The 2023 season opener saw the largest grid for any AFRC opening round with 38x confirmed entries, of which 11x novice drivers.
Qualifying saw some niggles for competitors following the winter maintenance and building period with some drivers planned to start slightly out of position.
Peter Dilnot (#7) took Class D pole in this Ginetta G40, whilst Chris Pawley (#88) took Class C pole on his debut weekend in his Renault Clio 182.
Mark White (#65) finished qualifying in Class B pole and Paul Cook (#126) took Class A and overall pole. Pete Seely (#178) suffered from an engine component failure during pre-event testing and sadly didn’t make any of the sessions whilst Ian Cooper (#51) had a team working hard to rectify an electrical fault on his Daewoo Nexia.
There was certainly a buzz around the paddock for the opening weekend. The garages at Silverstone provided perfect shelter for car preparation and development of the novice drivers. New for 2023 is the Military Graduate Cup, a standalone class for inexperienced drivers in BMW 116 Trophy specification cars (6x owned by military teams now) and points awarded for light to flag race results.
Tight battling throughout the field in Race 1 resulted in class victories for Paul Cook – BMW M3 – Class A, Mark White – Honda Civic Type R – Class B, Chris Pawley – Renault Clio 182 – Class C, Alastair Topley – Toyota MR2 – Class D and Harry Townsend – 116 Trophy – Military Graduate Cup winner. On PI it was Keith Attwood (#79 Mini Cooper S) who took the win based on consistency with Mark White and Blair Thomson (Honda Civic #23) in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Lunch and refreshments were provided for competitors and their team personnel in the Fly Motorsport awning and car and driver preparation was well underway for Race 2.
Unfortunately, due to mechanical issues there were 4x non-starters for Race 2, however the racing proved to be just as exciting as the first.
Paul Cook took the overall win and Class A, also taking double wins were Mark White (Class B), Chris Pawley (Class C) and Ali Topley (Class D). Harry Townsend took home maximum points in the Military Graduate Cup with two class wins.
Andy Holmes (#72) returned to competing with military motor racing for the first time in 20 years and drove his Sebring-arched MGB fresh from a full rebuild and scored 3rd in PI for Race 2 with Keith Attwood taking 2nd and Alex Rivett (Nissan 350Z #3) taking the overall PI win on the first outing of his freshly built and prepared car.
Keith Attwood takes an early lead in the championship ahead of Mark White in 2nd and Blair Thomson in 3rd. Jack Ijewsky leads the novice table with Harry Townsend leading the Military Graduates Cup.
The photo gallery for the event can be found here.
Congratulations go to all those who competed, especially those who took part in their first race weekend. Thanks go to everyone who supported the weekend and the start of the 2023 championship. Our drivers wouldn’t be able to compete without support and the championship wouldn’t run to the success levels we’re seeing without the continued support from our partners at Webbs Motor Caravans, Race To The Finish F1 Memorabilia, Joyce Design and Fly Motorsport.