The 2024 Milltek Sport Civic Cup season kicks off at Brands Hatch this weekend (13-14 April), with arguably the strongest field ever assembled in the championship’s history.

It’s a quick return to Kent after last year’s championship finale was also held on the famed 1.2-mile Indy circuit, set in a natural amphitheatre.

Defending champion is teen sensation Max Edmundson whose four wins last year included two to clinch the title at Brands. The youngster will be keen to make a strong start to the defence of his crown but faces very stiff competition, not least from within his own team.

Rob Baker’s Area Motorsport squad has assembled an incredible six-car line-up boasting well over a dozen titles from around the globe between them. Alongside Edmundson are three drivers with TCR experience – all race winners and two of them champions.

Josh Files has four TCR titles to his name, including TCR Europe in 2019; having worked with Area as a coach in recent years, Files has decided to join the Civic Cup grid himself for the pure enjoyment of racing one of the Honda VTEC-powered pocket rockets.

It’s a similar story for two-time TCR UK champion Lewis Kent, who enjoyed himself immensely in a couple of Civic Cup outings last year. While his team-mates all drive the numerically dominant EP3 model Civic, TCR UK race winner – and 2021 Civic Cup champion – Alistair Camp returns to the championship in the newer FN2, on which he will lead Area’s development programme.

Area’s all-star line-up is completed by one-time MG Trophy champion Sam Kirkpatrick and Liam McGill, who has multiple saloon car titles to his name. Both were race winners in part-time campaigns last year and will be aiming to maintain that form over a full season.

While Area has assembled a formidable squad, there will be plenty of competition from elsewhere too, including the rapidly expanding Ben Sharpe Racing organisation. Himself a previous race winner, Sharpe is now running four cars, with teenagers Will Redford and Harvey Caton tipped to lead the way.

Redford was a race winner in an up-and-down campaign last year, while Caton impressed as a privateer and is knocking on the door of a maiden victory. He will surely benefit from being part of a multi-car squad in 2024, and if Redford can add consistency to his arsenal, both will be championship frontrunners.

Completing the BSR line-up are Spencer Stevenson, who brings race-winning pedigree from Fiestas, and British GT team boss Nick Christofaro.

Like Area Motorsport, Wiltshire-based Pro Alloys Racing are running six cars this weekend. Team regulars Alex Kite and Owen Hillman are back for more having both ended last year on a high with podium finishes in the final race of the season.

A youthful line-up also features Fiesta Junior graduates Harry England and Wesley Swain, who will both pilot FN2s, plus Aydan Hassan, who steps up from karts. Sometime rally driver and kart mechanic Macauley Austin will also run with the team this weekend.

When it comes to the FN2, DMR pairing Dave Marshall and Mark Hughes have racked up the most experience in recent years, with Marshall scoring a win on his way to sixth in the standings last year.

Hughes’s primary focus may be on the Goodyear Diamond Award, for drivers over 40 years of age, where his opposition comes from defending champion Simon Welch and Irish rally convert Trevor McConnell.

Completing this weekend’s entry list are five drivers from one-car operations with varying degrees of experience. Jordan Brennan has been a championship regular for a few years now, while sometime Ginetta racer Charlotte Birch sampled the championship with her Vinna Sport squad at last year’s final round.

Josh Bromley (AMW Motorsport) has front-wheel-drive experience from the MG Trophy, where he narrowly missed out on the 2022 title. Jamie Petters (Team Petters Racing) switches from the Mini Challenge for his second year of senior racing, while former autograsser Will Butt (privateer) is also making his championship debut this weekend.

In addition to the main prize and Goodyear Diamond Award, less experienced drivers will also compete for the Paul Winfield Trophy. Those eligible are genuine championship rookies, plus drivers who have not finished in the top 10 of the overall championship standings in the past three years. That means more than half of this weekend’s grid will be gunning for the award!

It is a triple-header weekend for the Milltek Sport Civic Cup, with the cars first set to hit the track for their Qualifying session on Saturday morning at 0915hrs. Race 1 is later that day, scheduled for 1715hrs. Races 2 and 3 both take place on Sunday, timetabled for 1030hrs and 1540hrs.

All the action will be livestreamed on the TCR UK YouTube channel across Saturday and Sunday.

You can now purchase tickets for the opening event of the 2024 season, at Brands Hatch, from their website: https://www.brandshatch.co.uk/2024/april/tcr-uk-touring-car-championship

To find out more about the Milltek Sport Civic Cup visit https://civic-cup.co.uk/ for more info and how to get involved.

To find out more about the events on the 2024 Milltek Sport Civic Cup Calendar, visit https://civic-cup.co.uk/2024-season-calendar/ for more info.

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