Previously known as the Goodyear Britcar Endurance Championship, the newly named British Endurance Championship (BEC) is ready to pick up where Britcar left off. The name change has been brought about by Motorsport UK officially choosing the Britcar organisers to run the newly sanctioned British Championship.
Whilst the championship will continue to be run by the Britcar organisation, a new class structure has been put into place to ensure increased parity within the overall grid.
Class A
Class A sees homologated GT3 machinery compete against similar performing equipment in its own specific class.
Currently, six entries have been announced with intense competition expected between them.
ING Sport returns to BEC after a brief hiatus. The car of choice being their trusty BMW Z4 GT3 and is the only example currently competing in the UK.
Team Owner, Ian Lawson will pilot the car at all rounds and, being a former Britcar Production champion, is not afraid to get stuck in when the action heats up.
He will be joined by the vastly experienced reigning Trophy Category Champion, Kevin Clarke for the Silverstone opener whilst Ryan Lindsay will take over driving duties for the remainder of the season.
Lindsay himself is also a vastly experienced competitor having competed in 292 races across his career spanning back to 2001. Back this up with 134 race wins, and he is certainly one to look out for.
Lindsay also has previous experience in this very car and even scored a podium finish back in 2019 finishing 3rd at Silverstone (the site of the 2022 season opener).
He is very much looking forward to getting the season underway: “I’m hoping to be fighting for race wins this year in the BEC.
“The ING Sport Z4 GT3 is such an awesome GT3 car and still on the pace so I’m sure we will be fighting at the front! There is a lot of fast competition this year, I can’t wait to get started!”
The next Class A entry comes courtesy of the newly formed RaceLab with familiar drivers Lucky Khera and Lee Frost running a full season campaign with their Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo.
The car was new to Khera for last season where he competed in selected rounds of GT Cup and the British GT Championship with relative success.
Frost meanwhile has yet to race the car in competition having been scheduled to do so at the cancelled Brands Hatch meeting last season in the Britcar Endurance Championship.
Britcar veterans MacG Racing are bringing back the further upgraded Taranis for another crack at the overall title.
Once again Jonny MacGregor and Ben Sharich will pilot the yellow V8 monster as they set about building upon their overall race victory at the tail end of the 2021 season. A race that saw wheel-to-wheel action with the next entry for 2022.
The Venture Aston Martin Vulcan. After a one-off appearance in the final round of last season, car owner Glebs Stepanovs and regular driver Steve Tomkins will return to the grid for a full-season campaign in the ultra-rare hypercar.
Not only this, but the V12-powered car will sport a brand new livery departing from Stepanovs usual subtle colour scheme. This is certainly a car not to be missed.
Reigning champions Motus One make a late entry for Silverstone and will bring back the McLaren 650s which proved so competitive. Will Powell will once again partner car owner Dave Scaramanga, in what is potentially is the car to beat heading into the season opener.
The final entry comes as somewhat of a surprise. Ferrari man Wayne Marrs, has acquired a Mercedes-AMG GT3 which will be run by the ever flamboyant Rob Austin Racing squad. His co-driver will be none other than impressive youngster, Tom Jackson.
Jackson has huge experience in a variety of machinery ranging from GT to sports prototypes and even single-seaters at one stage. Having come off the back of a season in the World Endurance Championship, Tom is ready to help Wayne fight for this year’s British Endurance Crown in the bright yellow Mercedes.
Class B
Class B now sees a wide variety of cars eligible for competition. Current specification GT2 cars, Super Trofeo, 488 Challenge, and 992 Generation Porsche Cup Cars are all permitted to compete within this class. Not only this but certain cars that fall within the BEC balance of performance will also be permitted to run within this class.
Stanbridge Motorsport has made the switch from GT Cup and will now run three Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evos for an array of drivers. Whilst no driver pairings have been confirmed, the drivers announced include the likes of team owner, James Simons and experienced Britcar competitor, Adam Hatfield.
Having run two cars successfully last season in the aforementioned GT Cup series, Stanbridge will be gunning for further class victories and maybe even an overall victory if things go their way.
Sticking with Lamborghini, the newly formed team, Bovet Racing with Racelab, will give the UK its first sighting of the brand new Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo 2. However, for Silverstone at least, they will be running a Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo.
The relatively unknown Claude Bovet will be one-half of the driving force whilst the experienced David McDonald will guide him towards the front of the grid. McDonald has experience within GT/Sportscars and single-seaters. He even competed against 2022 Rolex 24 winner, Tom Blomqvist back in 2010.
