The Civic Cup – Rounds 9 & 10
Snetterton – 11th & 12th July 2026

Two tremendous Civic Cup races stole the show on a busy weekend of racing at Snetterton (11-12 July). Dave Marshall became the championship’s second two-time winner of the season in Saturday afternoon’s scorching temperatures before local man Daniel Petters took a popular maiden victory on Sunday.

The championship battle remains incredibly tight as the season moves into its second half, with a three-way tie for second involving Marshall, Alistair Camp and Wilf Butler behind leader Jake Hewlett.

Qualifying

Carrying the maximum 40kg of ballast after his Pembrey win last month, Alistair Camp produced an incredible performance to top the timesheets in his Area Motorsport-run FN2 model Civic Type R.

Camp was benefiting from rear suspension set-up changes after experienced international racer Josh Files tested his car during the week. And it was 2024 championship runner-up Files who Camp pipped to pole position as the local driver returned for another non-scoring guest outing on his local circuit.

Camp’s 82mph lap was just 0.03s quicker than Files’s best in his EP3, an incredibly close margin around the longest circuit on Civic Cup’s calendar. Completing an Area 1-2-3, with barely a tenth of second separating the trio, was Sean McGovern.

Further highlighting the exceptionally close competition in Civic Cup, the next two drivers set identical times to the nearest thousandth of a second. Dave Marshall’s DMR with KA Car Spares FN2 could not be separated from privateer Jake Hewlett’s EP3, but Marshall got the nod for a place on row two by dint of being first to set the time.

Sixth-placed Josh Bromley (Bromley Motorsport EP3) was within half a second of the benchmark despite being unable to grab fifth gear.

Ben Sharpe Racing young guns Jake Renshaw and Wilf Butler, who was carrying 10kg of ballast, would line up on row four of the grid in their EP3s.

Wesley Swain (Area Motorsport FN2) and the returning Jack Ruddell (MJB Sports Cars EP3) completed a top 10 covered by just over three quarters of a second around the three-mile circuit.

BSR pairing Aidan Mitchell (20kg) and Spencer Stevenson (30kg) could point to the weight aboard their EP3s for their mid-grid pace among the 28-car field. Stevenson’s fellow championship frontrunner Matt Wilkins (Motion Motorsport EP3) would also have been disappointed to be outside the top dozen; Wilkins had his best time disallowed for a track limits offence and then suffered gearbox failure.

SNETTERTON QUALIFYING RESULT

Round 9 – Race Report

While Camp converted pole position into the race lead, fellow front row man Files was immediately in trouble. A failed sensor prevented his engine deploying its VTEC power boost and, after a couple of compromised laps, the local star toured into the pits.

The opening two hairpins at Wilson and Agostini were the scene of a robust battle for second between McGovern and Marshall. The North-Easterner came from a long way back to nudge inside McGovern at Wilson, but the Irishman returned the favour at Agostini. Marshall quickly responded, getting a run out of the second part of the Esses at Nelson, to go round his rival in a fine move at the Bomb Hole.

Behind them, Bromley jumped into fourth and soon started pressuring McGovern, while Hewlett contested fifth with Renshaw and Butler.

But out front, Marshall fired in the fastest lap as he chased down Camp who found the ballast was taking its toll on his tyres in race conditions, particularly under scorching skies. Marshall nosed inside at Williams on half-distance and the pair ran side by side down the long Bentley straight before the lighter car claimed the advantage at the Esses.

Marshall didn’t look back from there and went on to repeat his Pembrey success, becoming the first double winner of 2026 with a margin of just under a second. Camp could still be very satisfied with second, an impressive performance while laden with weight.

Bromley dived past McGovern at the Esses to secure third, which he held onto despite trailing his car’s rear bumper over the closing stages. Fourth for McGovern came with Paul Winfield Trophy honours as the best rookie or driver without a podium finish prior to 2026.

Renshaw got the better of Hewlett for fifth, the best finish of his Civic Cup career. Hewlett also had his hands full fending off Butler for sixth.

Ruddell had run eighth until retiring with engine problems, not helped – but seemingly not caused by – clobbering a tyre stack that had been moved and losing his coolant.

Local man Daniel Petters (Petters Team Racing) benefited to take the position having climbed from 12th on the grid. Swain and Wilkins completed the top 10.

