The Milltek Civic Cup – Rounds 3, 4 & 5
Brands Hatch Indy – 19th & 20th April 2025

Alistair Camp moved clear at the top of the Milltek Civic Cup standings after a busy Easter weekend of close racing at Brands Hatch – despite not adding to his win tally.

The victories were split between erstwhile championship leader Lewis Kent, first-time winner Jack Ruddell and Liam McGill at the championship’s second event of the season. But three strong finishes mean that Camp leads the way ahead of the next event at Silverstone next month.

Qualifying

Heading into the weekend, Lewis Kent led Alistair Camp by just a single point in the championship standings, and it was that pair who topped the timesheets. Both had spells on provisional pole, but it was Camp who eventually secured double pole position with the two fastest times.

The 2021 champion was the only man to break the 82mph average speed barrier around the 1.2-mile Indy circuit as his FN2 model Civic bettered Kent’s EP3 to the best time of the session by 0.23 seconds. With the championship points on offer, that meant he (temporarily) levelled the scores at the top of the standings.

The duo’s Area Motorsport team-mates filled the rest of the top six positions, with Liam McGill and Harvey Caton on row two of the grid, ahead of Wesley Swain and Jake Hewlett. Rookie driver Francisco Howitt (Vinna Motorsport) impressed on his way to seventh ahead of Dave Marshall (DMR with KA Car Sales) and Jack Ruddell (MJB Motorsport). Jake Renshaw (Ben Sharpe Racing) completed the top 10.

BRANDS HATCH INDY QUALIFYING RESULT

 

Race Report – Round 3

Camp converted his pole position into the race lead but, unfortunately for him, it wouldn’t last long. On cold tyres, his car slide wide at Clearways near the end of the first lap. Kent and McGill needed no second invitation to dive past and take up the running. Camp almost lost out to team-mate Harvey Caton at the end of the second tour too but just held on.

The leading quartet stayed close together over the next few laps, with the gaps concertinaing a little before Camp finally shook off Caton with what would remain the contest’s fastest lap mid-race. It enabled the Derby man to put some pressure on McGill but the Scotsman held firm to finish second behind Kent, who controlled the race en route to his second consecutive win.

Caton was promoted to the third step of the podium when Camp was slapped with a 5s track-limits penalty. The gap back to Swain in fifth was big enough that it only cost Camp one position.

Hewlett had headed Swain early on but could not keep the teenage charger behind beyond lap five, and then lost out to both Matt Wilkins – up from 11th on the grid to finish sixth – and Marshall before the chequered flag. Wilkins’ effort gave him the Goodyear Diamond Award for drivers aged 40 and over. Howitt continued his fine form at a track he knows well to secure ninth place, best of those eligible for the Paul Winfield Trophy (for rookies and less experienced drivers), while Jack Ruddell completed the top 10.

Behind them, there was an almighty scrap for the remaining points-paying positions. Having his strongest weekend yet in the Milltek Civic Cup, Will Butt had to fight a rearguard action to secure his best-ever result of 11th ahead of Harry England and Adam Parker. Garry Townsend pulled off some fine moves to finish 14th as Charlotte Birch completed the top 15. Jake Renshaw was the unfortunate victim of the battle; a slow start left him in the thick of the action before he was pitched into the gravel at Clark Curve with just a lap remaining.

BRANDS HATCH INDY RACE ONE RESULT

 

Race Report – Round 4

The results of Saturday’s race – with the top 10 reversed – set the grid for a Sunday rematch. That put Ruddell on pole position with Howitt alongside, and Hewlett and Marshall on row two.

Ruddell led them away, while Hewlett and Marshall jumped Howitt to slot into second and third. Worse was to come for Howitt though, as he got caught up in contact at Druids. A good start from McGill allowed him to challenge on the inside up Hailwood Hill but, as the gap closed, he was squeezed on to the grass and ended up tipping Howitt into a spin at the hairpin.

McGill himself also spun, and while most managed to evade the incident, England could not avoid collecting the passenger side of Howitt’s car. Fortunately, all three were able to get going and allow the race to continue, while others also hit trouble further round the lap on cold tyres.

Ahead of the incidents, Ruddell continued to lead from Hewlett, while Camp snatched third from Marshall. Swain was also running well and further demoted Marshall to fifth on lap three of 15, with the lead quartet opening a gap to the rest.

As Camp exerted pressure on team-mate Hewlett, it gave Ruddell some breathing space. Able to focus less on his mirrors, the youngster set some quick laps to open a slight gap before a mid-race safety car. That occurred when Wilkins – who was running sixth – suddenly lost drive and ground to a halt at Druids, the result of a stripped gear.

Once Wilkins’ car was cleared, there were two minutes left on the clock – enough for a three-lap dash to the flag. Ruddell faced immense pressure from behind but, as Hewlett had to focus as much on defending from Camp as challenging for the lead, Ruddell held his nerve to secure his maiden Milltek Civic Cup victory. It also earned him the Paul Winfield Trophy laurels.

