Words by SSgt Dan Moughton
The Armed Forces Race Challenge had its final round of the season at the iconic Donington Park Circuit, and it was a finale to remember! With a fantastic turnout across the services, the final rounds offered all the drivers an opportunity to showcase their race craft, competitive spirit, and passion for racing. Off the track, support crews worked around the clock to ensure their teams could race hard and secure those finals points to be crowned Armed Forces Race Challenge Service Champions!
The grid featured class favourites including EP3’s, Mini Cooper JCWs, BMWs and even a Daewoo, talk about retro! At the rear of the grid, there had been some epic battles amongst the 116 trophy cars, with every lap offering new challenges for many of the development drivers to navigate. Towards the front of the grid, it was a continuous dominating performance from British Army Veteran Driver Chalky White in his race winning EP3, with SSgt Dougie Ingles in his championship winning MX-5 giving a free class in race craft to the drivers in the AFRC. Unfortunately, even with all this exceptional driving and experience, it wasn’t enough for the team to pull the AFRC Service Championship title. This, much to their credit, went to the drivers and support crew of the Royal Air Force Motorsport Team.
Fear not Army Sports Car Racing fans, while we may not have won the Service title, Sponsored Reserve (REME) Cfn “JC” Candler brought home the AFRC Championship title in his Lionheart Racing Peugeot 306 GTI, and British Army Reserve (RE) Sgt Blair Thomson claiming the Inter-Services Car Racing Champion Trophy. A huge congratulations to these two drivers for their hard work both on and off the track this season, a well-deserved and hard-fought result for JC and Blair. There have been some incredible results for many drivers amongst the team an, this has been one of the most successful seasons for the Army Sports Racing Team to date.
The season is not over yet, the ASCR Team will be racing in the Birkett Relay at Silverstone Circuit on the 28th of October 23. This is one of the biggest races in the 750 Motor Club Calendar, with 70 cars racing over a 6-hour period, the Birkett Relay is one race you won’t want to miss!
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