Round 6 - Event Report

MSVT Trackday Trophy held its long-awaited European debut on Saturday 5 October, with Spain’s recently redeveloped Circuito de Navarra playing host to the sixth round of the series’ 2024 season.

Qualifying

Paddock Performance Racing’s Michael Rawlings was in fine form during qualifying, with his BMW E36 328i straight on the pace. On just his third lap of the day, Rawlings posted a tremendous 2m06.680s to take provisional pole.

Despite the best efforts of rivals, it was a time that couldn’t be beaten and Rawlings would secure the bragging rights of being Trackday Trophy’s first polesitter at a round on the continent.

Team Air Supply’s Jack Wright came closest to besting Rawlings and resultingly would line up second on the grid, while the Unique Racing Renault Clio would start the race third on the grid – courtesy of Charlie Palk.

Richard Jepp, making his series debut, impressively qualified fastest in Class C and a mere 0.004s quicker than Semprini Racing’s Evans/Hart. Nathan Mcphail (MCS Racing) and Wayne Cockerill  (Aindale Racing) would start second and third in Class C, while Fiesta Clubracer would start their first Trackday Trophy meeting of the season at the front of Class D.

Race

A fast start and strong opening lap saw Wright get the jump on polesitter Rawlings in the early stages of the race, while an equally strong getaway saw Fiesta Clubracer’s Palk/Glover overtake Cockerill.

Rawlings immediately set about reducing the gap to the VW Golf in front and by the end of lap five was only 0.298s behind the leader. The deficit was even smaller by the end of the following lap, with Rawlings looking to make his move.

Sure enough, the BMW driver managed to retake the lead just before the field headed into the pits for their mandatory stops.

Jepp continued to look strong on debut, spending the first half of the race at the front of Class C. Mcphail was pushing hard to reel in Jepp, while also keeping Cockerill behind. Palk/Glover remained amongst the higher-classed cars.

Once each team had made their stops, the order had shuffled once more with Wright getting the leap on Rawlings to take the lead. Both drivers pressed on during the second half of the race and were putting in excellent performances.

Ultimately, a pit-stop infringement would prove decisive as Wright incurred a time penalty.

Therefore, it was left to Rawlings to become the first MSVT Trackday Trophy race winner at Circuito de Navarra! Congratulations to both the driver and the wider Paddock Performance Racing team.

Wright’s strong display resulted in second-place on the Class B podium, while Jepp’s first outing in the PRO-AM Racing Clio ended with delight and the Class C top step.

Glover/Palk both put in solid performances to claim the Class D winner’s trophy, while Wayne Cockerill and Nathan Mcphail joined Jepp on the Class C podium, in second and third respectively.

Only Brands Hatch Indy remains for Trackday Trophy in 2024, with the series finale taking place on October 26 2024.

Entries can be made here.