Hewlett held off Camp to earn his first podium finish, and Swain completed the top four. Caton, who’d lost time early on running wide at Graham Hill Bend, and the recovering McGill seized on a slight mistake at Surtees to ambush Marshall and move into fifth and sixth, but the north-easterner wasn’t going to let them have it easily. When McGill next passed Caton, Marshall followed through and then managed to get alongside the Scotsman through Clark Curve as they entered the final lap. Marshall ended up holding on to fifth by just 0.1s from McGill, who had executed some neat overtaking manoeuvres as he charged back through the field.

Caton was seventh ahead of Jamie Petters who impressed as he climbed from row 13 of the grid after retiring with gearbox failure the day before. Petters’ elder brother Dan did a similarly fine job to climb from the very back of the grid to 10th after suffering two engine failures earlier in the weekend. The pair sandwiched Josh Bromley who’d also had a tough Saturday as 15s of track-limits penalties dropped him from 11th to 20th in the first race result.

Renshaw climbed to 11th, ahead of Butt, Adam Parker, Aidan Mitchell and Townsend, the Goodyear Diamond Award winner.

BRANDS HATCH INDY RACE TWO RESULT

 

Race Report – Round 5

The weekend finale’s grid featured the same front row as the opener but Camp’s and Kent’s fortunes significantly diverged after that first race on Saturday. The latter had taken no meaningful part in the second contest after suffering driveshaft failure as the cars departed the dummy grid. His bad luck continued on Sunday afternoon with the loss of Honda’s famed VTEC power boost aboard his car. It left the Essex racer a sitting duck as he slipped down the order and did well to bring the car home in 10th position.

Camp, meanwhile, led the race with the rest of his Area Motorsport team-mates in tow. Still finding it difficult to get temperature into the rear tyres on his FN2, Camp made the slightest mistake on lap three, which allowed McGill to dive into the lead at Druids.

The quintet of Area cars never really looked troubled for the rest of the race. Camp put McGill under pressure for lengthy spells until he himself came under threat from Hewlett over the last couple of laps. But the positions didn’t change as McGill raced to a first win since his debut weekend nearly two years ago, proving that he is a genuine title contender in 2025.

Second for Camp completed a strong weekend that gives him a healthy lead over McGill at the top of the standings. Hewlett’s second podium of the weekend lifts him to fifth in the points, behind Caton and Kent, in his first year in the championship.

Caton passed Swain mid-race to finish fourth, while a track-limits penalty cost Swain a further position too. That promoted Wilkins to fifth, his best finish yet. As well as winning the Goodyear Diamond Award again, the Motion Motorsport driver also set the race’s fastest lap to show that he will soon be challenging for podiums and more.

Behind Swain, Marshall was a relatively lonely seventh. Former MG and Mazda man Bromley climbed from 13th to eighth, his best result of the season so far and the Paul Winfield Trophy winner, making it three different winners from three races. Ruddell could be happy with ninth place after a weekend’s work that means he remains the highest-placed non-Area Motorsport driver in the championship standings.

Butt ran well to 11th, and the Petters brothers charged forward again – to 12th and 14th respectively. Privateer Sam Nicolaou split the pair, while Charlie Constable (Orex Competition) rounded out the points positions.

Elsewhere, the luckless Jake Renshaw was a casualty of the early exchanges, while Vinna duo Howitt and Birch also suffered damaging incidents.

BRANDS HATCH INDY RACE THREE RESULT

Driver Quotes

Round 3 winner, Lewis Kent
“Ali [Camp] obviously didn’t get too much temp into his rear tyres. It was unfortunate for him but we picked up and checked out.”

Round 4 winner, Jack Ruddell
“It feels awesome, honestly. I don’t know how I did it! I was hoping it would finish under the safety car.”

Round 5 winner, Liam McGill
“My first meeting in the Civic Cup was back in 2023 and I got a win on my first outing, and ever since then I’ve never managed to piece it all together, so I’m delighted. Campy doesn’t give up, that’s for sure!”

Next time – Silverstone National!

 

The 2025 Milltek Sport Civic Cup is back in action in just under 4 weeks, on Saturday 17th May and Sunday 18th May for the second triple header for the year, at Silverstone, using the National circuit for rounds six, seven and eight.

Returning to join the TCR UK Touring Car Championship, the national layout delivers fantastic racing for the Milltek Civic Cup, and we’re looking forward to more.

Racing action will take place on the Saturday and Sunday with both days livestreamed on the official TCR UK YouTube channel.

You can purchase tickets for the third event of the 2025 season, at Silverstone on the National circuit, from their website:
https://www.silverstone.co.uk/events/barc-tcr-uk-touring-car-championship

To find out more about the Milltek 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 2025 Milltek Civic Cup Calendar, visit https://civic-cup.co.uk/2025-season-calendar/ for more info.