CLUBMANS RACING
There are not many track cars in the UK that are as fast or as fun to drive as a Clubmans Sports Prototype. These slightly quirky looking machines were developed to offer a costeffective and accessible way to go racing, but at most circuits in the UK, the cars in the top-tier class can lap within half a second of British Touring Car machinery.
Inspired by the popularity of the lightweight front-engine Lotus Sevens in the mid-1960s, the Clubmans concept added slicks, wings and cover-all bodywork to deliver high performance motorsport on a more modest budget. The Championship became an immediate hit – and sixty years on, it is second only to the 750 Motor Club’ s Formula 750 as the oldest in the country.
“ That alone is a pretty good demonstration that it got something right,” smiles long-time Clubmans racer turned Championship Co-ordinator Peter Richings.“ The cars are very fast, particularly around the corners because of the slicks and wings, so they have British Touring Car levels of performance, but at a fraction of the cost.
“ They are great for all types of drivers too, because they are very rewarding to drive for the experienced racers, but not scary for the novices either. The standard of driving is pretty high at the top level, and I think that surprises people – we had one guy who was a class winner at Le Mans and thought he would blow us all away, but no … Far from it.
“ Running the cars doesn’ t require a team of people either – just an ordinary driver with a mate and a toolbox can do a pretty good job if they are prepared to put in a bit of effort. That’ s a big difference compared to many other performance race cars, which are often so complicated to set up they need a team of people to run them.”
The 2025 six-meeting, 18-round circuit Championship, which is managed by the Clubmans Register and run by professional event organiser MSVR, will visit many of the UK’ s big-name venues including Silverstone, Donington Park, Snetterton and Brands Hatch, with a field of more than 40 drivers competing across two modern and two classic categories.
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Revolution- April 2025
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