With record AFRC registrations for the 2023 championship the racing always promised to be exciting. The newly introduced ‘Graduates Cup’ for military competitors with less than 3 years racing experience was popular with 4x entries.

Silverstone National in April provided some surprisingly pleasant weather with the teams treated to using the national pit garages for the first 2023 race weekend. Keith Attwood took first blood in the championship with a PI win in Round 1 closely followed by Mark White and Blair Thomson with 2021 champion Jon Candler in 4th. Jack Ijewsky took the novice points lead in his first race and an impressive 6th overall. White dominated Class B over the course of the weekend with Chris Pawley taking double wins in Class C on his first weekend out in AFRC in a new to him car (Renault Clio). Harry Townsend took a double in the Graduates Cup.

Race 2 saw Alex Rivett in the bright Nissan 350Z take the PI victory on its first outing with Keith closely behind and Andy Holmes in 3rd racing his steel Sebring wide-bodied MGB V8 for the first time in almost 20 years. Newcomer Luke Arpino took the novice honours. Silverstone National saw 10x novices score points over the course of the weekend; testament to the work being done by the single Service teams to assist with Motor Racing accessibility and the platform provided by AFRC.

Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire was home for Rounds 3 & 4 and despite rain during the final preparations on Friday both races were in the sunshine. Defending champion, Doug Inglis took the first win of the weekend on PI with Richard Brown and Paul Waterhouse rounding out the first podium. Jack Ijewsky took the both the novice points and Graduates Cup win. Mark White took 2x Class B wins and both overall race wins, Ben Moore (Clio) and Jon Candler took a Class C victory each, Inglis did the double in Class D and Harry Townsend took the Race 2 Graduates win.

Blair Thomson took the Round 4 PI victory with Jon Candler and Mark White completing the podium with Harry Townsend taking maximum novice PI points with the Graduates Cup win.

Snetterton, Norfolk was host for Rounds 5 & 6 in July with a bumper 40 car grid providing racing throughout the field. Candler took the first PI victory with White and Inglis completing the podium. The RAF fielded the first racing car to race in the UK powered by synthetic / non-fossil fuel which went on to double Class C victories for Dave Russell, other class victories went to White (B), Peter Dilnot (D) and Ijewsky (Graduates) in the first race. Newcomer to racing and AFRC, James Flint took the novice PI victory in his first ever race.

The second race was a strong showing for White who took the PI victory, overall race win and Class B honours in the process. The PI podium was completed with Rivett and Alex Smith, Scott Townson took maximum novice PI points. Ijewsky completed a perfect score in the Graduates Cup with Dilnot repeating the Round 5 Class D victory in Round 6.

In the peak of Summer was a second visit to Silverstone on the International layout, a first for AFRC. With perfect conditions throughout the weekend and a 41-car grid it was again a busy meeting. In Race 1 in was Alex Smith who took his first PI victory of the year with Attwood and Russell completing the podium. Novice PI and Graduates Cup victories both went to Ijewsky. Paul Martin-Jones took Class A honours, David Shead in B, Russell in C and Alastair Topley in D.

In the 2nd race was a double PI podium (2x 3rd) and Class C victories for Russell, Candler made a return to the podium hunting down White in the overall championship who took the overall PI victory, overall race win and Class B honours. Novice PI honours went the way of Paul Chapman whilst Ijewsky took the 2023 Graduate Cup Championship by sealing the victory in Round 8 of the 2023 AFRC Championship race. Topley did the Class D double victory.

Mixed conditions for the championship finale at Donington Park on the GP layout made tyre selection choices difficult for some. In Race 1 Candler took overall PI honours with Russell in 2nd (and winning Class C), Inglis in 3rd (and winning Class D), Pawley took maximum novice points and Ijewsky continued his form in the Graduates Cup.

With the championship going down to the wire and the rain holding off the final race of 2023 close battles throughout the field ensured each driver were on their toes. Following a dyno power run Shead was moved to Class A and took the overall and Class A victories, Class B went to Smith and 2nd overall with Russell taking 6 from 6 Class C victories. Sean Graham took his first Class D victory of the season whilst Ijewsky took the final Graduates Cup victory.

On PI the maximum novice points went to Arpino. Outgoing Champion, Inglis took 3rd on PI, Russell took 2nd in the final 2023 race with Candler taking maximum points. Issues saw White finish outside the points which handed the another incredibly close championship finish over to Candler who’d fought back all season to regain championship momentum.

Testament to consistency being key, it turned out to be a year of comebacks. Inglis missed the start of the season yet still achieved a 6th overall. Russell missed the first two weekends and whilst he scored 6 from 6 in Class C, he impressively achieved 4 from 6 podiums on PI, a 5th and a 10th whilst punching well into the Class B field. Arpino secured the overall Novice Championship from Ijewsky and Flint, who again only competed in 3 weekends. The team championships went the way of the RAF Motor Racing Team who then went on to retain their Inter-Services victory with an overall win at the Birkett 6 Hour Relay Race in October.

Overall, the 2023 season has been a success for a multiple of reasons. 39x drivers scored championship points; that’s 39 drivers who have served in UK military (or currently do) or have served blue light services in public service. 18x novice drivers scored championship points, testament to the supporting work done by the single service teams to make opportunities available.

The championship isn’t possible without a raft of support from different areas. Webbs Motor Caravans supported the championship for their 2nd consecutive season and it was great to host their representatives at Silverstone International to see the championship in full swing. Joyce Design continued as the branding partner and have already committed to continuing their support into 2024. Our longest standing partner, Race To The Finish F1 Memorabilia provided all our trophies for the season and have also committed to continuing their support to 2024. Caber Coffee kindly supplied the fantastic Mission Motorsport branded coffee in our championship hospitality area. Our competitors a supported by multiple organisations with some preferential rates on parts supply which goes a long way to our competitors, thank you.

The final thanks go to the supporters of the competitors but also to the organising club, 750 Motor Club and their officials and volunteers. Without the raft of volunteer marshals travelling the country for race meetings there quite simply wouldn’t be race meetings to hold our competition. Our drivers and teams are forever in debt to those marshals who volunteer their time and money to be involved in the meetings.

The 2024 season calendar is now finalised and sees a return to Brands Hatch (Indy) for the season opener in April and a first trip back to Oulton Park in June since 2018. Anglesey, Croft and Snetterton also feature. Registration will open over the course of Autosport International where numerous AFRC cars will be on display on different stands.

Partnership and branding opportunities are still available for the 2024 championship and can be fully tailored to meet custom requirements, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any enquiries via Fly Motorsport Ltd at info@flymotorsport.co.uk.