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Saturday 14 March saw the return of Trackday Trophy ahead of a bumper nine-round 2026 season.
Snetterton played host to a pulsating opener, in which local driver Jordan Honeybone (Apple Car Racing) put in a stellar performance to claim the first overall victory of the year.
Aindale Racing’s Wayne Cockerill and Graves Motorsport’s Lee Taylor will be equally delighted to have started their seasons by winning in Class C and Class D respectively.
Qualifying
Honeybone was immediately on the pace in the morning’s qualifying session. The Renault Clio driver continued to lap strongly and improve on previous bests at the top of the timing sheet. When the session ended, it was the driver’s time of 2m10.561s that ultimately claimed the first pole position of the year.
The Porsche 944 of Jack Wright and Matthew Allat (Team Air Supply) joined the Clio on the front row, with Jonathan Williams (Misty Racing) and a newly-liveried Semprini Racing Honda Civic in P4.
Both Cockerill and Taylor put in similarly impressive sessions to qualify fastest in their respective classes, but it was clear there was a large number of contenders throughout the 32-strong field looking to make an impression.
Trevor Hurrell (Team Wheelcare) and Jay Coombs (Project 29:7 Racing) were amongst those, qualifying second and third fastest in Class C, along with BC Cars Motorsport teammates Colin Wells and Alister Esam who qualified second and third in Class D.
Race
Honeybone navigated the opening lap well to continue to lead, but Team Air Supply’s Wright/Allat were in hot pursuit and were sticking like glue to the rear of the Clio in front. Cockerill had managed to defend his Class C lead well despite plenty of pressure, while Arc Racewear’s Cottam/Corfield maneuvered the opening exchanges expertly to pave the way in Class D.
As the first few laps passed, an epic battle for the lead was unfolding. Honeybone was having to defend hard against the chasing Porsche, with almost nothing separating the dueling cars. In fact, until Team Air Supply dived into the pits after lap 11, the two teams were separated by less than 0.679s over the timing line on every occasion.
Esam had seized the lead of Class D, while Dean Hyde (Tylah Motorsport) was charging through the field after starting at the back. Elsewhere, Taylor was recovering well after a poor start and Hart/Hart were making up good ground in Class C. There were plenty of others enjoying solid races, including a number impressing on series debut.
When the first pit stops of the year were being made, it was evident that different drivers were opting for slightly different strategies. The order continued to change, with plenty of overtaking on display, but there was one constant – it was Honeybone out front.
Despite the heavy pressure faced, the Apple Car Racing driver kept his nerve, seeing out the remainder of the race expertly to take the first Class B victory of the year. Congratulations to Jordan and the wider team!
The efforts of Wright and Allat was rewarded with second on the podium, while Dean Hyde gained an astounding 29 places from where he started to come home third. Mark Jones (Misty Racing) and Tommy Valentine (Burton Power Racing) rounded out the top five Class B finishers.
Cockerill looked mighty at times and, other than two laps after making an earlier stop than rivals, managed to lead Class C throughout the entire race to take a well-deserved win. An assured performance by Cameron Mclean earned the Renault Clio driver the second-place trophy, while father-and-son pairing of Phil and James Hart claimed the final step of the class podium – finishing only 0.448s behind Mclean! George Wright (Team Air Supply) and Stuart Smith (FJ Racing) completed the Class C top five.
A sensational recovery drive from Taylor saw the Mazda MX-5 driver bounce back from ending the first lap in 23rd position, to claiming the Class D victory and P9 overall. Esam looked strong throughout the race to take the second step of the podium, while Chris Stone (Boreham Motorsport) made it a hat-trick of Mazda MX-5 competitors to finish in the classes’ top three – with an excellent performance of his own. Andy Burton (Burton Power Racing) and Payne/Cresswell (Brake Dancer Racing) finished fourth and fifth in class.
Congratulations to all!
Trackday Trophy will return on Sunday 12 April on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.
Don’t miss out, by securing your spot on the grid today.
Photo: Gary Hawkins Photography