Feature
Another Successful Year Words: Neil McDonald Photos: Jon Elsey
The BMW Car Club Racing Championship has recorded another remarkable year with a record number of drivers and new champions in every class. Most importantly, however, we had fun. At the end of the year, as restrictions relaxed and the social side returned, drivers and supporters received a fantastic send off. The championship is a credit to club racing.
F
or the drivers, it was a year to remember. There were some ups and down, but as they say, that’s motorsport. As a club we are incredibly proud of the group we have who race together as one big #BMWFAMILY and helped one another. It’s their championship and together we can make it even better year on year. We managed to get 14 races in this year thanks to the support of 750mc. We started at Silverstone, then onto Castle Combe, Donington Park, Brands Hatch, Silverstone International, Oulton Park and Snetterton. We covered many of the
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Ben Pearson - Class 6 & Overall 2021 Champion
Club’s regions and it was great to see members who were able to attend and display their cars. As a multi class club championship all the drivers started the year with a good chance, and reliability and consistency is as important as outright speed. Those drivers who had both during a season were going to be in the mix for a win at the end of the year. We welcomed many new drivers this year, too. It was good to also witness them integrate into the club ethos and support the championship and fellow drivers.
In M1 it was very close and competitive but also fair. The drivers of that class included Niall Bradley, Brad Sheehan, Mike Cutt, Rick Kerry, Lee Piercey, Paul Cook, Mike Eustace, Mark Culmer, Mark Havers, Kaz Singh and Colin Whitmore, who became our oldest entrant at 76 years young. The outright wins were shared between Niall, Brad and Lee, while Mike and Rick also lead races. It went down to the last race between Niall and Brad, with Niall claiming his first BMWCCR Championship Class win and second overall and Brad third overall BMW Car Club Magazine December 2021
49