Appearing at the BEC Media Day in February was the Scott Sport Mosler MT900. Britcar regulars will surely recognize this car from the early 2010s where it competed in the series with Michael McInerney at the wheel. The car then sat dormant until last season when it competed within selected Masters Historic events with Michael back behind the wheel after the car had been through a full rebuild.
This season sees the Mosler back where it belongs with Michael and Sean McInerney piloting the V8 monster.
Appearing on the entry list is another Britcar regular. Having missed 2021, Mike Moss brings back his fearsome V10 powered BMW 1 series enlisting the help of the well-rounded Chris Murphy in the now Woodrow Motorsport-run machine.
Having completed the opening two rounds last season, John Seale and Jamie Stanley are back in action. This time at the wheel of an FF Corse Ferrari 488 Challenge. Seale is no slouch whilst Stanley has proven himself amongst some of Britain’s best within the British GT, GT Cup, and Britcar championships respectively.
The final entrant for Class B comes courtesy of a Dodge Viper. Little is currently known about this car but the driver line-up is certainly one to watch out for. Angus Fender will be accompanied by ex-BTCC racer and 2008 British GT Champion, James Gornall – who won his title in a Viper alongside Jon Barnes.
Class C
Class C will comprise of older generation challenge machinery. Cars such as the bright Green and Pink Team HARD Porsche 991 Cup Car.
This car had been seen regularly over the course of the 2020 season in GT Cup and Britcar but made only sporadic GT Cup appearances in 2021. Callum Jenkins and Olly Turner will pilot the rear-engined machine over the 2022 season.
Jenkins has previous experience with Team HARD having competed in GT Cup in a Ginetta G55 Supercup whilst Turner completed the latter half of last season’s Britcar Trophy in a de-tuned Golf TCR. Picking up a couple of class wins in the process. Turner himself is ready for the challenge that awaits with the new car:
“This year is a massive step for me, but I have got to grips with the car quickly and I feel confident with the season ahead with Team Hard Racing. We certainly mean business, hoping to push to the front”.
RNR Performance cars are back for a second season with their trusty blue Ferrari 458 Challenge. Chris Goddard and Charlie Hollings will once again take control of the prancing horse in their quest to beat the colourful Porsche.
Digiplat Racing will also return to the championship with a part-time campaign. Nathan Wells will once again be behind the wheel of his BMW M3 GTR. His co-driver is yet to be announced but they were spotted testing at Silverstone with Ollie Hancock so that could be one to look out for.
Championship front runners from 2021, Marcus Fothergill, and Dave Benett are back once again. This will be their third season competing in a 991 generation Porsche Carrera Cup car (having previously used a 997), a car that has served them well from their debut back in 2019.
Finally for Class C sees the Italian-liveried Valluga Racing Ferrari 458 Challenge that made an appearance at last season’s finale. Carl Cavers will once again steer the prancing horse with Valluga regular, Lewis Plato saddling up alongside in their quest to be the fastest Ferrari of the weekend.
Class D
Unlike in previous seasons, GT4 and TCR cars will now be separated into their own classes giving each a better shot at the overall title with increased parity between their respective machines.
Class D sees homologated GT4 machinery do battle much like in British GT. Always a popular category within UK motorsport, this year is no exception. Seven entries have been confirmed with each having the potential to claim the class title.
2021 class champion Peter Erceg returns in his PB Racing Porsche Cayman GT4. Having finished second overall last year, he will be looking to go one better and clinch the overall title.
Unlike last season, he appears to have enlisted the help of a co-driver for 2022. None other than Marcus Clutton will be alongside Peter to further bolster his chances of clinching that overall title he so desires.
The ever-popular Team BRIT is back once again but with a brand new driver lineup. With Bobby Trundley and Aaron Morgan stepping up to the British GT Championship, Andy Tucker and Luke Pound have been assigned to the vicious Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Both drivers are stepping up from the highly competitive Britcar Trophy Category. Pound steps up from the BMW 118i whilst Tucker moves from the BMW M240i in what is set to be a breakthrough season for him:
“Really looking forward to the start of the British Endurance Championship, more so as it will be my first race in our Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Team BRIT proves time and time again that disability doesn’t matter in the world of motorsport. I can’t wait until the lights go out and the race gets underway, it’ll be my first three-hour endurance at Silverstone. Fingers crossed, we’ll pull a strong result out of the bag!”
