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Saturday 28th October played host to the finale of the 2023 eBay MSVT Trackday Trophy season, on the iconic Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Expectation was for an epic race and the action certainly didn’t disappoint.
eBay MSVT Trackday Trophy has been incredibly competitive this year and the morning’s qualifying session continued in the same vein. The initial benchmark was set by Team KAR’s pairing of Roberts/Drought, who were looking to build on their victory from last time out at Oulton Park and start the season closer on pole. After making further improvements, the time to beat stood at an impressive 1:01:603secs. It looked as if the Honda Civic Type R of Roberts/Drought had done enough to secure pole position, but in hugely dramatic fashion the Renault Clio of Palk/Pottinger would claim pole position for Unique Racing on their very last lap – by just 0.013secs! Ben Grewcock and Jack Goes were to line up third and fourth respectively, while a gripping qualifying contest between two teammates developed at the front of Class C. Wayne Cockerill and Sarah Hobson, both in their Toyota Celicas, took turns to trade fastest lap times with Cockerill ultimately pipping Hobson to class pole by less than 0.100secs! Alister Esam showed excellent pace all session and was rewarded with Class D pole position, while Alex Baldwin and Adams/Adams claimed second and third in qualifying respectively.
A strong launch from the grid from both Ben Grewcock and Roberts/Drought ensured a gripping first lap at the front of the pack, as the pair both challenged the polesitter Unique Racing through the opening corners. Ultimately it was Team KAR who managed to take the lead and head the three over the line after the first lap, with less than two seconds separating the trio. Wayne Cockerill continued to head teammate Sarah Hobson by a small margin, while Alister Esam continued to lead the way in Class D. A small mistake from Unique Racing allowed Ben Grewcock to steam into second and a charging Jack Goes followed suit to take third. Elsewhere, Semprini Racing’s Evans/Hart were enjoying a solid start to remain in fifth.
As the season finale progressed and the pit stop window closed, Mangoes Racing’s Jack Goes consistently strong lap times allowed him to leapfrog Team KAR into the lead. Despite this being Goes’ first season racing, the young driver was demonstrating excellent pace and he expertly navigated traffic to continue to build a gap to the cars behind. By the end of lap 41, the VW Sirocco driver had amassed a 11.753secs lead to claim his first ever victory in eBay MSVT Trackday Trophy! A big congratulations to Jack Goes and his team. Team KAR’s Roberts/Drought looked strong all weekend and were well-deserving of the second step of the podium. Special mention goes to driver Nicole Drought for securing a podium finish on her series debut. Polesitters Palk/Pottinger rounded out the top three on the Class B podium.
Aindale Racing’s Wayne Cockerill and Se7en Motorsport’s Sarah Hobson were enjoying a fantastic battle throughout the race, with both Celica’s looking to secure class victory. An unfortunate retirement in the second half of the race for Cockerill cleared the way for the #144 car to pounce. Sarah Hobson capitalised and didn’t look back, skilfully leading Class C every lap from that point forward. The Se7en Motorsport’s driver secured the final class victory of 2023, through a brilliant combination of both speed and race management. Finsport’s Stephen Rozario made the most of his first appearance in the series this year by claiming second in Class C, while a confident drive from NJM Racing’s David Murfitt was rewarded with the final spot on the podium. The battle for victory in Class D was nothing short of breathtaking. Having led every lap of the race Alister Esam was decisively overtaken by Boreham Motorsport’s Adam’s pairing of Martyn and Rob. The duo have been a formidable force in Class D of Trackday Trophy over the years and proved it once more, narrowly holding onto the final class win of the year by just 0.529secs over Alister Esam. Both teams had put in brilliant performances and were worthy podium finishers. The final trophy was earned by AWH Yeah Racing’s Wilkinson-Hughes/Connell pairing who topped off an excellent season with one more trophy.
A huge thank you goes out to all who have taken part in what has been an excellent year for the series. We look forward to welcoming you back to the grid in 2024.