Championship, and an association with a major global Championship, and we would love you to be a part of our bright future. See you in 2020! Claire Hedley & Team 2 3 2019 Britcar Endurance Review Overall champions, taking the Class 2 prize All three of these contenders won their respective in the process, were Paul Bailey and Andy classes, while in Class 1 there was another story – Schulz. Amateur driver Bailey has a 10-year trail early-season paddock chat was that the stunning of winning credentials, and with consummate Praga R1T of VR Motorsport would trounce the pro-driver Schulz, their Ferrari 488 Challenge, opposition. True, it was fast, well driven, and took expertly prepared and run by crack outfit some wins, but it was also affected by weather, SB Race Engineering, took in several overall wins track conditions and circuit configurations, and during the season, and their title was achieved Class 1 had more different winners than any other by sticking to a rigid race plan that never wavered class. through the year, unaffected by weather and Britcar were proud to host the racing debut of track conditions, nor by Safety Car interventions. the new Brabham BT62 at the season finale at Compare this to overall runner-up Tim Docker. Brands Hatch in November; with the boss himself, Driving alone in his VW Golf run by weekend David Brabham on board, it took a win first time warriors from Maximum Motorsport, he did out, and indications are that we’ll be seeing more make use of the opportunities afforded by the of the Brabham in 2020. Also notable at that Safety Car, though being a single driver, had to finale was a win in Race 2 for Mike Moss’s unique maintain a level of mental alertness and physical BMW1M, the culmination of a three-year project fitness for the whole one-hour race. He came with Woodrow Motorsport that Moss is keen to within a whisker of taking the overall title, despite point out, is a “Ferrari-beater built in a farm shed” some poor points score in the early part of the Britcar 2019 showed, more than any previous season. season, that it’s the championship to showcase And then we have our third-place team; father large and low budgets, big and small teams, lone and son duo Peter and Mark Cunningham, their drivers, enthusiastic amateurs, skilled pro/am SG Racing Porsche 997 run from a trailer rather pairings, and innovative engineering. than a transporter, self-spannered by the drivers and a couple of mates, on a tight budget with virtually no testing. Still, they had their best year in a long Britcar career, both drivers taking a Driver of the Day award along the way, and Mark claiming the coveted Driver of the Year award at the season’s end. 4 5 2020 Britcar Dunlop Endurance and Trophy The 2020 season celebrates the fifth Anniversaryof the new wave of Britcar management, and we are building on our continued success to bring to competitors the best of Endurance racing, and the best race meetings, in all types of road based endurance racing cars. Our regulations have proved, once again, to provide a stable and level playing field for all competitors and our expanded classes for 2020 cater for two full grids, with the faster cars having a separate race from the less powerful machinery to give you all a chance to race for glory without excessive speed differences between the classes. The new season sees a launch of new classes to the Britcar Dunlop Endurance Championship, so the two separate grids now cater for a diverse range from a Brabham BT62 to a Mazda MX5 and anything in between. Our unique Britcar Endurance Performance Indicator (BEPI) categorises each car based on not only the engine performance and weight but also the extent of developments in the gearbox, suspension, aerodynamics and electronics. This has given rise to extremely well balanced classes where strategy and skill are the driving force behind success. The Endurance category on the Saturday caters for classes 1-4, GT3-GT4/TCR levels of performance whilst the Trophy category on the Sunday will be for anything below that performance level, cars such as: Clio Cup; Mini Challenge; BMW 116i Trophy and the venerable MX5. All the classes will come together for a pair of races on the Silverstone GP circuit in May and all classes are invited to our Non-Championship ‘Spa Spectacular’ in April where the Britcar Dunlop Endurance grid will play a supporting role to the FIA World Endurance Championship. Driving standards will, again, be closely monitored by our experienced team using current and ex racing drivers, dedicated BARC Clerks and mandatory in-car cameras to review any incidents. At the end of the season there will be two overall winners crowned: the Endurance category winners (classes 1-4) and the Trophy category winners (classes 5-7). We look forward to seeing you on the grid at the iconic venues listed below. Here’s to another great season ahead! Endurance Category Trophy Category Date Circuit Date Circuit 10th April Donington National 11th April Donington National 23rd-25th April Spa-Francorchamps (Non-Championship) 23rd-25th April Spa-Francorchamps (Non-Championship) 23rd May Silverstone GP 23rd May Silverstone GP 27th June Snetterton 300 28th June Snetterton 300 1st August Brands Hatch Indy 2nd August Brands Hatch Indy 4th-6th September Silverstone GP 12th September Oulton Park 10th October Silverstone International 11th October Silverstone International 6 7 WEC Support at Spa and Silverstone It is an exciting time for Britcar, as we shall be supporting the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), for the penultimate round of their 2019-2020 season at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in April 2020. The FIA World Endurance Championship, organised by the ACO, runs over a winter scheduling format and culminates with the world’s most famous endurance race, the Le Mans 24 Hours, in June. Featuring top drivers, including Le Mans winners and erstwhile F1 drivers, the Championship also plays host to some familiar names to Britcar followers; pro- drivers Mike Simpson, Charlie Hollings and Johnny Mowlem have all stood on the top step of a Britcar podium in recent years, and rising stars Phil Hanson and Bonamy Grimes both honed their endurance racing skills in Britcar, Hanson actually winning the Britcar Dunlop Endurance Championship in his maiden season of circuit racing in 2016. Thus Britcar’s already-solid reputation for producing teams and drivers that can perform in the International arena is enhanced by being invited onto the prestigious WEC package, and we are immensely proud that our endeavours to produce a professionally-run nationally-based Championship have been recognised by organisers of one of the biggest Championships in global motorsport.