Another older generation V8 Vantage is being run by Triple M Automotive’s Mark and Dale Albutt. Having competed in sporadic rounds last season, a bold new paint scheme bolsters their hopes of strong results coming their way.
Getting slightly more modern with the next entry. T7 Motorsport move up from the VW FunCup series to BEC with a brand new Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Certainly one to look out for once the season kicks off with a strong driver pairing in Peter Montague and Stuart Hall.
Hall is a former WEC champion for Aston Martin whilst Montague himself is a hugely experienced Aston Martin racer ready to face the challenge of the BEC.
Team HARD is next up and is bringing one of their many Ginetta G55 Supercup cars to the party. Super Saloons driver Ray Harris will occupy one-half of their lineup whilst experienced youngster Josh Hislop will complete the car.
Harris has taken a number of victories in his super-saloon-styled Ginetta including an impressive victory at Silverstone last year in absolutely torrential rain where only four cars finished.
Hislop, meanwhile, came through the Ginetta GT5 challenge before moving to Germany to compete in the NLS series BMW M240i cup. The next stage of his development sees the 20yr old back in the UK ready to take on the improved performance of GT4.
“I’m delighted to be joining the championship at such an exciting stage in its development and moving up to the GT4 Supercup feels like a great step towards my goal of becoming a professional driver. I can’t wait to jump in the car for the first time at Silverstone and with Team HARD’s support I’m confident we can progress quickly and have a successful year”
Class D is completed with two further Porsche Cayman GT4s. Valluga Racing is bringing one of their cars back into the championship with Jake and James Little as their drivers. Whilst RaceLab will give William Tewiah and Ross Wylie the chance to compete.
Class E
As with Class D, Class E sees homologated machinery only. This time in the form of TCR cars. Six cars are currently set to take to the grid with one car being the only example currently within the UK.
That car is in fact the new EDF Cupra TCR of Ash Woodman and Martin Byford. Having competed successfully within the championship over the past few seasons, the new class structure gives them an even better chance at overall glory.
They recently have been out testing at Snetterton in a variety of weather conditions in what appeared to be a positive first outing for the car on UK soil.
EDF will not only be running the new Cupra but also a previous generation Cupra which they are very familiar with. Nick Hull and Richard Avery are back for a full campaign after last year’s part-time season was a good learning step into the world of TCR.
CTR-Alfatune is also returning with their tried and tested line-up of Alex Day and William Foster. The duo finished fourth in class last season after winning the opening race and claiming a further two second places along the way.
A new team for 2022 was present at last month’s media day. Dragon Sport by Amigo Motorsport was out testing their new Opel Astra TCR ahead of announcing a full campaign.
An experienced lineup of Rhys Lloyd and Max Coates are certainly ones not to be counted out. Lloyd has spent the past two seasons racing in the 24H series within the TCR class whilst Coates is feeling quietly confident ahead of Silverstone:
“The Astra TCR is great fun to drive and so far our pace and times have seemed competitive. Whilst we don’t really know where we sit within the grid or class, we feel we are extracting a lot out of the car, and both Rhys and I have considerable experience in TCR cars, so our target is to win the class of BEC”.
Jonathan Beeson and George Heler had a slightly troubled 2021 campaign. However, a turn of form towards the end of the season netted them two podium placings and has enticed them back for another crack at the class title. They will once again be running the Paul Sheard Autosport VW Golf.
The final class entry comes courtesy of Maximum Motorsport and Stewart Lines. He will be joined by regular Trophy frontrunner, Anton Spires in what is surely going to be a hugely competitive class. It is unclear at this stage whether this team will be running the full campaign or just selected rounds.
Class F
Class F sees a mixture of vehicles eligible. Cars must have similar performance to the GT4 & TCR cars mentioned in the previous two classes.
The first full season entry sees the return of the Newbarn Racing Jaguar F-Type. Having missed the final rounds of last season due to accident damage, drivers Callum and Adam Thompson will be pushing to the limit come Silverstone.
Newbarn have worked extensively to improve the cars reliability and even have a second race engine at their disposal.
The 2021 Britcar Trophy champions, Woodrow Motorsport have moved up into the British Endurance Championship with their BMW 1M. Car owner Simon Baker and regular co-driver, Ollie Reuben will resume driving duties. However, they will miss the Silverstone opener for unknown reasons.
Finally, appearing on the entry list is RVR Motorsport and Mark MacLear in a Porsche 911 997.
The 2022 British Endurance Season commences on the 12th March at Silverstone circuit for the first of six rounds at some of the UK’s finest race venues.
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