Although our grid numbers were disappointing there was some great racing, lap records broken aplenty, and 15 different models appeared on the circuits with us during the 2024 season.
Those who competed were:
Modified Class: Jamie Thwaites (TCR Giuiletta), Steve Deeks (4C), Jamie Porter (4C), Jack Berry (MiTO 404), Andy Page (116 Giulietta Turbo), Mike Hilton (4C), Ian Stapleton (GTV6 Supercharged), Mark Skeggs (GTV), Scott Austin (156), Lee Penn (33), Thomas Laudage (4C), Barry McMahon (156 and Giulia Quadrifoglio), Giovanni di Gennaro (Fiat 128).
Power Trophy: Toby Broome (147 GTA), Richard Ford (GT), Stacey Dennis (Giulietta), Paul Plant (Giulietta), Dave Messenger (156 GTA), Nathan Bignell (33), James Ford (156).
Twin Spark Cup: Edward Robinson (156), Toby Broome (156), James Ford (156), Garry Jackson (156), Adrian Norman (147), James Powell (147), David Pickup (146), Peter Bell (146), Steve Anderson (156).
After a long winter break the ARCA Championship got under way at the Croft circuit near Darlington on 20th/21st April. There were perfect sunny conditions for racing throughout the weekend, and our grid of 12 cars was supplemented by a range of Allcomers.
Jamie Thwaites in his TCR Giulietta was the class of the field in qualifying and in both races as he took a brace of overall wins and broke the outright Alfa lap record, setting a new mark of 1:26.101. Scott Austin was 2nd overall in race 1 in his 156 but then a blown engine saw him out for the rest of the meeting and thereafter sadly for the rest of the season. In the absence of a recognised driver Jamie Porter debuted the beautiful blue Alfa Workshop 4C 2.0 having his first ever race and finishing 3rd and 2nd in the Modified class, the car being extremely quick in a straight line while Jamie nursed it through the corners. After Croft he handed over the car to former Silverstone Chief Instructor Steve Deeks for the rest of the season. Andy Page and Mark Skeggs were 4th and 5th respectively in race 1. Mark retired from race 2 with an engine problem while Andy took 3rd behind the two Jamies.
Paul Plant took two Power Trophy class wins in the Bianco 1.4T Giulietta ahead of Richard Ford in Race 1 and Stacey Dennis and Richard Ford in race 2, setting a new class lap record (1:36.021) in the process. A close battle between James Ford and Toby Broome resulted in narrow class wins in both races for James from Toby with Edward Robinson in 3rd. James set a new Twin Spark Cup lap record of 1:40.424 in race 2 during his intense battle with Toby.
From Croft we moved on to the Silverstone National circuit on Sunday 19th May where we had our own grid of 13 cars. We were again blessed with perfect conditions for racing. In qualifying Jamie Thwaites took pole from Steve Deeks’s 4C, Barry McMahon’s 156, and Jack Berry’s MiTO 404 with Andy Page’s Giulietta 116 a lttle further down the order. Richard Ford led the way in the Power Trophy class from Stacey Dennis’s Giulietta and Mike Hilton who was having a drive in the Bianco Giulietta with debutant Nathan Bignell 4th quickest in his newly renovated 33. Toby Broome took the Twin Spark pole ahead of Edward Robinson and Garry Jackson, the latter also making a welcome debut in the championship. Dave Messenger was the one and only entry in the V6 class for the 2024 season before transferring thereafter to the Power Trophy with the other V6 cars.
In Race 1, Steve Deeks started from the pit lane after his 4C would not run cleanly on the green flag lap, the car suddenly firing up some 30 seconds after the rest of the field had gone after it appeared he would have to retire. Jamie Thwaites took a dominant win breaking the lap record with a best time of 1:00.754. Jack Berry’s MiTO 404 kept him honest though, finishing only 8 seconds behind in 2nd. Steve meanwhile flew through the field to finish 3rd overall ahead of Andy Page in 4th. All was not right with Barry McMahon’s former Championship winning 156 which was down on power due to a cracked manifold and the noise from the front end signalled drive shaft failure so he retired from the meeting on lap 4.
Richard Ford took the Power Trophy win, well clear of a battle between Stacey Dennis and Nathan Bignell, and Toby Broome took a dominant Twin Spark Cup win from Edward Robinson in 2nd and Garry Jackson 3rd.
In Race 2 Jamie Thwaites appeared to have taken a hugely impressive win breaking the 1 minute lap time barrier in the process. However, he had missed some waved yellow flags – despite the fact that Mike Hilton had parked his stricken Giulietta well out of harm’s way – and he was disqualified for a flag infringement as a result. Unfortunately this would cost him dearly in his pursuit of the Championship as a disqualification cannot be used as a dropped score. Steve Deeks therefore inherited the win from Jack Berry and Andy Page. Richard Ford took the Power Trophy win again setting a new class lap record which meant he was now the older of both Power Trophy and Twin Spark lap records at the circuit. An excellent overtake on Stacey Dennis by Nathan Bignell netted him second in class. Toby Broome won the Twin Spark Cup class from Edward Robinson 2nd.
Cadwell Park was our 3rd venue in July – way out on the Lincolnshire Wolds and many hours’ drive away for most of our drivers. Sadly and not unexpectedly our 9 car entry was supplemented by Allcomers again. The circuit was built originally for motorbikes and has changed little over the years – narrow, twisty, sharp gradient changes, no sand or gravel traps, and little or no run off in places – certainly challenging. Toby Broome had taken the plunge and bought the Revs Italia 147 GTA, previously campaigned successfully by Graham Seager and switched from the Twin Spark Cup to the Power Trophy. In terms of the Championship it proved to be an inspired move.