SNETTERTON RACE ONE RESULT

Round 10 – Race Report

Wilkins’ climb into the top 10 from 13th on the grid in Saturday’s race was rewarded with pole position for Sunday’s reversed-grid race, and a chance to end the weekend on a high.

With Snetterton experiencing problems with its lights gantry, the race would be started on the drop of a Union Flag. The drivers coped admirably well, although outside front-row man Swain was caught out, initially moving when the start marshal raised the flag. While he immediately realised his mistake and stopped, the damage had been done and Swain was handed a 10s jump-start penalty.

Unbeknown at the time, Wilkins had also already ended his hopes of a second win of the season. The Motion Motorsport driver was adjudged to have made an illegal practice start on the way to the grid and handed a drive-through penalty.

Before the sanction was dished out, Wilkins made a good start to lead from Petters, who jumped ahead of Swain. The latter quickly hit back, retaking Petters for second at Agostini.

Wilkins appeared to have victory nailed on, leading by nearly 3s when he called into serve his penalty. That put Swain in front, the young gun having set fastest lap in his strongest showing since winning the Brands Hatch opener. But with his time penalty to be added, it was, in effect, Petters who held the advantage.

The Newmarket man had dropped as low as fourth when Butler got inside at Agostini, but Petters used his well-honed racecraft to immediately hit back at Oggies.

Petters continued to come under pressure, with Butler attempting an attack on the outside line at Agostini on the final lap. But Petters held his line and went on to secure a landmark maiden, his first in any form of circuit racing for the long-time oval racer.

As Butler ran wide at Hamilton, it brought Hewlett into play at Oggies, but the Stevenage man’s move took him wide and let Butler – and Camp – cut underneath.

So Butler claimed a hard-fought second, his best result since winning Round 2 of the season, and took Paul Winfield Trophy honours to boot. He now leads the PWT standings by 20 points from McGovern.

Hewlett fought back to reclaim third from Camp at the Esses, and afterwards paid tribute to his brother, who had been admitted to hospital overnight.

Camp was best of the ballasted drivers in fifth, and now lies joint second in the championship after dropped scores are taken into account. His gross score is, in fact, the best of anybody’s. Camp is tied with Butler and Marshall, who could only climb to eighth, the trio 17 points shy of leader Hewlett.

Behind Camp, Renshaw repeated his result from the previous day in fifth. In a very tight finish, Renshaw was just 0.1s ahead of sixth-placed Bromley, who was himself only 0.06s clear of Stevenson, who had worked his way forward from 14th on the grid.

Aidan Mitchell was ninth, ahead of Files who had scythed forward from row 14 to make the top 10. McGovern was disappointed to slip back to 11th, with Swain classified 12th and Wilkins emerging from his drivethrough in a dispiriting 13th. Charlie Budd (Area Motorsport), Jamie Petters (Team Petters Racing) and Francisco Howitt (Area) completed the points paying positions.

SNETTERTON RACE TWO RESULT

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS AFTER SNETTERTON RESULT

Driver Quotes

Round 9 winner, Dave Marshall

“Sorry to Sean [McGovern] for that contact, first lap. It was one of them where I’d seen he was setting it up a bit wide for the hairpin and I was committed up the back of Campy [Alistair Camp], and it looked like he just tried to close the apex up a bit. But he got me fair well back at the next hairpin, so tit for tat.

“I don’t think I’ve ever raced Campy in three years of Civic Cup, not properly anyway. He was really strong under the bridge, I noticed that. It was [a case of], don’t push too hard, keep the front tyres in [good condition] and, yeah, what a car! Huge thanks to KA Car Sales, all the sponsors, MJB Sports Cars for the engine. It all comes together and the results show.”

Round 10 winner, Daniel Petters

“That has been a hell of long time coming. I’ve been circuit racing now for eight years and I’ve been so close on so many occasions, but that’s the first time to actually get a win. I’d like to have been the first car across the line on the track but these things happen, don’t they? I’m not going to turn it down.

“It was a great battle and that’s what makes Civic Cup great. You’ve got battles like that all the way along.

“I can’t thank my family and my team and everyone enough for all of the work over the last eight years to make this happen.

“We made a big change on the car last night and I’ve got to thank Dave Marshall for the advice. He gave me some good advice and that’s paid off nicely.”

Next time – Donington Park is on the cards as Convoy in the Park awaits