Jamie Thwaites took a dominant pole from Toby and Mike Hilton, back in his 4C for this meeting, ahead of Paul Plant, Andy Page, Richard Ford, Garry Jackson, Nathan Bignell and Peter Bell, making his championship debut in his newly acquired Alfa 146. In Race 1, Jamie Thwaites won and set a new outright lap record (again!) in his TCR Giulietta with a time of 1:34.304. Toby Broome won the Power Trophy class and established the class lap record at 1:40.051. Andy Page was 3rd overall while Mike Hilton sadly had to retire his 4C with it stuck in 6th gear and the clutch burned out. Paul Plant was second in the Power Trophy behind Toby and ahead of Richard Ford and Nathan Bignell, while Peter Bell took a maiden class win in the Twin Spark Cup after Garry Jackson retired with a broken drive shaft.
In Race 2 Jamie Thwaites broke the lap record he himself had set in Race 1 with a time of 1:33.555 as he took another dominant win while Toby Broome took second overall and broke his own Power Trophy lap record set in Race 1 with a time of 1:39.610. Paul Plant was 3rd ahead of Andy Page and Nathan Bignell while Garry Jackson took a maiden Twin Spark Cup win. Richard Ford (exploding tyre) and Peter Bell (broken and trailing exhaust) retired.
We were hoping for a much bigger grid at our annual visit to Festival Italia in August at Brands Hatch and so it transpired, although 23 cars were reduced to 21 overnight before the meeting. Jamie Thwaites suffered a puncture in testing at the end of the Cooper Straight which pitched him into the barriers causing chassis damage which Bianco was unable to rectify despite working all night on the car and Paul Plant withdrew his Giulietta through a lack of time to complete its preparation.
Sunday brought blazing sunshine and hot temperatures so yet again we were blessed with good weather. Despite Jamie Thwaites’s withdrawal there was a strong field of 8 Modified cars. Barry McMahon debuted his much heralded Giulia Quadrifoglio with its purported 700+ horsepower and obliged by setting pole with a time of 51.885. Ian Stapleton’s formidable supercharged 3.8 litre GTV6 was second, Steve Deeks’s 4C 3rd and Lee Penn debuted his beautifully built and prepared 33. Mike Hilton’s 4C was 5th quickest ahead of Jack Berry’s MiTO 404 while further down the order Andy Page’s Giulietta 116, Giovanni di Gennaro’s very cool little Fiat 128 and German visitor Thomas Laudage’s 4C rounded out the Modified class.
Toby Broome’s 147 GTA took the Power Trophy class ‘pole’ ahead of Dave Messenger, Richard Ford, Nathan Bignell, Stacey Dennis, and James Ford (in his second car, a 3.0 litre 156, in place of his usual Twin Spark). A 6-car Twin Spark Cup entry was a welcome sight. Edward Robinson took the class pole from Adrian Norman’s 147 and 3 drivers making their debut: James Powell (147), Paul Walker (147) and Dave Pickup (146). Garry Jackson’s alternator had failed and he was unable to participate in the session but a replacement was sourced and fitted and he was able to complete the requisite 3 laps to qualify behind the safety car.
The qualifying session had taken its toll: Ian Stapleton would be a non starter due to a sheared alternator shaft and Dave Pickup suffered big end failure. Dave Messenger and Barry McMahon then suffered mechanical problems on the startline and were unable to race. James Ford also pulled off the circuit on one of the green flag laps and retired so 16 cars took the start. Steve Deeks flew away at the start in his 4C never to be headed and took a dominant win ahead of Lee Penn’s stunning and impeccably driven 33 and Jack Berry’s MiTO 404. Toby Broome took a superb PT Class win ahead of Stacey Dennis and Richard Ford while Ed Robinson fought off a charge from James Powell to take an excellent Twin Spark Cup win.
In the meantime we had lost more cars: Giovanni di Gennaro, Nathan Bignell and Mike Hilton all failed to finish and Adrian Norman made the finish but had suffered big end failure. For Race 2 there were 13 starters left and Steve Deeks again took a dominant race win from Jack Berry and Toby Broome. Andy Page took 3rd in the Modified class and Richard Ford and Stacey Dennis were 2nd and 3rd in the Power Trophy. Ed Robinson had several seconds in hand over the rest of the Twin Spark field this time and took another class win.
Our final race meeting of the season took place at Oulton Park on 21st September where we again shared the grid with an Allcomers race. Jamie Thwaites was the class of the field, qualifying on pole and taking a dominant race win and superbly breaking yet another outright Alfa lap record in 1:47.882 in Race 1. Jack Berry drove the MiTO 404 superbly to take 2nd place with the inevitable Toby Broome 3rd and Power Trophy class winner ahead of a great dice between Dave Messenger and Stacey Dennis. James Powell took Twin Spark Cup honours after Ed Robinson’s gear linkage fell apart.
Our season then ended with a bang – literally. An hour before our second race was due to start a thunderstorm erupted and a lightning strike took out the circuit’s startline gantry, light panels, CCTV and much of its radio communications so the MSUK Steward abandoned the meeting on safety grounds.
Toby Broome is our 2024 Champion after a superb season particularly when he switched from the Twin Spark Cup to the Power Trophy class Revs Italia 147 GTA. Richard Ford was 2nd overall and Power Trophy class winner, Jamie Thwaites was 3rd and Modified class winner, and Ed Robinson 4th overall and Twin Spark Cup winner.
The Championship will be back again next season and it urgently needs more drivers to secure its future. I have stepped down from the Coordinator role after 7 years and Andy Hancock has taken over. Let’s enjoy a great season of racing!
Andy Robinson
